High Tide

Just saw this at IFC in NYC to a packed house... Outstanding debut film by writer director Marco Calvani! Magnificent performances by Marco Pigossi (a star is born!) and James Bland and Bill Irwin!! Also Marisa Tomei shines! I'm blown away! Exceptional cinematography, editing and the music is sublime... I was moved to tears from start to finish, and even though it's a gay love story and I'm a straight woman I was completely Darwin in and touched and moved... Please go check it out! No surprise it's a New York Times Critics' Pick! Can't wait to see what Mr Calvani does next! Bravo bravo bravo!!!!!!

I saw this at the IFC Center during its opening week in NYC, and I was charmed by it. The intercut scenes did a great job of establishing the setting, and the relationships between the characters were nicely layered. The sex scenes were artfully done and evocative. The story of a Brazilian immigrant in P-town is not high drama, but it is human, and on that level, it did a great job of throwing the spotlight on gay culture and the theme of wanting to escape one's life, through dancing, swimming, drugs, or relief work in Angola. The casting was interesting, the performances very realistic, the cinematography beautiful, and the montages worked well. My husband missed much of the show because he lost his ticket and had to get up to use the bathroom, and he felt the plot was predictable. I however could not have predicted what happened at the end, I don't think he could have either.

High Tide is one of those movies that isn't exactly bad, but it also doesn't give you much to hold on to. The story drifts along without ever reaching a strong emotional current. It's not boring enough to make you leave the room, but it's not gripping enough to make you remember it the next day either.

The performances are fine, the visuals are pleasant, and the pacing is... acceptable. Nothing stands out, nothing offends, nothing really excites. It's the kind of film you watch once, nod politely at, and then never think about again.

In short: High Tide is serviceable background entertainment - not a waste of time, but definitely not essential viewing.

Marco Calvani captures the beauty and pain of a contemporary gay man ( Marco Pigossi) in Provincetown who is at a crossroads in his life. Excellent performances and never heavy handed, High Tide sensitively navigates the main character's journey and takes the audience along for the ride as it unfolds. Wonderful cast all around and great supporting performances from Marisa Tomei and Bill Irwin. The film has such a lush look about it as Ptown is clearly another character here. We get a sense that down this garden path is just one story of so many in this fascinating mysterious coastal town at the end of the world. Inspired and truthful, I thoroughly enjoyed being taken on this ride and very much look forward to where Calvani will go from here.

Don't want to add too many spoilers but it rings true to me- a man from another country who wants to be free to live his life truthfully and find love after a painful break up. But he's bound by family ties and tradition and struggling to fully come out to those he loves back home. Expectation, disappointment and regret. The shame of not being free to be totally open even in our time is fascinating. As much as society has changed - the pain and difficulties of coming out fully to one's self and one's family is still present. I appreciate seeing this captured so effectively as I often have this argument in life when people talk about how being gay isn't an issue anymore and that it's accepted everywhere.

As someone who had their own difficulties coming out years ago, and also as an actor who has played parts of men struggling with sexuality and identity it really resonated with me so I wanted to write a review here.

I hope the film gets the attention it deserves. I'm sure it will have a nice life on demand. Kudos to the filmmakers and casting and the work of Marco Pigossi who navigates the central role with such love and compassion and sensitivity. He and the director have created something really special in his performances.

A gorgeous piece of cinema by a gifted, generous filmmaker.

Calvani's storytelling, the cinematography, the acting...all stellar. Marco Pigossi as Lourenço couldn't have been a more compelling protagonist. In his hands, Lourenço's journey was shattering. Then, just when I thought the storytellers were going leave my heart in pieces...his breakthrough! His apotheosis! His joy!

James Bland, Bill Irwin, and Marisa Tomei were equally lovely -- deeply felt and uniquely interpreted.

I was especially struck by how fully I was immersed in the world of the film. I felt I inhabited Lourenço's world of post-season Provincetown entirely -- and what a beautiful world it is.

In all, a meticulously crafted and deeply human journey.