Azul e Não Tão Rosa

Originally released as 'Azul y no tan Rosa' this film is set in Venezuela where we meet successful photographer Diego. He has a long term partner in Fabrizio who is a doctor and they are clearly in love. Fabrizio wants to take things to the logical next level, but Diego is not so sure. Then Diego gets a call from Spain from a his special female friend and lover whom he has a teenage son with. This is Armando and he has is already on a plane and Diego is supposed to meet him and take care of him for a while.

His arrival coincides with a tragic episode in the life of Diego and Fabrizio and puts an increased strain on what already is becoming an estranged relationship between gay father and straight son. What occurs is part coming of age, part dealing with loss and a lot of extreme emotions from unquestioning love to extreme homophobia.

This is one of those films that is unashamedly sentimental. The actors are all brilliant even when the plot stretches credulity and the coincidences start to pile up. That said I got all moist eyed watching this and was also able to laugh in places. In other words it was like a slice of real life where things are always going to get mixed up. In Spanish with good subtitles, it also features a fair bit of flesh on show; the opening credits feature a particularly erotic dance routine too. I found this an absolute joy from start to finish and that is despite the misgivings stated above. This is one film I can wholeheartedly recommend, gay themed but really a story about real love, real emotions and some great characters.

A different perspective of the LGTBI world which captures the view of a situation in which reconciliation, acceptance and tolerante and self-esteem are the key to live in harmony and love with yourself and loved ones

Bravo. Meaningful, heartwarming, real, hopeful, perseverance and full of love. We need more of such nurturing stories to embrace what true humanity is all about. Enough said. Gracias!

PS: Death to Putin death to bullies!

I'm not very fan of Venezuelan movies, basically because most of them are about the same people and have the same plot: Crime in Caracas' poor zones(barrios).

This one, is one of the few jewels of Venezuelan cinema that shows another face of the life in this country. Miguel Ferrari takes a risk in writing and directing a movie about gay love (as his first movie) in a country which is divided in its opinions about the whole "gay" subject and which is pretty more traditionalist and conservative than other Latin countries, like Mexico or Argentina, where they actually debate the topic of gay marriage. Venezuela is pretty years away from having a serious discussion of the "gay rights" topic on a governmental level. At street level it's the same: Hate crimes against gay or transsexual people are quite common and other types of discriminations are always present in every level of life. Miguel Ferrari writes and directs a story about just that subject: Gay love, discrimination and hate crimes, even knowing that it would shorten its public, but he does it in such a way that achieves to get the topic in everybody's mouth.

The art direction is great. So is the music score. As soon a the very first scene hits the screen you realize you are about to see quality material where the sound, music and photography is taken care of. The characters are well drawed and believable in every possible way. The tone of the movie is very challenging for viewers used to fast-action films, but the director achieves in creating slow moments that can get to your heart and avoids the "boring effect" that slowly-pased movies tend to cause.

The secondary topics of the movie (Transgender, domestic violence, anorexic people and people not pleased with their bodies) are also well portrayed with humor, drama and a message to the audience. But as one chartacter of the movie points out by saying "I'm going to talk about diversity" This movie is actually about diversity, and the different types of love one feels in one's life: The love to your friends, the love to the family, romantic love, love for your job and the love to yourself.

A beautiful film from Venezuela. The title actually translates as "Blue and Not So Pink," but has been dumbed down to "My Straight Son." The movie is an exploration of things we wish were different and how we deal with them - be they the tragedies of life, first love, gender identity, physical appearance, bad relationships, or self-confidence. Every character offers a different element that they struggle with and their own unique solution. The film wraps it up in wonderful, believable relationships and intelligent dialogue. The plot takes you a bit all over the place, but the story never looses your attention. The actors are all uniformly brilliant and the emotion is genuine. Courageous and heartwarming, this is meaningful work and well worth anyone's time. One of my favourites.