Amar sin miedo

It was a privilege to join two of the actors and the director in viewing this film the Seattle Latino Film Festival. Even if they weren't there/FaceTiming in, you could still tell how much they believed in and cared about their craft.

I have often found myself yearning for more sincerity when it comes to queer representation in film. In the case of Love Without Fear, I felt sincerity that was enhanced by some of the melodrama, their comedic moments, and relatable monologues and dialogue throughout.

I was magnificently surprised by the finale and a successful execution of using a short deneumont to the films advantage. I started rooting for every single one of the four core characters before they hit that climax and I see that as an indicator of well structured character arcs.

The title is not about gay guys loving other gay guys without fear, but rather straight women loving "bisexual" men without fear. Acting abilities were alright, but the drama scream scenes were over the top and scary. A man who is mostly straight is NOT going to make out with another man as depicted in this movie...they went all the way, as intimate as people can get. So the blue eyed actor's claim that he was totally straight fell flat. And NO woman should just overlook the fact her boyfriend is at least an active bisexual and maybe even a closet gay. We are told it's OK to love without fear of making bad choices. Horrible message and the story lacked any credibility.

Love without fear is a lovely film. The cast and story captivated me. The director's open mind about love and sex really surprised me. It is true that before exploring the possibility of love, all love is possible, and love itself should not be labeled as opposite-sex or same-sex. But after making a mistake, it is not a good idea to passively wait for the problem to be solved. Since it is true love, why not make it clear face to face? True love should be fearless, but fearless love does not mean abandoning the responsibility of love. Only by loving bravely and competently can you gain joy and happiness.

This film is ostensibly intended to be a drama but it has so many elements of cheesy comedy it's difficult to tell what vibe the filmmaker is going for. Sadly, it fails either way. The "dramatic" scenes (people yelling at each other) play like a telenovela, and the ridiculously improbable ending could've been lifted from an Eating Out sequel. Everything is overplayed, for no worthwhile reason.

The lead character Josh (Andres Roma) is the archetypal nerdy, pasty-white, camera-toting gringo tourist. He speaks excellent Spanish, but with a blatant gringo accent that doesn't fit a guy at his fluency level who's had a Mexican girlfriend for 10+ (?) years; he can't even say the name of his new friend Leo in a non-Anglo way. When he speaks English, Roma pulls off a passable whitebread American accent but can't sustain it; he often lapses into a Latino rhythm of speech. At first this made me cringe as I thought Josh was mocking the locals, but his very Mexican pronunciation of certain words like "stubborn" (stah-born) reveals it as simply a case of bad acting.

Josh's awkward cluelessness is cartoonish and relentless. The utter lack of sexual chemistry with his new friend make Leo's persistent and obvious pursuit of him seem predatorial. There's nothing here that resembles a romance, although that seems to have been the filmmaker's vision. All in all, the film plays like writer/director Juan Frausto pulled two characters out of the 2014 HBO series Looking - the uptight ginger nerd and the scruffy Latino musician - and stuck them into a very improbable, overly burlesqued, and ultimately unsatisfying story line.

Love Without Fear shines thanks to Alejandro Belmonte's captivating performance. He portrays the Leo's character journey with both charm and vulnerability. Other supporting cast especially Carmen Baqué does a good job as well. It's in no way a perfect film but it has its moments. The film's exploration of societal prejudice is timely and touching. However, the ending feels rushed and even strange, leaving some loose ends and a sense of incompleteness and detracting from an over all impact. Regardless, its wonderfully made film with a lot of heart and love. A must watch for Indie Cinema lovers.