Amor de hombre

This film shows the rainbow of relationships among gay men. It ranges from the long-term to the hustler looking for a partner to take financial advantage of. But most important, it portrays the yearning of most gay men to find a lifelong partner and to simply be loved.

The directors of this film wanted to present a funny take on a serious subject. Yolanda Garcia Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra, who also wrote the screen play, show us a side of the gay life in Spain, which depicts their life as a mature way for them to interact in their world and lead social lives that appear to be rewarding.

Into the equation, the directors have thrown a woman, Esperanza, who is a typical "fag hag". Her friendship with Ramon, the man at the center of the story, is an uncommon one. Ramon basically depends on "Espe" as a means of support and friendship. In fact, their friendship seems to be deeper than what it appears on the surface, and Esperanza is a true friend that will be there for Ramon all the time, something that he takes for granted, as proved when he gets involved with Roberto.

The film has a few laughs because of the humor the creators have given the production. Loles Leon makes a fun Esperanza. Andrea Occhipinti is the hunky Ramon. Armando del Rio appears as Roberto, who undergoes a change from not being interested in Ramon, and suddenly throwing himself into his arms, but he has an agenda that will be revealed at the end.

Kudos to everyone involved in this production. Spain's "amor de hombre" is depicted with great wit, style, humor and compassion. As usual, Andrea Occhipinti as the fickle lawyer Ramon stands out. Loles Leon as the ever hopeful, helpful and aptly named Esperanza is his perfect foil. Throughout the course of the film it becomes evident that even with a basic sexual incompatibility these two people genuinely care for each other so much that it is unlikely that each would ever find a better mate. The sequences where each tries to fix the other up with a lover are hilarious and touching. Even the most minor characters are well drawn including the lowlife Roberto who is such a disappointment to Ramon.

I'll come right to the point: this movie endorses a relationship where a woman is at the beck and call of a histrionic drama queen of a gay man. She has no life and is always available to take care of the poor man who sleeps with lots of guys but falls in love with one that does him wrong. Neither of the characters develop or grow despite the illusion of a "sensitive loving friendship." Its not. Feminists will be furious with this characterization of the all giving "fag-hag" and the narcissistic and selfish gad-about gay man who takes advantage of her. Is this the way Spanish women are still brought up in Spain to pander to man's every whim? I thought this movie was going to expose how sick this relationship was but instead it created a illusory romantic happy ending, so I can't help but think the filmmaker was sentimentalizing and endorsing it. Not a good message for this day and age.

For one thing, I found the movie terrible verbose, dialog heavy. I was going crazy trying to read the sub-titles and watching the sexy stuff going on the screen at the same time. And in the end, I didn't feel much empathy towards either of the lead characters, especially the guy, who seemed one hell of a selfish pain in the ass to have as a friend. And it seemed weird having one single straight woman and every other character in the movie (including the one guy she's shown dating) turning out to be gay. In the final analysis, the best part of the movie was the birthday cake that was so lovingly baked during the titles - I drooled.