Les Amours de Beyto

The first scenes had me worried about clichés of gay film, but 20 min in the plot becomes more about cultural differences.

And then the plot had me so enthralled and the story was so suspenseful I couldn't stop watching. Great film, worth a watch!

The segment in Turkey is really strong and I wished the whole movie was just this story. But the main character is very whiney and insufferable, and his Swiss boyfriend is so poorly drawn that he comes off as an unintentional misogynist when things get complicated. Without giving anything away, I was also not a fan of the implausible ending. There are a lot of promising elements in this, but they sadly don't add up for a number of reasons.

In this flick, we see a clash of cultures...conservative Islamic versus Western liberal. Beyto, a manly, muscly gay, young Turk living in Switzerland is forced to conform to Islamic family values. He gets married, but not without a strong resistance. Mike, his German boyfriend isn't very understanding and acts irrationally, cruelly and inappropriately towards Beyto after he returns, with wife in tow, to Switzerland. At that point, the audience loses any interest in Mike and wishes Beyto would find a worthy boyfriend. We are handed an unconventional ending, whereby everyone seems to be satisfied.....but for how long?

Good acting and script, but found weakness in Mike' character.

The film centres around a culture crash, between living in Turkey (west) and Switzerland (east), in regard to homosexuality, forced marriage, and cultural peer pressure/oppression.

The script has some flaws, and isn't deep, but is enjoyable and still relevant and thought-provoking.

The scenes are pleasantly shot and transmit some authenticity, specially the scenes in Turkey.

The main actors are attractive, although there was some lack of skill amongst the cast, which left me concerned earlier, but it did improve. Although only a few characters get some development/growth, we do get to see their background, which can lead to some understanding on their views.

One of the parts I enjoyed the most was also the soundtrack, as the music is good, without crashing into pop stereotypes, and is very well applied to the scenes, amplifying the culture differences.

It was interesting to read some of the reviews here. Many found this tale interesting and then, of course, some did not. I agree that the plot of it has been approached in other films, but the one aspect that made it special for me was the fact that Beyto never disavows who he is. He knows exactly what he wants and regardless of the situation, he remains steadfast in his quest. Whether or not he deserves the other guy, isn't the issue. The heart knows what the heart wants and Beyto never loses that focus, even when all the odds seem to be against him. That is what I found fresh about this story and for that fact alone, I enjoyed watching the outcome. Nice production and some moving scenes! Enjoy.