José

In the middle of the movie, there is at least 15 minutes of romantic scenes of Jose and Luis - making love, covering each other, eating together, driving on a motorcycle, kissing, etc, are the single most romantic scenes I have ever seen in a movie, yep you are right, that is, including all heterosexual movies. The extra hot sexual scenes in the DVD version is such a big plus.

Come on guys, don't you feel it?

Once you start watching this film by Director: Li Cheng and Writers: Li Cheng, George F. Roberson, you cannot stop. I found myself wondering how Jose' would find a balance between his own personal identity, his needy but very caring mother, his demanding and dangerous job, and doing his best to live in a corrupt society poisoned by church doctrine.

Jose' and. Luis relationship is the greater part of this rather sad but at the same time joyful story. Luis wants to settle down with Jose' but Jose' is torn between his relationship needs and caring for his mother. You will come to care about Jose', he seems to be an honest person.

The sad fact is that Guatemala is a poor corrupt country strangled by 'the church' that demands obedience and cares nothing for hunger and want.

Form beginning to end, this film never fails to capture the true nature of relationships. It almost too brutally showcases the heart-wrenching struggles of relationships, and how truly incomprehensible the extra strife that gay people go through is. Anchored by a top notch performance and brilliant use of the Guatemalan landscape (physically and socially), this film delivers layers that will stick with you.

José (II) (2018) is a Guatemalan film co-written and directed by Li Cheng.

The movie follows José (Enrique Salanic) as he goes about his marginal life in urban Guatemala. Manolo Herrera plays Luis, José's lover, and Ana Cecilia Mota portrays his mother.

The movie doesn't move forward with a traditional plot. It's more of a series of vignettes strung together because José is in them. José is gay, but his life would be hard if he weren't gay. Being gay in Guatemala is dangerous, so that adds a definite level of tension to his life and to the film.

His mother also leads a marginal life, because she's selling food without the proper license, and she gets driven from spot to spot by the police. She only has two loves in her life--José and the Evangelical church to which she belongs. It wasn't clear to me whether or not she knew José was gay. She knew that something was happening, but she didn't appear to know what it was.

As the credits to the movie were rolling, we learned that each episode was based on a real event that happened to one of the many people to whom the filmmakers spoke. That's apparently why the film was episodic--it was based on something that really happened to someone in Latin America. (Not just Guatemala.)

We saw this movie in Rochester's wonderful Dryden Theatre at The Eastman House Museum. It was screened as part of Rochester's great ImageOut LGBT Film Festival. This was the film's New York State premiere. My compliments to the festival organizers for bringing the movie to Rochester.

I enjoyed watching the movie on the large screen, but it will work well enough on the small screen. José has a weak IMDb rating of 6.3. It's not a great film, but I think it's better than that.

Jose is the only child who is still living at home with his mother, with both having to start a commute before dawn to their respective jobs. Jose's sexual release is with men in a hotel that rents rooms by the hour. When offered chances for a long-term relationship, Jose has a battle between love and loyalty to his mother.

I saw this film at the Inside Out LGBT film festival, with a Q+A with the co-writer. The director and writers spent time in Central America interviewing subjects, and this is a composite of their research. Unfortunately, references to Guatemalan culture and history could be lost to foreigners. Rather crucial to the story is the frequency mothers may hang on to their youngest children to avoid being alone (there is a reference to Jose's sisters). Other references are to a civil war and an earthquake, both of which killer a great number of people, but may be extraneous to the main theme of choices in life.

The film is shot in a raw, gritty style, but that suits the environment the characters live in.