Taekwondo

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.

The movie was a bit too is low for my f Taste but it is a good movie and also it is good for the eye candy.

That could have been made in a 30 minute short movie but the story can be very compelling.

Where do I even start with this...

The movie is the worst type of movie there is; a film made to look like it had no script, just a bunch of half naked or fully naked guys shooting the breeze for almost 2 hours. There is no real story, aside from the very glossed over part of the two leads being in the same Taekwondo class, but the rest of the movie is as follows;

-Naked dudes swimming -Half naked dudes sleeping -Half naked dudes smoking -Half-naked dudes discussing women -Naked dudes walking around the house -Semi-clothed dudes talking at a dinner table -Dudes put some clothes on when 2 girls arrive

Throughout the whole film, we have one of the main characters, who is gay, and wants to know if his Taekwondo partner (who invented him to this boys outing) is also gay. It takes 1:40 minutes for them to finally give in to the entire purpose of this film, and I for the life of me just don't understand who would find this entertaining. My partner had a theory, though; the director used this film as a reason to hire a bunch of straight actors he just wanted to personally see naked. The same way Hollywood directors add nude scenes with women in their movies, as an excuse to see the people they're attracted to in the buff. Wouldn't hiring an escort be much less work and offer you more bang for oyu buck? I really just don't understand these types of movies.

This really isn't a gay film, especially if you discount the literal last 2 minutes of it. It's a movie about a group of men, which are all straight, doing straight dude things. Nothing about this movie is even remotely gay because none of the characters are gay, and this is really just the type of movie in the genre I can't stand. I don't watch gay films to see a bunch of straight men talking about women as if they've never seen one before in their lives. I have the gym and real life for that nonsense. I watch these movies two see two guys fall in love, and when you can't even be bothered to show me that much, than what did you really accomplish?

A disappointment of a film that missed the mark of what it means to be gay cinema in almost every regard.

As a glass of clear sparkling champagne, this simple yet powerful movie left me lost after I finished watching it. Movie silently takes over you from the beginning. The plain setup of the movie where a bunch of friends meet for spending some casual happy time together at a countryside home. A group of long term buddies who regularly hangout and relax together on holidays.

It is a tale of two young men who became friends during their Taekwondo classes, German and Fernando.

German is a boy with dark hair, sharp features and a fit body. You fall in love with this character instantly. He is gay and he has come over to his Taekwondo training partner upon his invitation, Fernando. Fernando has grown with this bunch of friends and most of them are not aware of his sexual preference. Fernando is a character like a gentle cool breeze on a summer evening. A very humble person who has invited his old childhood friends to his parents lavish big house with all the amenities to relax; from swimming pools to tennis courts.

As expected of a summer time filled among friends. Random conversations between boys who are mostly moving about in house spending time casually in shorts or most of the times in colored underwear or barely anything. Your eyes go gaga on those gorgeous bulges and tight asses director has taken with such perfection for a gay themed movie. With lot of silent moments movie sinks into you and gives you time to feel what is happening between Fernando and German in midst of these random conversations. As a typical gay movie a lot of nude scenes which fit the simple screenplay are available for feasting your eyes.

Fernando and German can't hide their feelings for each other. Yet none of them take a stance to tell another. Air around them speaks louder than the dialogues. Subtle hints are dropped occasionally by both men to let the other know what is their orientation. They keep the relation hidden from other but it is not really hidden to couple of eyes in the group.

There is a strong yet very subtle connection between them. They goggle each other's willies when ever there is an occasion. A silent tale of love and passion stirs and moves through the entire plot But the chemistry and the acting is so natural that you can identify what a true gay guy goes through when he is surrounded by his heterosexual friends. Germán tries to keep it down and lay low but jerks off when he finds Fernando laying in his bed naked first thing when he gets up in the morning.

The movie shows the forward European culture in it's most plain form. The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that all the characters are given equal importance and the intensity of each character is emphasized which is stupendous if pulled without the help of hot steamy sex scenes for which director has done a good job. Though throughout the movie there is no physical thump-thump between the protagonists but this movie brings you at the brink of begging for a kiss between Fernando and German. At last when they finally kiss, it's the most lovable feeling a gay person can derive in this world. Pure, natural expression of love. A passionate kiss which tells how long both waited for this moment to come. Blush Blush.

It's a must watch for any person who has felt annoyed, uncomfortable being around straight friends who are there as friends but some part of you hides this feeling from them what you and partner speak in midst of them.

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.