Boys

This movie is a rare jewel.

Out of the gay "coming-of-age" stories I have seen, this one hit home the hardest for me. I never saw such an accurate portrayal of how it felt to fall in love when I was around fifteen years old myself. The acting in "Jongens" is amazingly natural and believable. Although it is isn't a high budget film, it doesn't detract from the experience at all. The cinematography and music perfectly accompany the drama.

Loving someone and not being able to show it. The elation of being in love, the lying awake and dreaming of someone, the enormous heartache felt when you still feel that showing what you really feel is impossible, driving you to do things that disgust and hurt you inside.

All children around the age of 11-15 should see this movie. And adults will understand and appreciate the drama, too, whether they are straight or gay. I don't remember seeing such an authentic portrayal of gay teenage love and of the difficulty gay teenagers experience even in a tolerant country such as the Netherlands.

Fantastic to see a gay-themed movie without anything remotely explicit, but that still so clearly shows the enormous tension and love between the lead characters. The German movie "Sommersturm" (Summer Storm) came close, but contains scenes that, while realistic and innocent too, may be found a little offensive by homophobes. "Jongens" is therefore the perfect movie to show to mixed crowds, and to educate people on the normality of being gay. This is the kind of movie a gay kid might show his parents.

Huge compliments to the makers for such a fantastically realistic portrayal of gay teenagers. Let's hope this movie will be shown to children all over the world, for homophobia is still rampant in so many countries. And this sincere drama won't offend even the most uneducated and intolerant person, if they are willing to learn the truth.

Theme: "Jongens" is a coming of age drama. It's about accepting one's own homosexuality, and the struggle that comes along. The love story is pure and natural, set to the background of an all male sports team for teenagers.

Photography: "Jongens" (Boys) has the most incredibly and beautiful imagery you can wish for, both in landscapes as well as sports and love. This movie is almost entirely shot outside at Utrechtse Heuvelrug (Utrecht wolds), a very green part of the Netherlands, and nearby lakes. The surroundings breathe innocence and flourishing life. It challenges physical exercising. Camera man Melle van Essen has done a great job. Young actors Gijs Blom and Ko Zandvliet are brilliant.

This movie is excellent educational material for high school students because homophobia is still an issue world wide.

I'm not going to tell you the story, and you better don't read it elsewhere, just watch and enjoy it.

At this writing the previous reviews save one all heap praise on this sweet little movie. The lone dissenter hated it.

I understand both points of view. It's well done, nicely framed, and tells a story that flows quite naturally. It is subtle, and it shows us what's happening rather than tells us, which is what a good movie needs to do. On the other hand, we have seen this story and virtually every plot device it uses in countless other gay films from the last 30 years.

More than one review here compares Boys to Beautiful Thing. No, sorry. Not even close. Beautiful Thing is unflinching in its hard boiled, sardonic view of teen age angst. This movie should only be compared to Beautiful Thing by calling it Beautiful Thing Ultra Lite.

Now, that's not a bad thing, necessarily. And, evidently, for a lot of people, Ultra Lite is enough. I won't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did; it's very watchable. But if you go into this expecting a masterpiece, well, you may not find it. Especially if you've seen a lot of gay-themed movies that are really good.

This coming of age drama is about a boy named Sieger who has a sexual awakening with an older member of his high school track team named Marc. At first there is confusion and some resentment but as the movie unfolds Sieger comes to terms with who he is and what he has with Marc. There's nothing really new here but it's a beautifully made coming of age love story. Unlike most films of it's kind it never really falls into despair. Clocking in at a little under 80 mins. The film is shot gorgeously and is emotionally engaging and poignant. A definite must see for people looking for a love story.

8.5/10

Healing? Yes, if a situation develops that will make you think about yourself, because this film is all about L-O-V-E. Two males together? Watch such a movie? Hated the thought. Until I watched THIS film.

With other things going on in my life, I said "why not?" I bought the DVD, and even before the great ending, had learned a lot. About MYSELF. And unfortunately, many years too late.

No, this is not the usual review, of how great the movie was made, the acting, blahblahblah. More than that. I have watched thousands of movies. Nice entertainment, that's fine. Not THIS time.

You need to know, this film changed my life. When I posted this review several days ago, if asked "are you gay," my answer WAS "I still don't know for sure, so I'd have to say 'I don't know." NOT any more.

However, this wonderful film got me thinking. I watched it AGAIN. And suddenly, I recognized MYSELF as a kid, like Sieger, with a crush on another boy. Sieg's confusion reminded me of my own, way back when. But I was not like him. I was traumatized by a rapist as a kid, and unable to establish my sexual identity when I should have, many years ago.

Finally free of bad memories, and faced with a choice between homosexual feelings or a continued heterosexual lifestyle, I am finally surrendering to my feelings, and someday will find a guy to love. :-)

Maybe you should see it, too, dude. Especially if you are still hurting yourself, like I was. STOP NOW.