A escondidas

In the world heavily dominated by film works coming from English- speaking countries, it is, from time to time, interesting to get the feel what's going on in other areas. Spain is certainly not an unknown country regarding films, but most of its directors are too sophisticated for me. The advanced information I obtained regarding A escondidas and its "normal" duration made me dedicate the time to it.

Coming of age and out in a country with a high number of not-like- minded immigrant and refugee communities should be a basis for an intense and versatile story where different aspects of human values and understanding can be disclosed in catchy ways. In my opinion, the filmmakers here have not exploited their options in full: the tune and aims are set forth too plainly, and there are discrepancies between the pace and the use of flashbacks, often disturbing to comprehend the course of events. The choice of young actors is great, but there is a limited development of characters, many interesting benchmarks remain in-process until the end.

But as I mentioned, I am not among the target audience, and for certain juveniles, it is apparently a good work to follow. However, the possible audience could be limited by the fact that it has been proclaimed as a LGBT film, although it is far from being a primary topic and mode of expression here.

Original title for this Spanish gem is 'A escondidas'. Rafa is fourteen and hangs around with his mates – some of whom are less than mature. They are also very 'anti Arab' and display the usual teenage attitudes towards sex – being default heterosexual. He plays water polo in his spare time and then his path crosses with a strikingly good looking Moroccan boy called Ibrahim. Ibra as his friends call him lives in a hostel and has no-one back in his native home. The authorities though are falling over themselves to repatriate as many people as possible and do not always want the letter of the law getting in their way.

With that as the backdrop Rafa has an immediate liking for this new kid and goes out of his way to get the attention of Ibra. He is though crossing more than one line by so doing but Rafa is a tryer and god knows we all love one of them – this is their story.

This film is brilliantly acted with a script that gives life and clarity to a very real situation that most of us would never think we would be in. The music is excellent too I spotted the much under rated Fanfarlo in the mix but there is not a full listing on IMDb so I will keep an eye out for the other bands used here as they were all great.Yes this is essentially a gay themed drama but there is no bedroom antics – this is more about teen, first love under extreme circumstances and the friendship that such feelings can induce. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can highly recommend it to not just lovers of gay cinema but anyone who loves a ruddy good love story.

Do you have a good friend who goes far? The (secret) feelings left behind.

My biggest stumbling block while watching this movie is the inconsistency in frame rate, sometimes it's too fast, jumps to another scene suddenly, and the transitions are sometimes too rough. And there is the use of flashbacks that get in the way of understanding the flow of events.

Now let's talk about its greatness. It's a very seldom chosen topic, so it's great. This film portrays illegal immigrants very well. I think this film is more about good friends who care about you, make you comfortable, than gay love story. Nevertheless, the film can still be classified as a gay romance. Rafa-Ibra bond is relatively small (compared to other gay movie) but it has a deep meaningful impact. This is a film about life's struggles, self-discovery, adolescence and all that comes with it, for better or for worse. For me, Rafa's friend Guille (if I'm not wrong) stole the show by giving Rafa money in the last scene. It's a great movie for teenagers to accept themselves and others as they are.

Heartfelt tale dealing with two teens , regarding themes of immigration and race , but done through the eyes of youth . The picture concerns about an agreeable friendship , taking place issues about love , xenophobia and racism . It stars Rafa (German Alcarrazu) to be aware at the age of 14 the world around you changes at a dizzying speed , as he is beginning to realise that maybe his friends are jerks and racists , something that becomes especially acute when they start to pressure him to get with girls , which he isn't interested in . Along with Ibrahim Adil (Adil Koukouh) , being a Moroccan immigrant unhappily living by selling drugs or ¨Coste¨ . Both of whom are going to suffer these changes for themselves , experiencing first love in a way they never could have imagined . Rafa doesn't really care about the politics but finds himself trapped between love, basic humanity and an indoctrination of societal attitudes, in this case that 'Arabs' are wastrel, criminal scum . So that initially he thinks that the biggest problem with befriending Ibra will be the disapproval of his friends , peculiarly if they realise his intentions aren't purely platonic , but is then thrust into a situation where the stakes are far greater than he realised . It becomes clear the Spanish authorities want to deport him , despite the fact he's underage and has nobody to go back to . Meanwhile , some social attendants (Ana Wagener , Alex Angulo) attempt to help Ibrahim . And having to keep him Hidden away .

Close drama with sensitive friendship , emotion , a moving romance and racist elements ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles were pretty well developed . As their touching love story becomes extremely affecting , partly because it's so innocent and partly because it's under threat of being ripped apart so cruelly . This thought-provoking and brooding flick concerning sweet and heartbreaking story of first love given extra power by dealing with a moving portrait of racism , social prejudice and illegal immigration from Africa ; however , the picture relies heavily on the lively relationship among two protagonists . This can be the story of many faceless and nameless immigrants in any country that live in ¨Pisos Patera¨ and face uphill challenges all the way through their illegal immigration . As most of them share small apartments with other African immigrants and have menial jobs or selling dope to survive . Indeed the most effective aspect of the movie is taking what is a relatively simple story , but moving us through two young boys , but in a relatively subtle way and always through the eyes of the main roles . It may be nothing new , indeed except for immigration/racism story has been told many times , but it is charming, sometimes moving and it works . As other films referring illegal immigration/racism result to be the followings : Bwana (1996) by Imanol Uribe with Andres Pajares , Maria Barranco , ¨Cartas a Alou¨ (1990) by Montxo Armendariz with Eulàlia Ramon , Mulie Jarju ; ¨Ilegal¨ (2003) by Ignacio Vilar with Lucía Jiménez and Chete Lera and ¨The suit¨or El Traje by Alberto Rodríguez with Eugenio Roca and Manuel Moron .

Main actors and support players give splendid performances . Both German Alcarazu and Ramón Agirre as Rafa and Ibra put in extremely nice acting , which is key to ensuring Hidden Away works, as it is so based around their roles' experiences, particularly Alcarazu as a teenage boy on the verge of becoming a man , who is in virtually every scene . It may not totally get to the heart of some of the themes it raises , but it results in an exciting fresco with social fable , emotion , racism and by the end manages to be pretty touching . The motion picture was well directed by Mikel Rueda in his second one , his first was titled "Stars to Wish Upon" . Here he does a very good job of taking you into a world where what should be simple first love is threatened by a host of issues outside the lovers' control . It achieved Feroz Awards, 2015 Nominated Best Poster and Spanish Actors Union and 2015 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film : Performance in a Minor Role, Female , Ana Wagener . The film is dedicated to Alex Angulo with these words : ¨Estes Donde Estes , Gracias Por Tu Cariño¨. Alex Angulo who recently died by car accident was a veteran actor , Alex De La Iglesia's usual , who starred a lot of films such as ¨Action Mutante¨, ¨El Dia De La Bestia¨, ¨Muertos De Risa¨, ¨Live Flesh¨ , ¨El Gran Vazquez¨ and ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ .

At first I'm gonna tell you how i found this movie. i am a EX- Muslim by the way. i have a friend who lives in Germany. i always hated Muslim refugees so he told me that i should watch this movie. so i watched it. i really loved this movie, you don't have to be a gay to watch this kind of movie, i know the meaning of true friendship. who cares if they are boy and loved each other. you can find friendship,love and emotion on this movie, and suffering.

i don't know how should i write review about this movie.

its so sad that Homophobea is a disease and spreading around the world like a cancer.

But it was more than that. Once upon a time i was homophobic person. I hated gays and lesbians more than i hate imaginary gods. I after realized that homosexuals are humans to People, if you don't like this types of movies then don't watch. But stop saying nonsense about this. I'm from Bangladesh, a country with so much ignorance and hate. But i came to light, it's time for you to come out too.

I've lost my best friend, and i miss him a lot...