Liebesbriefe eines Unbekannten

A good film, probably only real criticism is that the main character seems to be taking his top off too much. Whilst that's not a problem, it seems to be at odds with the rest of the film.

A nice little film about a gorgeous young man receiving letters in the mail from a male admirer who does not identify himself leaving the young man in question, who gets many admiring looks, suspecting/wondering about so many he comes across if they are the writer. On the surface he appears to be heterosexual as he has a wonderful girlfriend played very well by Moran Rosenblatt. The young man in question is portrayed by Yoav Reuveni who beyond being beautiful is also very good. He also apparently has no interest in being an actor as this film is at the moment 10 years old and he's never made another film since, which is a shame. As we see in flashbacks, when he was in the military, he has homosexual tendencies that he fights fiercely against. Sadly, that is the essence of this entire film. He is clearly bisexual and will probably spend the rest of his life battling this as the final scene sort of implies. It's actually a very abrupt, though interesting ending. The title is completely obscure. You find out where it comes from near the end of this film, but it doesn't have a thing to do with anything that preceded it as far as I could tell.

A story about fragility. Well crafted, good example of tension driving and the change of relation. But the basic virtue is the main actor. His body, his look, his fears, his memories. And, for many motives, seems to be the axis of film. His presence seems enogh for the ambiguity ruling this film about letters, their sender, memories from army and sexual confusion near the academic succes. The good story, at the first sigh, using fair the conflict of couple, few beautiful scenes, , nice acting, provocative subject, not , at first sigh, decent end but a faithful picture of a time and its traits.

Just watched this film, and as other reviewers have indicated, the cover photo is misleading.

I think those reviewers who refer to the hero as homosexual, are missing something. Boaz has always been afraid of his own same-sex attraction, and as often as not, strikes out against any gay man who approaches him. One could label him a gay-basher. Homophobic bisexual probably fits him more accurately.

The story takes place in 1989, one year after homosexuality has been decriminalized in Israel and four years before gays could serve openly in the army. As such, it takes place in a time of great change. This factoid may have also played a part in his inner struggle.

Yoav Reuveni, beyond eye candy, gives a nuanced performance. The production is well-paced and professional (a far cry from the early Israeli-gay films). I'm glad to see that Eytan Fox is not the only great Israeli director of gay-themed films.

The handsome Boaz is waiting for an admissions letter to a university. Everytime he goes and checks his mailbox there is a letter of an anonymous man. The romantic letters have a big effect on Boaz, because he is clearly struggeling with his true feelings. With the flashbacks from his time in the army this gets more and more evident. But he is a "real¨ man, with a girlfriend, so he shouldn't have these feelings...

You can probably guess where this is going, hence the disapointing part. It starts out looking like a movie that will be different, but in the end it is again one of those movies which just seem to want to deliver the following message: You will be sad and lonely if you are gay, better choose the straight way... Which after having watched this movie, makes you feel exactly that way...

On a side note: The title "Snails in the rain" is explained, visually, at the very end of the movie. And it just made me scratch my head, thinking: Why???

Therefore I give it a 5 out of 10, not bad, just sad.