Everything Is Free

The whole film is just so cringe that it deserves a place on tiktok.

This is a beautifully shot eyeful with a good score, decent acting, and good production values. It concerns a gay American artist living in Colombia, who has no self-esteem, spending the film chasing after, falling in love with, and being emotionally *and physically* abused by, straight guys. Yes, there are self-loathing, dysfunctional gay men like this, just as there are straight analogues. I don't know whether this is supposed to be humorous (it doesn't seem to be) but given that cinema tends to make audiences read minority characters as archetypes or stereotypes, this is a film straight people shouldn't see, especially those who don't know many real gay men--who are absolutely *not* like this. I was very uncomfortable throughout this film. The complexity of the relationships is also never explained: best friends--one straight, the other other gay, and the straight friend's ostensibly straight brother for whom the gay friend falls in love at his dire peril, causing a whirlwind of havoc, with no background information. The version issued in 2019 and reviewed by everyone here is highly re-edited--for the better, I might add, running 87 minutes. The 92-minute run time listed on IMDb (actually 91 1/2 minutes) refers to the initial 2017 release.

Great topic that needs to be explored, written about and even filmed about...however this movie falls way short of doing the topic any justice. Too much attempt at the typical "artsy-fartsy" approach at movie making. Something quite common in the Gay movie Genre and most definitely with Broken Glass Pictures. Story line was lost, acting (other than Peter Vack) was mediocre, and so many more failures plague this movie. I hope someone can take this topic and do it justice. It really could be a good movie. Yes, gay men do fall in "love" (more like infatuated) with straight men, and yes there are "straight" men who have not come to terms with their sexuality. Yes, I am gay.

...comes another horrible, self-indulgent piece you'll most likely never see. The writer/director/lead uses the same exact formula (sexual ambiguity), character and actors as he always does in this latest installment showcasing his "talent". The premise actually COULD have been interesting (gay guy with straight best friend comes on vacation with his brother who spontaneously turns gay). But the dialogue and script is so weak, that no one for a second understands WHY 1. a heterosexual guy has such a strong relationship with a gay friend 2. he is rabidly/violently opposed to his brother starting a relationship with said friend 3. why a heterosexual friend would suddenly command his gay friend to perform oral sex on him. And the list just goes on and on. This really comes off more of a thin gay man's fantasy than anything remotely insightful. And as usual, most (more than half) of the film is just the lead mugging, dancing, exercising, thinking etc in front of the camera...because...well...because. Yes, we have the next generation's Bruce La Bruce right here., and you'll definitely want to miss it.

This film is a real trip into the mind of Christian! The surface of the story is how Ivan becomes obsessed with Cole, the brother of Ivan's best friend Christian (consider this name and how he acts toward Ivan and the symbolism to religion). Christian tells Ivan "I love you man!". But when Christian discovers Ivan is having an affair with Cole, Christian turns on Ivan with pure hate. And threatens to kill him! Most of the story deals with Ivan feeling lost without Cole and the rejection by Christian.

What we are never shown in the story is Christians relationship with his brother Cole. Is Christian protecting his brother from Ivan? Is Christian jealous of Ivan because Cole is giving Ivan what Christian cannot achieve? Or does Christian consider Cole his property?

Christian tells Ivan in a scene of anger that Cole is not like Ivan. This statement is the only insight we are given into how Christian perceives Ivan. It's a real mixed message. Christian loves Ivan as a friend as long as Ivan keeps to himself. But once Ivan breaks that barrier Christian cannot accept Ivan as a friend.