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A group of young friends lost a mutual friend. They are good friends and share the feeling of loss, but as the film progresses, we see how each of them feel and process the loss differently from each other. It reflects how their relationship to the dead friend would have been all subtly different, and in extension shows how we are together and yet always alone in the end.

Arthur Cahn has a great heart that captures the depth of emotions in seemingly lighthearted scenes and interactions as he proved with his earlier works. Here shine his warmth and humanity as again... though personally I found 'Totem' is not quite as focused as the previous works, whose plot really centred around 2 characters only. Probably the subject matter of death needed more time to be properly grieved and processed. But in whatever the case, I applaud the courage to tackle the subject in the world where love and sex are easily celebrated but ageing and death are often ignored.

I'm grateful that Cahn is there to give us yet another little gem of a film.

The story is simple. A guy, bit lost, bored and disillusioned, meets a stranger, and the short fling wakes something in him, a little light to carry on. There should be thousands of them following the same plot in the world of gay-themed shorts.

But this one stands out to me, and to put it in one word; the chemistry between the 2 leads. Sexiness is something far more multi-layered thing than just putting 2 sexy actors together. In their first night that leads to a bit of 'foot play' could have easily turned into something laughable if there weren't believable sparkle between the 2 characters ("But, my god, that feet that's been stuck in the leather boots all night long should stink!"), but in 'Some Kind of Paradise', it comes across genuinely sexy.

And the rest of the drama is already a winner without any gimmick, plot twist or getting much more explicit.

I compliment first and foremost the 2 leads and the calm production that allowed the actors to have a room to explore and connect. It shows how a relationship drama can be touching and effective when its fundamental is solid - the relationship itself.

Yuri is 19. He's the family urchin, and nobody, even his little nephews don't take him seriously. His aunt treats him kindly, but ever like a little child.

Agostino is a wandering children's entertainer. His charm to his audience leans more towards certain charisma and subtle manipulation rather than harmless humour and slapstick. Consciously or not, he instantly knows, from Yuri's eyes full of nervous fascination to him, that he can easily have Yuri under his control. Whenever Yuri seems to slip away, Agostino tightens his grip - when Yuri gets close to another guy Morgan, Agostino masturbates Yuri, and whispers, "Does Morgan do this for you too?" in the secure knowledge only he could do that to Yuri.

In a lot of regards, 'Patagonia' reminds me of Fellini's La Strada... except it's somewhat more intense and stickier. Yuri is not entirely pure and passive as Gelsomina. He has his needs, he has his wants, he gradually starts to think for himself. When Yuri finally stands up for himself, we see Agostino is not entirely a cold manipulator. After all he is just as lonely and lost figure, who, if in a very twisted way, needs somebody next to him too.

My biggest compliment goes to Fuorto who portrayed Yuri so convincingly. Right from the first scene, we see the close up shot of his eyes, and his eyes capture Yuri's constantly fleeting nervousness, desire, confusion and pain. Russi's Agostino is by nature not quite as detailed, but his charismatic performance balances Fuorto's Yuri very well.

It is not an entirely comfortable watch considering how exploiting their relationship is. But if you put the moral judgement aside, and just focus on the character's emotional journey, I'm sure you'll find something to appreciate from this work.