IMDb RATING
7.9/10
28K
YOUR RATING
Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of... Read allLeonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel.
- Awards
- 27 wins & 23 nominations
Drop Dashi
- Fabio
- (as Pedro Carvalho)
Julio Machado
- Professor Rubens
- (as Júlio Machado)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to an interview with The Moveable Fest, Fabio Audi who plays Gabriel is the one who suggested to Daniel Ribeiro that his character needed to have a bike. The original short film does not include a bike, but Daniel Ribeiro took the suggestion and started writing about the bike. It eventually became a bigger thing.
- GoofsDuring the camping trip pool scene, the pool side chairs which Gabriel and Leo go to sit down on are a noticeable distance apart in the long shot. When the shot changes to a close up, they are right beside each other.
- ConnectionsFeatured in MsMojo: Top 10 Most Underrated Teen Movies of the 2010s (2019)
- SoundtracksThe Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (as Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky)
Performed by Fabio Audi
Record label: Lacuna Filmes Ltda. / Polana Filmes Ltda.
Featured review
First off, let me just say this: if you haven't watched the movie yet, I strongly recommend you not to watch the short film first. I found that watching the short film first ruined my watching experience of this movie.
I actually forgot how I stumbled upon this movie; I think the movie trailer was auto-played by the Youtube player. Anyway, it is indeed a great film, and I was so happy to have come across this movie by accident.
To be frank, one of the reasons I was keen on watching this film is because of its high rating. It's just a few marks below one of my absolute favorites, Weekend (2011), which stimulated me to watch this film.
Basically, this movie is an elaborated version of the short film. The two films more or less have the same plot. I always think it's hard to turn an outstanding short film into an outstanding 90-minute movie. This one definitely did not disappoint me. When I was watching the movie, I was thinking why it could get such a high rating. Well, the reason is really simple: it is genuine. None of the dialogues is misplaced; the emotions are heartfelt; and the cinematography is indeed splendid. The actors made the plot believable too: Gabriel (Audi) and Leo (Lobo) were great actors; they conveyed the emotions smoothly. I was surprised to know Audi's real age and Lobo's normal eyesight. I guess that is evidence that they really carried the story well.
There are one or two scenes which can be considered slightly explicit, but they don't exist just for the visual stimulation. They carry weight, reveal characters' inner-feelings, and move the plot forward. You know, some films include explicit sex scenes which indeed provide pleasure for the viewers, but this movie is not one of them.
I also loved how the plot is so simple yet heartwarming. Like some reviewers have pointed out, this movie does remind you of what first love feels like, especially for gay teenagers. The confusing emotions and the hesitation of whether to trust your feelings are revealed splendidly in this movie. Also, the fact that the film involves a blind character adds a twist to the movie. The plot is indeed a wonderful one, but after watching the movie, I can only wonder whether a blind, gay teenager falling in love with a new student who also happens to be gay is plausible. I'm not saying that the fairytale ending is implausible, but the way that the movie is packaged as "a beautiful youth story" took away a tiny bit of my love for this movie. Hence why it's a 8/10, not 9. Nonetheless, in this world where gay stories almost never have happy endings, I will gratefully take this movie.
One more point to add: I don't know if critics have noticed, but clothing have become a recurrent theme in gay film and literature. Like Jack's bloodstained shirt in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Oliver's "Billowy" shirt in André Aciman's novel "Call Me By Your Name" (2007), Gabriel's jacket has become one more item to be included in the recurrent theme of "clothing" in gay film and literature. The meaning of clothes is not just on physical but also metaphorical level, and in this film, Leo's yearning for Gabriel is best revealed by how he treated Gabriel's jacket.
Let's just put it this way: if you haven't seen the movie, you need to watch it as soon as possible.
I actually forgot how I stumbled upon this movie; I think the movie trailer was auto-played by the Youtube player. Anyway, it is indeed a great film, and I was so happy to have come across this movie by accident.
To be frank, one of the reasons I was keen on watching this film is because of its high rating. It's just a few marks below one of my absolute favorites, Weekend (2011), which stimulated me to watch this film.
Basically, this movie is an elaborated version of the short film. The two films more or less have the same plot. I always think it's hard to turn an outstanding short film into an outstanding 90-minute movie. This one definitely did not disappoint me. When I was watching the movie, I was thinking why it could get such a high rating. Well, the reason is really simple: it is genuine. None of the dialogues is misplaced; the emotions are heartfelt; and the cinematography is indeed splendid. The actors made the plot believable too: Gabriel (Audi) and Leo (Lobo) were great actors; they conveyed the emotions smoothly. I was surprised to know Audi's real age and Lobo's normal eyesight. I guess that is evidence that they really carried the story well.
There are one or two scenes which can be considered slightly explicit, but they don't exist just for the visual stimulation. They carry weight, reveal characters' inner-feelings, and move the plot forward. You know, some films include explicit sex scenes which indeed provide pleasure for the viewers, but this movie is not one of them.
I also loved how the plot is so simple yet heartwarming. Like some reviewers have pointed out, this movie does remind you of what first love feels like, especially for gay teenagers. The confusing emotions and the hesitation of whether to trust your feelings are revealed splendidly in this movie. Also, the fact that the film involves a blind character adds a twist to the movie. The plot is indeed a wonderful one, but after watching the movie, I can only wonder whether a blind, gay teenager falling in love with a new student who also happens to be gay is plausible. I'm not saying that the fairytale ending is implausible, but the way that the movie is packaged as "a beautiful youth story" took away a tiny bit of my love for this movie. Hence why it's a 8/10, not 9. Nonetheless, in this world where gay stories almost never have happy endings, I will gratefully take this movie.
One more point to add: I don't know if critics have noticed, but clothing have become a recurrent theme in gay film and literature. Like Jack's bloodstained shirt in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Oliver's "Billowy" shirt in André Aciman's novel "Call Me By Your Name" (2007), Gabriel's jacket has become one more item to be included in the recurrent theme of "clothing" in gay film and literature. The meaning of clothes is not just on physical but also metaphorical level, and in this film, Leo's yearning for Gabriel is best revealed by how he treated Gabriel's jacket.
Let's just put it this way: if you haven't seen the movie, you need to watch it as soon as possible.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- 愛情的模樣
- Filming locations
- Rua Dr. Carlos Norberto de Souza Aranha, São Paulo, Brazil(boys in the bycicle)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $101,451
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $26,334
- Nov 9, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $1,207,841
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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