breckstewart

I admit, I had no idea what this movie was about before watching and the title suggests something that is totally different to what we might think. I was imagining a sweet love story, tragic yes but reminiscent of one's youth when sexuality and love are totally fresh and new.

What I got instead was a weird and strange tale of a boy obsessed with death who goes through some sort of twisted event that will change his life forever. The first half hour was promising enough and I was hopeful that I might enjoy the process but then, it switched tone as I started to feel uneasy and things didn't get better.

Once the macabre elments unfolded, it sucked all the fun out and I had to make an effort to keep watching until the end. And in a way I regret that. Not only is the story weird and strange but I failed to see the point of it all.

What particularly irritated me is the fact that David and his mother just didn't make sense as characters. They wouldn't act or talk like human beings but rather like caricatures whose behavior and motivations would change abruptly without logic or reason.

As for Alex, he was a bit more grounded in reality until he devolved into an amalgam of mixed emotions and truly baffling actions. As the film progresses, he makes less sense and by the end, I was really struggling to understand why this movie was made. What does it want to say exactly? Is it only looking to shock us?

I am no prude don't get me wrong but I just felt it became disturbing in a way that I resented. The last two thirds of the film just rubbed me the wrong way and I will never watch it again. I'm not sure what the people who enjoyed this saw or experienced but I for one, was truly disappointed.

François Ozon is a good director and technically speaking, this is well done but the story is quite disturbing and I only enjoyed the first part. The ending was not as bad as it could have been but this is a misfire in my opinion.

I didn't really know what to expect when I started to watch this movie. I had previously seen The Blonde One, Taekwondo and Hawaii from director Marco Berger and frankly, I wasn't really impressed. I found them too slow and contrived with abrupt and unsatisfying endings. Still, I enjoyed them somewhat because as a gay man myself, I love to delve into a romance that can exist between 2 men.

The first gay film I truly fell in love with was From Beginning to End by director Aluizio Abranches in 2009 which I highly recommend. And ever since then, I had been searching for another gay romantic movie that would make me feel the same elation and this one really works for me.

A slow tempo doesn't bother me as long as the romance is enjoyable but the true component of a successful production is chemistry. In this case, the sexual tension between the 2 lead actors is absolutely mind blowing. I was so enamored that I ended up watching this 10 times in a week. I guess the lack of romance in my own life makes me yearn to see it on onscreen.

True, as in all Marco Berger's films, the tempo is deliberately slow and not much happens. Everything is centered around the 2 men and they basically talk all the way through, teasing and taunting each other sexually and falling in love in the process. If you like a fast paced, action packed film with lots of plot twists and relentless drama, you might find this boring beyond belief.

I don't speak Spanish and can only understand a few words here and there so the English subtitles came in very handy. That might be the reason why I felt I needed to watch it so many times in a row. But more than that, I feel totally engrossed in their story, simple and anodine as it may appear to be.

This director usually favors nudity and even sexually explicit scenes but they are nowhere to be found here and I think it's a huge bonus. Only a few kissing scenes and some making out are present but the powerful sexual tension between the 2 men is sizzling and intense so we don't need to see more and it's better to let our imagination do the rest.

I would recommend this only to those who can take the time to immerse themselves into the moment and feel the gradual attraction between Pedro and Maxi. If you want more than a simple gay romance, this might not be for you. This is for a very specific niche audience I suspect and might not be suitable for everyone.

As for the other characters, they are not really important and only there to make the 2 stars shine even though I felt like the acting was top notch and naturalistic all the way through. It's hard to explain in words but somehow, this movie touched my heart in a way that seldom happens to me and the only downside is that it might be difficult to find another one that would have the same effect on me.

Technically speaking, the editing is fluid and the photography is quite luscious although very bright and cheerful with many shots inundated with natural light that might sometimes feels a bit overexposed. The director favors long takes without many cuts and the closeups are present but not overwhelming like they sometimes appear to be in his other films.

I rated this 10 stars because, although nothing is perfect, this movie is the kind of romantic fantasy that can make my heart sing and I truly feel like I have found a precious gem which will give me a lot of pleasure in the future. Thank you Marco Berger, in my book you created a true winner.

I have to say first, after hearing so much negativity about this movie, I felt the need to give it a fair shot. I always root for the underdog and I was ready to form my own opinion without any outside influence.

Well, I have to admit that even though I really tried to enjoy this remake, I just couldn't and it's fair to say that the bad reviews are mostly right in this case. There are so many things that don't work that I'll start with the few positive elements.

I actually liked the costumes which are beautiful and modernized just enough to still retain some trace of the classic outing. The singing by Rachel Zegler is strong and somewhat compensates for the rest of the cast who are not exactly stellar vocalists.

But now that we got the good out of the way, I have to talk about the big issues that plague this movie and unfortunately, there are plenty. First, the story was revamped for modern audiences but they lost every bit of charm from the original. Instead of the Snow White we all know and love, here was this girl who of course has to be a modern day rebel without a trace of the gentle soul we are expecting.

Rachel Zegler is not a bad actress and all the others in the cast do a competent job. But the biggest problem is the miscating of the 2 leads namely The Evil Queen and Snow White herself. Putting a gorgeous woman like Gal Gadot in the role of the Queen is ridiculous beyond belief. Nothing against Zegler but if we are to believe that this Queen would be jealous of Snow White, you better cast a fantastic looking girl in the part. Sadly, this is far from being the case.

Much has also been said of the fact that Snow White should have skin as white as snow thus her name but they conveniently flipped the script to deal with that little proplem but this destroys a fundamental part of this character. At least, they should have found a girl with very fair skin and a delicate beauty that match everyone's expections of the character.

The singing got on my nerves quickly because even though I knew this was a musical, it felt like most of the dialogue was sung instead of spoken and I personally found this very tedious. I like when people talk to each other and many songs were not only forgettable but quite terrible.

The issue around the dwarves being CGI got a lot of attention and I was curious to see how it pans out. Well, I don't feel like it's as bad as some say but I can't help but agree that they look weird and don't seem to connect with real human characters.

The fact that they chose to do this instead of casting real live little people is a big mistake because I think audiences would have connected with them a lot more. Instead, they just seem to be part of the background and I wasn't able to care about any of them.

Everything that could go wrong somehow did and even though I still feel like some of the criticism is somewhat harsh, I can't help but see that most people might not connect with it the way they should.

Sure, there are some who might love this and I suspect that young kids might be more forgiving but it's hard to ignore the fact that this is a misfire of big proportions. If you enjoy it then good for you. But I wasn't able to even though I was open and ready.

I gave this 2 stars because of the few positive elements but I never plan on watching it again even though I'm glad I saw with my own eyes what the fuss was about and now, my curiosity has been quenched. I now understand why this was so reviled and such a big flop at the box office.