The Last Match

Right from the start, this movie already showed some red flags. Firstly, Reinier is married but resorted to prostitution to earn money for his wife and baby. Secondly, Yosvani living with his girlfriend without love. It's obvious that he's gay but pretending to be straight because, as usual, the society was homophobic and merciless to gay people. Thirdly, it's obvious that this love story between them isn't going to end well. But Yosvani was too dumb to see that and forcing his way to be with Reinier despite his rejection in the end. And last but not least, the movie didn't give the audience a closure. Nothing was explained about their fates. It doesn't matter that the movie was made well and acted very well. If it doesn't have any closure, then it's crappy. That's why I reduced 2 stars from my initial rating. One for giving no closure to the story and another for crappy ending. If you're like me who's looking for a good ending or at least a clear one, don't watch this movie.

Sure, elements of this are maybe reminiscent of other gay titles, but these themes are based on real trends of the gay experience, so it's important to be patient with similarities across films from different cultures, each of which deserve their own nuanced stories told. Reiner and Yosvani's love story is memorable in their acting, the circumstances, and their decisions. Homosexuality is portrayed here not as fully forbidden but in a state of simultaneous acceptance and denial, which makes the story so unique. Both character's female partners and some family members are aware of their male lovers. I think the sad ending falls just short of being necessary based on the plot that leads up to it, but when I went back and rewatched it I felt like it did make sense the way it all played out.

The background, the carachters, the acting, the script, the photography and the lighting are above the average of most gay films. It lacks in the fields of direction (the use of the camera in some dialogs), the sound (some words are missing due to the lack of vocalization of the actors and the level of sound) and a more elaborated and credible ending. Anyway, it is worth watching this Spanish film.

A tough and gritty insight into young gay life in Cuba. Milton Garcia ("Yosvani") a small time rent boy and Reinier Díaz ("Reinier") an aspiring footballer live and work in poverty selling whatever they can - including themselves - just to keep their heads above the water. Needless to say, whilst their prostitution is accepted to some extent; any sort of homosexual relationship with affection, let alone love, is still very much a taboo. Antonio Hens gets the two young men to deliver strong, convincing performances as they take us through a fairly hairy story and try to give their love a chance to thrive. It's quite a tough watch and it doesn't pull it's punches...

Decent story, good acting and well produced ...with no proper ending. Completely fizzles and just ends up being another average film with nothing memorable. Many unanswered questions and simply disappointing.