Hawaii

I couldn't be happier! Marco Berger touched my heart again with this winning dramatic romance between two timid individuals, unsure of life and love. "Hawaii" makes the perfect addition to the collection of Marco Berger's offerings. Be sure to catch them all. They make a perfect film festival all by themselves.

"Hawaii" lays out the day to day interactions between Eugenio (played by the unconventionally handsome Manuel Vignau, "Bruno" from "Plan B") and Martín (played by Mateo Chiarino) that build a budding romance neither knows how to address. Tension builds until, finally, a fateful kiss that changes everything. I spent the rest of the movie repeating the mantra "please, please, please, please" for the perfect ending. See if I got my wish...

the past. and its possibility to be basis of present. a film about other as part of your definition. remarkable for its delicacy and touching nuances. for the precision of acting and for the exploitations of small, ordinary gestures. a film who impress. the cause - its smart mixture between vulnerability of the lead characters worlds. the atmosphere who reminds memories of viewer and a lot of hypothesis about story evolution. and for the balance of ages as land for memories. a seductive movie. for its details . for the tension. for the crumbs of childhood as pillar of ages. and, sure, for its end. a kind of gem. or, maybe, only a delicate picture from a summer.

Finally got to see Hawaii by one of my favorite filmmakers, Argentine Marco Berger. I was not disappointed, what a beautiful film full of tension, beautiful imagery and fantastic mood. Manuel Vignau, whom we've seen in Berger's film Plan B is mature in this film, exciting, intriguing. And balancing this portrayal is the also fantastic Mateo Chiarino. Both are just purely fantastic. The film is full of layers that are to be explored and understood for emotional context and in there is where you find the strength of this film which is full of silence, yet so much is being told. I personally love films like this and Mr. Berger is a master at showing and not telling, yet the small moments of conversation between the characters seem so full of importance and nuance you cannot help but to completely lose yourself in their story, this is a film that deserves a watch and maybe a couple more after that.

It feels just like when you were a kid and you felt attracted to that friend of yours:

The silent moments waiting for something to be said, the observing, thoughts running through your head, failed attempts to get attention in the right direction, the insistence, the uncertainty... The "I want you but I want you to be the one who makes the move."

With this movie I can remember the sensations I went through while discovering what true attraction feels like. They do a great job in beautiful silent scenes that comunicate way more than the spoken ones.

I was first introduced to Marco Berger with "Plan B", still one of my favorite films. In both that film and "Hawaii" Mr. Berger has done some of the finest modern story-telling I've had the pleasure to experience.

These are definitely NOT American films - they are slow to develop, sparse on dialogue and largely visual in nature. Those qualities by themselves make these films creative and interesting. But it is the development of both the story and the characters that really bring the films to life.

The single item that makes a film work (in my estimation) is whether or not an audience can feel that a character has come to life in the film - has come alive, feels real to us. "Hawaii" does that every bit as effectively as "Plan B." It is an additional measure of quality (and a great treat) that a film have more to say to an audience on a second, third or fourth viewing. Both of these films do that handily.

It is of particular note in this film to watch the slow building of a relationship between these two men. And, as in "Plan B", their sexuality in some respects is incidental to the connection the men in both films form. There is a breadth and depth to these relationships that seems rare these days in film.

Can't recommend both "Plan B" and "Hawaii" enough. Outstanding films.