The Prince

A young man, apparently having committed a shocking murder in a nightclub, is sent to prison in 1970's Chile. The prison is small and filthy, with men sharing beds, and homosexuality so rife it may as well be a gay bar.

The young man, known as "the Prince", is chosen to replace another youth in the bed of "the Stallion", apparently the master of this domain. He is immediately sexually assaulted by "the Stallion" - at least it appeared as such to me. This brutal beginning to their relationship doesn't stop romance from blossoming, strangely enough.

Interspersed are flashbacks to the friendship the Prince shared with a young man known as the Gypsy, which eventually led to the pivotal violence. There is also a bizarre sequence where Prince apparently has sex with his own mother (?).

This could have been an effective story, but the constant focus on sex makes it feel more like pornography, even down to the nonchalant attitude toward sexual assault. You don't see enough of the characters to get a feel for who they're supposed to be, and you certainly don't care about the protagonist.

This movie is powerful and just brings you everything from tears and heartbreak to some serious wish fulfillment. Showing people who aren't 'good' by anyone's standards, but a real insight into the way crimes come from a place of pain and feeling like you're the only one alone and not accepted.

When Jaime kills his best friend (who he lusted after) in a fit of rage, he is sent to a prison which was terrible in its own right. Placed in a cell with four others, he is forced to sleep with the Stallion (who is the boss in this cell and who tied to the most powerful prisoner in the place) Forced sex happens in this prison so is accepted. Now called the Prince he slowly changes over time to become very strong. The deleted scenes are very explicit. Life goes on even if in prison.

This is a surprising work of art. It is different. It has elements that make you go, "what the heck" and others that are endearing. When you are watching this you will be taken through a ride. You will ask yourself questions concerning elements of rape and homosexuality in prison. For one this is unlike prisons like we know them. I guess it is how love evolve. It is how one falls in love in prison.

Without giving many elements away, it is about jealous. It is about falling for a beautiful boy. It is about versatility and a cat. There is chant in the movie which surprised me. It is artistic in some aspect. The reaction of the prince after seeing the subject of his affecting getting it on with a girl, was surprising but relevant. What does this action mean? What does rolling in the dirt mean? It is raw in its depiction of certain emotions. It is quiet in others. You never know will happen in the next frame.

I applaud the choice of the depictions of the scenes and reactions of the characters and the audience. It is about being empowered especially in the last scene. It is about moving on. It is about carrying the mantle.

It is the 70 and so the fashion says a lot and it is quite nostalgic.

Pedestrian adaptation of the only novel written by Mario Cruz, a little-known work from the 1970s (which I don't know, so I cannot talk about it). The result is a melodrama of sex between inmates, with clichéd situations and lots of nudity, sodomy and erections, and with allusions to the days of Salvador Allende, just because: you just change the bell-bottoms and it can be anytime, anywhere.

The worst is the ill-advised choice of Alfredo Castro as The Stallion, who changes partners at his whim and seduces the young inmate that has just arrived in his cell. Castro is a good actor... but a "stallion"...? It would have been more convincing if the character's name was "Old Goat". Gastón Pauls would have seem a better choice for the role.

P. S. The film includes the last film performance by the beautiful Lucas Balmaceda as El Rucio, before becoming Lux Pascal, equally pretty.