Don't Tell Anyone

'No Se Lo Digas A Nadie' ('Don't Tell Anyone') is probably a good PR line for this little film trying to be something grand. In excess of two hours director Francisco J. Lombardi makes an attempt to bring to life the autobiography of gay Peruvian talk show host Jaime Bayly and to explore the angst of teenagers and college students finding their way into the adult world. What results is a soap opera treatment that wades around in a lot of self-pity and wrong choices.

Joaquin Camino (Santiago Magill) struggles as a child with his terrible secret of attraction to boys in a home atmosphere of a macho homophobic father and a religious zealot mother. He tries girls, even a graduation gift prostitute compliments of his father, but he is unable to 'be a man' and after high school runs away from home. In college he mixes with the marijuana and cocaine crowd, unsuccessfully attempts physical affection for his girlfriend Alejandra (Lucía Jiménez) but eventually falls in love with a closet case to end all closet cases Gonzalo (Christian Meier) who runs when Joaquin makes it clear he is available for a relationship. This is the manner of the tale which eventually resolves in demonstrating how many young people hide their true identities behind alcohol and drugs and the fast life: the story as expected has no real ending because of the lack of ultimate character definition.

The cast is fairly strong, especially Santiago Magill, and they try to make the best of a thin script. Production values fit the mood of the film and there are some fine little moments that justify watching it. In the long run the movie seems to be afraid to offend anyone and that fear keeps it from being bold enough to make a clear statement about human sexuality. Perhaps this is because the film is from a Latin American culture (Peru), but basically it is a lost opportunity. Grady Harp

The film has been shown in some festivals, but we don't think it had a commercial run in this country. We caught with it recently on DVD format. The movie, directed by Francisco Lombardi, is based on the novel by television personality and writer, Jaime Bayly, with an adaptation by Giovanna Pollarolo. The film is a frank account on the Peruvian society.

It's clear from the start that Joaquin is gay. He has been sheltered by his mother, against his father's wishes. As a way to initiate the young boy in a the typical Peruvian man's world, Luis Felipe, the father, decides to take him hunting, with no good results. Then, the father takes the young man to one of Lima's best house of ill repute, an experience that ends badly.

Joaquin likes Alejandra, the young college student. She feels the attraction as well, but Joaquin has an eye for attractive guys. When Gonzalo and Rocio appear at a disco, Joaquin feels attracted to the hunky young man. It's clear Gonzalo is also interested in Joaquin and thus begins their sexual involvement that will not produce the results either one expected. Gonzalo wants to keep seeing Joaquin, but wants to marry Rocio, but Joaquin, in a fit of anger confesses to the young woman her fiancé is having an affair with him and they Gonzalo leaves him.

The movie is a complex character study about the duality most of these rich young men of the upper crust of the Peruvian society and how they feel about casual gay sex. In a society dominated by the machismo, they must hide away in a married life that is a cover up for the way homosexuality is concealed.

The film is honest in the way it deals with this subject. Santiago Magill makes Joaquin credible in his appealing performance. Lucia Jimenez is also good as Alejandra, the girl that loved him. Christian Meier plays the closeted Gonzalo. Giovanni Ciccia's take on the troubled rich boy Alfonso is right. The rest of the cast does an excellent job in portraying all the upper class people in the movie.

Francisco Lombardi directed with panache this story about a taboo in that type of society.

Santiago Magill does an excellent job playing the main character as a frightened boy, a confused teenager, a drifter, and finally a "normal" person. All along the way, he is at war with himself. He hates the fact that he is gay in a world full of all sorts of bigotry including homophobia, a world of Hemingway's "macho code" (fighting, hunting, drinking, having sex), and a world that pretends to be dedicated to God when it is really nothing but a sham.

There are numerous surprises in the film for the young hero as well as for the audience. Many surprises come from the ironies involved in putting up a false-front of honesty to hide falsehoods. We see how drugs and manipulations are used to hide from everyone -- including one's true self. The ending is an ironic surprise too.

This is a bittersweet story of a man coming to terms with himself -- if, in fact, he does. The film is well-made and worth watching. Too bad it didn't get wider distribution in theaters, but now it can be enjoyed on video and DVD. If you get the chance, see it. It's a funny, sad, and gripping story of not telling anyone who you are.

It's a shame this movie, showcased at the February 1999 Miami Film Festival to a sold out crowd of almost 2,000, has not been distributed outside its home territory of Peru. To North Americans and Europeans, it is only another coming out story, but for Latin America, it's a break out film, based on a break out novel (Read it. Its ending is not compromised for commercial reasons as the film's ending is.)

I think this is not a great, but a good movie. You didn't include Jimena Lindo in the cast, she is the girl who gives Joaquin an earring and then asks for coca. The only problem I find is the actress Lucia Jimenez, she is Alexandra, a tipical rich girl of Lima. Lucia Jimenez can not forget her spanish accent and changes the character. Santiago Magill is very good, also Giovanni Ciccia and Hernan Romero. Wait for the next movie of Francisco Lombardi, "Pantaleon y las visitadoras".