Um Visto Para o Coração

Well this little ditty has every sappy melodramatic cliché ever thought of, and with a twist too! Well maybe not.

Here we have Jack & Peter Edwards, brothers. Peter & wife Mya meet Jack at a fancy fancy eatery to proudly announce to Jack that Mya is pregnant and they are joyful that Jack is going to be the gay uncle! All is right in their world ... oops, not so fast ... Peter gets run over by an automobile that very same evening, and the movie just started! Poor Peter!

Jump forward eight years. The daughter, Tara, is now eight years old and ever-so sweet. Mom Mya is studying to be a nurse and Jack has been a comfort and a supportive uncle. All is right in their world ... oops, not so fast ... Jack receives notice that his visa is about to expire and he will have to go back to England! He has family, a job, and has been a fine member of the community in NYC. But 9/11 changed everything he is told, so get ready for a rough ride. So Jack gets his lesbian studio assistant to marry him so he can stay in the USA. Perfect solution ... oops ... turns out if you marry after visa expiration notification you can get into some deep dodo. Lesbian chick wants to bail out on this deal ... no jail time for her. Poor Jack!

Jack just happens to meet a lonely Spanish/American guy at an art opening! Things get hot between them. Spanish/American guy to the rescue, let's get married ... all is right ... not so fast. The gay marriage deal isn't going to work either. And on and on the story goes. Little Tara gets sick, Jack and Mya have a falling out, Spanish guys father falls over dead (and Spanish guy gets all upset over this even though he hasn't spoken with his father for 20 years and dear old dad tried to stab him once!) You can just hear the weepy violin music in your head - such drama!

Guess what - happy ending! Turns out Spanish guy inherits a famous vineyard, Jack goes through with divorce, little Tara gets well, Mya aces her nursing test, and Jack flies off to Spain to jump into the eager and now wealthy arms of Spanish guy. All is right in their world.

Now the twist - two gay guys instead of a guy and a girl. Big deal.

This intelligent and charming NY indie feature has a lot going for it. The over-all premise is a sophisticated urbane justification for gay marriage, but it is presented as a family of friends drama with quite legitimate and compelling emotional drive. I live in Australia and saw it as a film festival presentation. At first I thought it was an Aussie film given the initial male actor, but it quickly revealed to be a NY feature and as a result, a feature that's international in tone and heart. Yes it could be set anywhere and about people we all know. Only occasionally does the script seem too TV with some over written sentences too mouthy for an actor, but this is a minor quibble in a strong film that brings forth a realistic relationship quandary among believable 30 somethings. Newcomer dude Mike Manning is a standout in an unforgiving role, and Alicia Witt proves again why she will inherit roles that Julianne Moore will miss out on. I won't see it again, but you should see it and bring along perhaps a friend who can offer intelligent and heartfelt comment over coffee afterwards. I can see a major remake with Gerard Butler and Antonio Banderas which possibly is the real income generator for the producers of this humane film.

I saw this film at the BFI film festival in London at the weekend and was not really sure what to expect but went in with an open mind, I knew from the first twist in the film after just 5 minutes that it was going to be good.

The film deals with the DOMA issue which is currently big news in the USA but less so here so faced an uphill battle to educate British audiences on the subject which it achieved with ease, The fact that this film was independently produced just adds to the warmth and feeling of the film, It makes it more intimate without the Hollywood gloss.

The film plays with emotions on very different subjects as there are several unexpected twists and turns throughout and you are left not knowing right up until the closing scene what the final outcome will be.

The film has obviously been aimed at the gay market however like only a handful others before it is strong enough in its own right to break away from the genre and become a universal film for anyone to view without the need to be labelled as a gay film.

The acting, production, location and story line is simple yet stunning and the story has stayed with me and had me looking into the DOMA cause several days later - Certainly one of the most impactful stories i have seen in a long time and cant wait to watch again, I strongly recommend this film to anyone you will be left wanting more!

I saw this at this year's London Lesbian & Gay film festival ... and whilst I normally stay for the Q&A after each film ... this was one of the few that I couldn't bear to!

Don't get me wrong, I was carried along the emotional roller coaster with everybody else - I was welling up with the best of them ... but ultimately it was a fairly trashy film.

Some of the clichés and poor writing was simply inexcusable ... and some of the scenes felt as clunky as a home video. And some of the acting was fairly grim too!

Highlights were the male bodies, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and the beautiful Mike Manning.

If you want a slushy cry-fest, go for it, just be prepared for the issues listed above!

This is your usual "Green Card" story with your gay guy trying to get a green card through a fake marriage. After some drama along the way, with the lead actor a walking ad for hair mousse, everyone has a happy ending, floods of tears. The end! It was just pretty lame!