Taekwondo

Boy, talk about a slow burn! This is a gorgeous to look at film about a group of good looking straight (?) young men who get together for a weekend and spend much of it naked and stoned discussing their previous or next sexual conquests. Thereafter, it isn't really about anything - or did I miss something? We get a sense from early on that Gabriel Epstein "Germán" has the hots for his taekwondo buddy Lucas Papa ("Fer") but the meandering way in which this story progresses makes for a terribly ponderous route to courtship. It isn't that it needs to be end to end sex, it's that it ought to be end to end something! Basically, nothing happens....

From the first scene I knew I would enjoy this movie. I loved Call Me By Your Name for how intimate and real the setting felt, which is certainly present in Taekwondo too. The long shots of different details of the house that the movie spends all its time in; the zoom ins on the little, habitual actions the characters take; the non-existent censorship that doesn't necessarily make certain scenes or shots crude, they are purely shown for what they are - they made it feel like I was there. The lack of structure in the storyline and the mundaneness of the characters' conversations and activities added to that feeling too.

However, it felt like this aspect of Taekwondo took over the majority of the movie, so much so that the actual genre that it's supposed to be was barely present. While Taekwondo is supposed to be a gay romance, there is no actual romance until the last minutes or so. What we do get feels like a blink in comparison to the entirety of the movie. I understand that the non-sexual intimacy between Fernando and Germán, the two main love interests, that we see right from the beginning is part of their romance, but it's just too little. Especially considering the fact that many people would come into this movie with the expectation of a gay love story.

I think the movie as it was was lovely and atmospheric, and I don't necessarily think there needed to be more romance, although it would have been nice. But perhaps the producers could have altered how Taekwondo was marketed, so that it didn't appear as a romance movie as much. That said I don't know the details of how marketing went about for Taekwondo because I found out about this movie on someone's watch list.

All in all though, if you like watching men without the toxic masculinity present and in all their glory, and if you simply want a movie to escape into, I'd recommend this. I would suggest to look for other movies however if you're particularly looking for gay romance.

It was the film "The Blonde One" that led me to "Taekwondo." I was so taken by that film by Marco Berger, that I was eager to see another. Maybe I should have quite while I was ahead.

The Blonde One is a beautifully crafted film, with a strong plot, and superb acting - coupled with excellent direction and camera work.

Taekwondo didn't live up to my expectations at all. The movie is an hour and 48 minutes - but it easily felt like 3 hours. While there is certainly the eye-candy aspect to this film, with some great shots of some great looking guys, the movie seems s-l-o-w and nearly plotless.

Taekwondo is more like looking in on an adolescent vacation. Guys being guys without parental oversight.

There is some sexual ambiguity and tension between what I would call the two main characters - the owner of the house and his friend from Taekwondo. One might (or at least I did) expect that sooner or later SOMEthing will happen between them. But nothing does. Some interested glances here and there. Some almost-touching closeness. But it's always diffused, interrupted by someone walking in, or by a game that suddenly breaks out among the guys.

We watch the guys shower, swim, play tennis or kick a soccer ball around the tennis court. And the guys seem to sleep a lot. Maybe even they are bored by the lack of plot. They play hide-and-seek. And talk about their sexual conquests with the girls, or ruminate over fidelity, still unsure what their relationships with girls are supposed to look like. And now and again they conjecture on whether this or that one is gay.

The director keeps the film somewhat interesting with nice camera perspectives that often focus on a body part - like a crotch or butt. There are glimpses of bare butts and sometimes guys bare it all. But there's not enough story line to string it together, and the movie is ultimately pretty boring.

If you want to appreciate male beauty then this is your canvas: the torso, the legs, the chest, the thighs; everything is here. This movie is about the art of capturing male beauty at its finest hue. It is slow-paced to make you absorb the beauty. Moments of silence really gives you the chance to absorb what the camera has captured.

As a film that touches on the male relations subject, I found it refreshing how it approached the theme from a non-stereotypical stance. It is about discovering, and getting comfortable with each other, from a minimal dialogue. It is about being present, there and then. This is what I applaud Marco and Martín for. It wasn't about filling the conversation but it was about giving the audience the chance to grow with the characters by appreciating them by getting to know them.

The men in this work of art are just breathtaking; the perfect dose for those who appreciate Latin men beauty. It is an Argentinean film so you really get what Argentina has to offer in terms its accent and its men: the Arab-looking, the Spanish-looking, the Italian-looking, the Swedish-looking, the Russian-looking. Everything!

In 2013 Marco Berger wrote and directed 'Hawaii', a film whose central premise was a will-they-won't-they relationship between two young men whiling away the summer in a nice house. Two years later Martín Farina made 'Fulboy', a documentary about a football team that was characterised by random conversations and far too many extreme close-ups of various body parts that made it difficult to know who was talking at any one time. So what is the result when Berger and Farina make a film together?

Hosting a group of male friends at his family's nice house for a summer break, Fernando also invites Germán, a team-mate from his taekwondo class. While the rest of the gang - usually clad only in shorts and occasionally in nothing at all - engage in random conversation, Germán wonders if Fernando is going to come on to him. But is Fernando homosexual anyway?

There are definite flaws in this film: co-director Farina's love of the body-part close-up is well in evidence, although thankfully slightly tempered since 'Fulboy' - most times the viewer eventually finds out who is talking! There are also times when closer attention to continuity would have been welcome: the girlfriend of one of the men suddenly disappears without explanation, and the appearance of a pet dog toward the end of the film is similarly unexplained - where was he before - locked in the shed?

I also felt the film dragged slightly in its last third, although it is hard to know how it could have been shortened: with something always happening on-screen - albeit in an extremely relaxed fashion - obvious padding is kept to a minimum. The actors are all convincing in their delivery of the mostly inconsequential, occasionally offensive, conversations: not obviously ad libbing but also not declaiming as if they were in Shakespeare. And - crucially for this film - they all appear content with the paucity of their wardrobes and pleasing casual nudity. So, despite the film's weak spots, I'd happily watch it again.