A escondidas

A film so beautiful and sincere that made me cry and recall those days of innocence. Don't we need a sequel to tell us how to overcome barriers in life with love and courage? You should not miss this film gays or straights. The movie tells us lot more than a love story if you care about to have a better world. There is lot more areas we need to make effort to improve but first of all to work on ourselves to be a better global individual.

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.

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.

So, of course this is a gay film about boys who realize their hidden feelings for one another, lots of drama, furtive glances, hidden desires bubbling to the surface. We get it. That's why we watch these movies, to see two dudes realize they like each other and consummate that somewhere within the hour and half movies of this ilk are allotted to tell their stories.

But not once in this entire film do the boys even so much as hold hands, let alone kiss. I was expecting at least a small peck, even a romantic caress, a passionate kiss in the rain. For the entire movie, we are given the suggestion, the inkling, the promise that they were going to fall in love and that we were going to see the full force of that love presented on screen. The most we got was a few dream sequences where they almost kiss, some horseplaying that almost leads to a kiss, and a scene in the bathroom where they almost kissed, but their lips did not touch once throughout this entire movie.

Now I'm not saying this as someone that watches these movies solely for that, but when you have a romantic film (even if it's gay), show some damn romance! It might have as well been a bromace for all that happened! I've had more intimacy with some of my straight friends than was shown in this movie. I guess since they were teenagers they had to limit what was shown, but I've seen similar films that had no problem showing love between boys or men, no matter how little of it is actually shown.

This is why I titled my review "Bait and switch'; they baited you with a promise of a sweet love story where two boys fall in love, and it was more like two friends share some super intimate moments without showing any of it on screen. It's still a good movie, great even, but don't make a gay movie and not have anything actually gay happen. Then it just becomes a disappointment.

This movie was much better than I thought it would be! I fell like it is just such a heart-warming/awwww type of movie. You can really see a connection build up between the characters and it has several passionate moments where it just seems so authentic. It's not about sex or anything, and it doesn't need to be. It's beautiful and I recommend it if you like to see gay movies about a an attraction between 2 people growing more intense and intimate.