O Despertar da Juventude

It takes a while to get into this subtle, understated film. Exchanges between characters tend to be muted and at times abruptly truncated. This, you gradually come to understand, reflects the closeted world of the main character, David, whose most crucial interchanges are often a matter of a sidelong glance, a touch, amidst the garrulous world of his mother and fellow Jewish emigrés in nineteen eighties Brighton Beach. I was slowly drawn into thus milieu, permeated as it is by memories of the holocaust and ominous references to a disease affecting gay men, and ultimately found it deeply moving.

Minyan

A very Jewish story about a young man coming of age in New York in the 80's.

The script was great and we had some great characterisations, I thought it was a really great movie that breathed in all the right places.

David, played by Samuel H Levine, did a great job, he was very compelling.

I giving this a firm 6 outta 10 for a solid movie all round despite the issues being small.

I didn't have high expectations when starting this film, and yet it crept up on me. Expertly crafted, it's a subtle, yet powerful piece. A dark humor runs within it, but I found it illuminating in so many ways- the love, support, idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of family and communities.

A worthwhile watch when you want to be moved by a film.

I didn't mind this at all, slow burn but not boring. There was something intriguing about the narrative, some left of field scenes and plot holes not explored but mostly a good film. I'm a fan of anything set in New York City and this was a side of it I'd never seen before.

I had no idea what to expect from this film, but it didn't disappoint. The storyline is a bit all over the place at parts but you still get the tale it tells. The acting is good, and I like how the dialogue of the main character, David, opens up more and more as he discovers who he is. The ending is not clean and wrapped in a bow but makes you think about the untold story. Solid movie, not great , but solid.