TUBULAR TALES OF FIRST LOVES
I had never seen an Australian film, I thought the plot would bore me because this is nothing new. But at the end of the day it surprised me.
We have the plot (or plots) of first loves and experiences in hostile environments (we don't know if this was clumsily set at some point in the last century or in the USA or in some Latin American country like mine, because I doubt this has happened in these times, at least in the way it was shown). A formula already used to the delight of independent filmmakers, especially North Americans. Nothing surprising or special. But there are always films that stand out for their plot. And here is one.
I have to admit that at first I thought I was watching an Australian version of "Giants Little Ones" (Canada - 2018) because the first half seems to have been taken from there. If I had continued with the hidden copy, I would have given it a 5 because it didn't feel like there was a real and authentic adaptation of that plot because it's not bad to be inspired by other films, but this has to be done well (in fact, in general cinema, winks to other films are something that can happen) or else it will feel like a copy and that's never good.
But then comes the zenith. Here things change. And for the better.
The acting, although at first, stumbles in its characterizations (especially its protagonist on small occasions, seems uncomfortable with what he sees and does) when we reach the peak of the film, he himself seems to realize his character and rises (and it seems that his acting partner was the trigger) and makes this film something remarkable, because as I said above, at first it seems in my opinion, a strong, obvious (and even boring and annoying) not-so-hidden wink to the film I already mentioned.
Its director is also the producer and screenwriter of this work. This is relatively normal in independent cinema (especially LGBT+ cinema). By this nature, it has auteur cinema components, which makes it praiseworthy, since you have to give it a twist so as not to seem repetitive. And here it was achieved.
In short, this film, although not excellent, is endearing. A hard candy that you can consume on a cold night, when sleep does not come early. Hopefully Australia will give us better things, because they have human talents... and much more to resemble, equal or surpass the kings of the genre: the Nordic, German and French.
The title of my review comes from the song "Contaminame" by Willie Colón.
