Der heimliche Freund

Do you have a good friend who goes far? The (secret) feelings left behind.

My biggest stumbling block while watching this movie is the inconsistency in frame rate, sometimes it's too fast, jumps to another scene suddenly, and the transitions are sometimes too rough. And there is the use of flashbacks that get in the way of understanding the flow of events.

Now let's talk about its greatness. It's a very seldom chosen topic, so it's great. This film portrays illegal immigrants very well. I think this film is more about good friends who care about you, make you comfortable, than gay love story. Nevertheless, the film can still be classified as a gay romance. Rafa-Ibra bond is relatively small (compared to other gay movie) but it has a deep meaningful impact. This is a film about life's struggles, self-discovery, adolescence and all that comes with it, for better or for worse. For me, Rafa's friend Guille (if I'm not wrong) stole the show by giving Rafa money in the last scene. It's a great movie for teenagers to accept themselves and others as they are.

Heartfelt tale dealing with two teens , regarding themes of immigration and race , but done through the eyes of youth . The picture concerns about an agreeable friendship , taking place issues about love , xenophobia and racism . It stars Rafa (German Alcarrazu) to be aware at the age of 14 the world around you changes at a dizzying speed , as he is beginning to realise that maybe his friends are jerks and racists , something that becomes especially acute when they start to pressure him to get with girls , which he isn't interested in . Along with Ibrahim Adil (Adil Koukouh) , being a Moroccan immigrant unhappily living by selling drugs or ¨Coste¨ . Both of whom are going to suffer these changes for themselves , experiencing first love in a way they never could have imagined . Rafa doesn't really care about the politics but finds himself trapped between love, basic humanity and an indoctrination of societal attitudes, in this case that 'Arabs' are wastrel, criminal scum . So that initially he thinks that the biggest problem with befriending Ibra will be the disapproval of his friends , peculiarly if they realise his intentions aren't purely platonic , but is then thrust into a situation where the stakes are far greater than he realised . It becomes clear the Spanish authorities want to deport him , despite the fact he's underage and has nobody to go back to . Meanwhile , some social attendants (Ana Wagener , Alex Angulo) attempt to help Ibrahim . And having to keep him Hidden away .

Close drama with sensitive friendship , emotion , a moving romance and racist elements ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles were pretty well developed . As their touching love story becomes extremely affecting , partly because it's so innocent and partly because it's under threat of being ripped apart so cruelly . This thought-provoking and brooding flick concerning sweet and heartbreaking story of first love given extra power by dealing with a moving portrait of racism , social prejudice and illegal immigration from Africa ; however , the picture relies heavily on the lively relationship among two protagonists . This can be the story of many faceless and nameless immigrants in any country that live in ¨Pisos Patera¨ and face uphill challenges all the way through their illegal immigration . As most of them share small apartments with other African immigrants and have menial jobs or selling dope to survive . Indeed the most effective aspect of the movie is taking what is a relatively simple story , but moving us through two young boys , but in a relatively subtle way and always through the eyes of the main roles . It may be nothing new , indeed except for immigration/racism story has been told many times , but it is charming, sometimes moving and it works . As other films referring illegal immigration/racism result to be the followings : Bwana (1996) by Imanol Uribe with Andres Pajares , Maria Barranco , ¨Cartas a Alou¨ (1990) by Montxo Armendariz with Eulàlia Ramon , Mulie Jarju ; ¨Ilegal¨ (2003) by Ignacio Vilar with Lucía Jiménez and Chete Lera and ¨The suit¨or El Traje by Alberto Rodríguez with Eugenio Roca and Manuel Moron .

Main actors and support players give splendid performances . Both German Alcarazu and Ramón Agirre as Rafa and Ibra put in extremely nice acting , which is key to ensuring Hidden Away works, as it is so based around their roles' experiences, particularly Alcarazu as a teenage boy on the verge of becoming a man , who is in virtually every scene . It may not totally get to the heart of some of the themes it raises , but it results in an exciting fresco with social fable , emotion , racism and by the end manages to be pretty touching . The motion picture was well directed by Mikel Rueda in his second one , his first was titled "Stars to Wish Upon" . Here he does a very good job of taking you into a world where what should be simple first love is threatened by a host of issues outside the lovers' control . It achieved Feroz Awards, 2015 Nominated Best Poster and Spanish Actors Union and 2015 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film : Performance in a Minor Role, Female , Ana Wagener . The film is dedicated to Alex Angulo with these words : ¨Estes Donde Estes , Gracias Por Tu Cariño¨. Alex Angulo who recently died by car accident was a veteran actor , Alex De La Iglesia's usual , who starred a lot of films such as ¨Action Mutante¨, ¨El Dia De La Bestia¨, ¨Muertos De Risa¨, ¨Live Flesh¨ , ¨El Gran Vazquez¨ and ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ .

Original title for this Spanish gem is 'A escondidas'. Rafa is fourteen and hangs around with his mates – some of whom are less than mature. They are also very 'anti Arab' and display the usual teenage attitudes towards sex – being default heterosexual. He plays water polo in his spare time and then his path crosses with a strikingly good looking Moroccan boy called Ibrahim. Ibra as his friends call him lives in a hostel and has no-one back in his native home. The authorities though are falling over themselves to repatriate as many people as possible and do not always want the letter of the law getting in their way.

With that as the backdrop Rafa has an immediate liking for this new kid and goes out of his way to get the attention of Ibra. He is though crossing more than one line by so doing but Rafa is a tryer and god knows we all love one of them – this is their story.

This film is brilliantly acted with a script that gives life and clarity to a very real situation that most of us would never think we would be in. The music is excellent too I spotted the much under rated Fanfarlo in the mix but there is not a full listing on IMDb so I will keep an eye out for the other bands used here as they were all great.Yes this is essentially a gay themed drama but there is no bedroom antics – this is more about teen, first love under extreme circumstances and the friendship that such feelings can induce. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can highly recommend it to not just lovers of gay cinema but anyone who loves a ruddy good love story.

When you have a fantastic script, a serious director and the perfect cast it's almost impossible not to make a good film. Well, with A Escondidas (Hidden Away... not the best translation) Director Mikel Rueda set a new standard.

The story is overwhelming in a subtle, almost muted sense, but overwhelming anyway. The sound landscapes, the colours, the music, and some almost illogical sequences push the audience into a roller-coaster of unnerving feelings and cast a deep shadow not seen but felt throughout the journey of the film.

That journey will leave scars, that may heal someday with love.

It's a journey of self-discovery, of life, of hate, of love. The characters will get you to places you don't want to go, but you have to, you simply can't shake the grip of their hands... they want to show you what's going on inside them.

Some scenes are masterful pieces of acting. There will be a moment in which your heart will explode with emotions and that can't be helped, nor undone. You'll be smitten. You'll be pulled in a world you don't want to know anything about, yet -you will.

Calling these young actors superb is not an overstatement. It's exactly what they are. Maybe the most beautiful thing is revealing what's happening inside your soul through your eyes, and these kids did it without flinching. Not only believable, they are real.

Carrying most of the weight of the film is Germán Alcarazu when he was 15 playing the part of Rafa . Pairing with best friend Guille (Joseba Ugalde) and new Moroccan friend Ibra (Adil Koukouh), he's our guide. Their friends will show us what denial and real love are about.

Since my intention is not to reveal the story, please watch the film. You'll be rewarded with pure magic.

I began watching this little known film only because of its gay love story, not expecting it to be anything remarkable. It is not, but I was quite surprised to find a decently good story with a handful of talented young debuting actors that made a great impression on me and left me rooting for the two main characters. Being shot in a semi-documentary style and entirely on location, it gives the story a feel of authenticity, and the youngsters are so natural before the camera, so Spanish-teenage in the way they speak, joke, horseplay, swear, talk dirty and quarrel that it took me back to my own teenage years. The only fault that I find is that the two main characters are supposed to be 14-16 years old, but it is pretty obvious that the actors are at least 18-19 and that can't fool anyone, come on. The age of consent in Spain currently is 14 years both for straight and gay sex, but it looks like the filmmaker was afraid of stepping over the PC-crap line or something had he used actors of that age. There is no sex scenes at all in this film, only a few harmless kiss shots. In the 1964 French film "Les Amities Particulieres" (This Special Friendship), a 17-18 year-old boarding school senior pupil falls in love with a cherubic 12-year-old junior. And Didier Haudepin was only 13 when he made the film. We are moving backwards.