Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Sweet, moving, gentle, honest, beautifully shot. Aitch alberto is a clearly talented filmmaker and reese gonzales is perfect in his role as dante. Eugenio derbez is also great in this. It's clear that the people involved genuinely care about the book and making an accurate adaptation. If it had slowed down and allowed more time for background and character development, this would have probably been a 10/10. It just felt rushed. We needed to spend more time with the characters to understand their nuance. Nevertheless, as a huge fan of the book, i enjoyed this a lot. I have notes but i will probably rewatch.

I had the privilege of seeing Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe twice at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2023. As a fan of the novel it's based on, it was wonderful to see this beautiful story come to life.

The screenplay and direction by Aitch Alberto was clearly created with such love for the story that it translated beautifully onto the screen. With any adaptation, parts of the story have to change, but I actually found myself wishing that two new scenes from the movie had actually been in the book because they added so much depth to the story.

Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as Aristotle and Dante were perfect in these roles. You'd never know this was either of their first feature films. The acting was nuanced and they knew those characters so well.

And the parents! One of the things I loved in the book was that Ari and Dante's parents were fully-fledged people (not just side characters tossed in) who loved their sons so fully. In the film, the love from their parents and the differences in their family dynamics and how they love, was the centerpiece as well.

Love in many forms is a central theme to this film and I look forward to watching it over and over when it has a full release.

This was one of the best, if not outright the best book to movie adaptations I have ever seen. It had been a couple of years since I read the book so I really only remember major parts of the plot. However, after seeing this movie and immediately thinking it was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, I decided to reread the book. This movie reorders some of the events but in a way that helps with pacing. There's really only one major plot change from the book that I won't go into detail but I feel works well for movie in a way the book dealt with it. I would recommend this movie to all my friends and look forward to owning it to watch on repeat.

I am so grateful I got the chance to watch this film through TIFF's digital screening. I have followed this movie's journey since 2018 and it was surreal to sit and finally enjoy this story, made so beautifully and with so much love.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is tender and real. It doesn't only show the characters, it sees them. It is gorgeously constructed with dreamy cinematography by Akis Konstantakopoulos, and a beautiful soundtrack to match. Max and Reese truly understood their characters. They captured the quirks, the deadpan jokes, and the mannerisms of teenage boys figuring themselves out. They are awkward, they are silly, they are young. They don't know who they are and they piece it together on screen, in small stumbles and in leaps. They are the perfect representations of Aristotle and Dante.

It is written with love, it is filmed with love, it is directed with love. After watching for the second time in one night, with a headache from crying, I felt like love had been given back to me, too. When a story is so beautiful, it demands to be seen over and over, and this is one of those. It feels like a huge, crushing, beautiful hug. Both fans of the book and those who have never picked it up will love this adaptation; it holds something for everyone.

Three Hundred Seventy-Five Pages and the job is to reduce it to One Hour Thirty-Seven Minutes on film and keep it honest and authentic. The original source material by author Benjamin Alite Sáenz is named TIME Magazine's "Best YA Book of All Time" (2021)" and selected as a "Printz Honor Book" who describes it as a "tender, honest exploration of identity." Publishers Weekly adds that "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" distills lyrical truths about family and friendship. That's some undertaking by Aitch Alberto, who serves this film masterfully as its screenwriter, producer and director. The ability to pluck the essence of the book's major emotional beats speaks of a complete immersion into the characters created by Mr Sáenz's and who continue their journey in the follow up book "Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World." The casting of Max Pelayo as Aristotle was brilliant, as was Reese Gonzalez as Dante.

Rarely does a movie come about that lingers with the viewer sufficiently so that they will be motivated to keep them alive in their hearts by reading the book. With the follow up book already available, that adds additional motivation to read them both.

With your imagination aided by Max and Reese's portrayal, it'll be easy going for even the most finicky readers.

There's bed a few similar entries like the film Red, White and Royal Blue and TV series like Young Royals and Heartstopper that deals in young adult first love. This movie tops them all in character development and likability. Done well, as it is done here is a treat to watch.

My 8 rating would be 8.5 if decimals were available. It misses a 9 by just a bit, maybe fifteen more minutes would have been helpful, as the story moves a bit too quickly in the middle.