I Love You More

It seems almost any gay director make at least one coming-of-age drama. Problem is many of them are surprisingly unrelatable. Sometimes it's too tragedy ridden melodrama, sometimes it's too pink tinted image of what the director wished but never really had in reality.

'I love you more' is much calmer, gentler drama. Especially the psychology of the teenage character in his first love, with all his idealism, anxiety, moodiness and blind drive, is depicted fairly realistically. Now as a grown-up, I find him incredibly annoying, but I can't deny I definitely shared a lot of the characters when I was about his age.

It's not a perfect product. Ben's life and surrounding lacks the nitty gritty of real life, sceneries are all a bit too majestic every time, parents (especially mom) shows the patience of a saint... Overall everything is shimmering in a sort of golden light of late summer evening. I think it's the director looking back his childhood and his motherland with nostalgia... But at times I wished to see just a bit more rawness.

Nevertheless I still think 'I love you more' is a positive addition to the extensive list of gay coming of age films, if nothing else than for the relatable depiction of the teenage psychology.

I Love You More follows the contemporary trend in cinema with its depiction of misunderstood queer youth, but unfortunately doesn't contribute with anything new to this issue. The story is simple, which I would have appreciated, if it had depth - unfortunately it did not. I wish it dove deeper into the ambivalence of Ben and his stance on his future. The plot centers around Ben and missed the opportunity to focus more on his parents and their feelings and thoughts, which is something I would have loved to see in this pictture. On the other hand I must compliment the cinematography with its intimate approach and the filming locations that feel true to Kosovo. But in the end I just felt that I Love You More was missing something that would truly capture my attention.

AMBIVALENT CHRONICLE OF AN IDYLLIC ROMANCE... ON A SLOW COOK

I have been watching the independent scene for years. I have seen a thousand and one LGBT+ films and I have been able to observe from authentic wonders (praised by many, criticized by others) to senseless fiascos. But here we are facing the first situation.

Independent cinema has always been, in general terms, somewhat misunderstood by the majority. When we enter experimental and/or auteur cinema, the gaps become even more pronounced. And it is that getting out of the Hollywood standard is not an easy task and in this feature film it was evident.

We have a boy from Eastern Europe (that region somewhat misunderstood by the world) who falls in love with a German (who does not seem so German, or at least from my point of view he does not seem so and I do not know if this was a flaw in the script or was intentional). Many here or anywhere will say that this is a repeated recipe. And yes, we agree on that, but... is it really all copied from other films with a similar theme? Well, no, as I said above, experimental/auteur cinema will never be easy to digest and here its Kosovar director/screenwriter never made it easy for anyone to digest, because he wanted to capture in his work a sort of mea culpa, one of those that some more daring filmmakers can do as a sort of "artistic/professional license" for some personal reason. And that obviously has its pros and cons.

I must highlight the performance of Don Shala (Ben in the film). His performance is very similar to adolescent psychology. Erblin Nushi, I must assume, did not have it easy in his casting. Recruiting someone who can play the role of Ben had to be a titanic task, because the psychology of the character is complex and at the same time complicated for any actor. Shala's personality may be so in tune with the character he played that it gave him an incredible authenticity, uncommon in cinema in general. The other performances were good but perhaps the supposed "German" is the one that catches the eye of the film. It seemed that at times (luckily it is very brief) he was uncomfortable with what he did or said. The characterization of the character was not addressed here: he is supposed to be German, right? Because several times I got confused. I say this because I am a regular fan of the independent German LGTB+ scene and the character of the "German" character seemed unrealistic to me (and at times, a bit forced) and this is regrettable, because the film has potential but these things make people not find an explanation and overshadow the great message that its Kosovo director wanted to expose and also makes it fall on its own at times, but Shala's performance and the winding Kosovo landscapes (as if it were a big shout out to the Argentine independent scene, especially to the work of the great Marco Berger) act as saviors.

The script, by the nature of its screenwriter, is biased towards an interpretation open to possibilities. This was my biggest criticism of a much more praised film here; Giants Littles One (Canada - 2019) where we also find the situation that its director is also its screenwriter, although that film's extreme ambivalence, radical twists and good performances made it winners of more exposure and applause but for me, it is a case of higher than usual esteem, typical of independent cinema (and even Hollywood) commercial and suitable for a larger audience. But in I Love You More, fortunately it is much, much easier to understand and empathize (although this bores most people because of the way it was carried out)

In short, we have a good footage that if it weren't for exogenous issues, would have been more popular among the masses who have seen it. But that's experimental/auteur cinema. Something that many will not notice.

6.9/10

The title of my review was taken from the song "Falta De Consideración" by Willie Colón.

Baby don't hurt me ... don't let me hurt me ... no more. Yes I did change the lyrics - thank you very much. Also no pun intended. And I did so, because I am quite certain I used that song or rather the lyrics before. But it is fitting for this movie, where you get a strange love story. And I don't write that because of the same sex thing. But because it seems remote - detached even.

Yet you can understand that our main character is seeking more and wants as much as he can get. Also why he is so insecure and all that. So there is some stuff to like (if you are open minded - always keep that in the back of your mind). Well played, but also not more than a decent effort when it comes to "romantic" movies (more a drama in my book)