La orilla

I understand that to make a gay themed movie in Brazil might not be very easy but in what is generally considered one of the more passionate of Latin American countries this is lacking in passion. It's not that the story is told too slowly, it just feels like the actors spent the whole movie looking forward in mild embarrassment to the" love scene" they were going to film at the end. Half way through I was wondering if this wasn't one of those movies that are accidentally labelled as gay themed just because they have a gay friend in one scene or something and then when one of the leads goes to buy beer with the girfriends boy friend it looked like maybe they were the gay couple because those two actors actually seemed to have chemistry...but no. I gave it five stars and I feel that I was very, very generous . Not great but watchable if you can't find anything better.

Its realy nice movie to watch if you just want the emotions,its not eventfull and it doesnt have that much dialog but i realy enjoyed it because i just wanted to wach something thats relaxing and where you dont focus on the words that much.Wouldnt recomend this movie to those people who are all about plot and drama.

This is a pleasantly developed story, well acted and directed. The two themes interweave - coming to see a bullying father for what he is, and using the character of a gay friend to help Martin, who is the victim of his own father's anger, arrive at freedom and self-assurance. This is one gay character who is not angst ridden, but comfortable in his own life and consequently able to be a guide and support. The final sequence shows self-doubt being finally overcome. This is not an action movie, but a story of psychological development. It is of the utmost importance when watching this film to read the subtitles carefully. The film is slow in parts because these are teenagers given time to say things they find it hard to express. There is a lot of time given to plucking up courage. A good film, and I enjoyed it.

A soft tale of rite of passage for two boys. The story unfolds in an undramatic way. Nothing more than the absolutely necessary is explained. The acting is superb, awkwardness, confusion, fragility and desire all perfectly depicted on the actors' faces.

I can understand this movie doesn't get the best rating from the average gay movie viewer. It stays away from most gay movie clichés. There's no mentioning of anything gay scene related. There's no dancing to cheap house music in a gay disco or bar. There's no muscular actors or too pretty characters with successful high paid jobs. There's no singing of musical tunes nor is there a group of happy gay friends sharing their latest flings. There's no straight guys to be turned and no rent-boys and hustlers to be paid. There's no diseases and it doesn't end in drama. There's no acting in which inner dialogue is is being constantly expressed in words. There's no gimmicks or tricks to keep you entertained nor endless music scores on piano. There's two boys that could have been your best mates at school (when you discovered alternative music, alcohol and smoking weed) who admit to loving each other more than they dared show before. I enjoyed the natural pacing of this movie, the timeless boredom of seaside towns out of season, the frustration of family and the recognizable (big) events in the little lives of the everyday characters involved. Well done, I need more of this!