›› Plan B ‹‹ a film by Marco Berger. 2009 | 106 mins | Argentina. a captivating exploration of male friendship and sexuality. Dave says: From writer and director Marco Berger of Absent and Hawaii fame comes this captivating exploration of male friendship and sexuality. And it's all about man-about-town Bruno (Manuel Vignau); aka a happy heterosexual who succumbs to jealousy when he finds himself dumped by his girlfriend Laura (Mercedes Quinteros), in favour of local cutie Pablo (Lucas Ferraro). Determined to get his girl back full time, as opposed to her part time return visits for acts of sexual intimacy, his initial Plan A soon turns into Plan B when he learns of Pablo's rumoured bisexual nature. Setting himself up as a homosexual fall guy, Bruno is soon to be seen courting Pablo's attention, playing on his interests to get ever closer to him with the intent on causing trouble between the two newfound lovers. Only what's a macho Latino to do if in the process, he finds himself falling in love with his girlfriend's boyfriend? Clearly made on a limited budget and here cue the use of some unappealing, if gritty backdrops, this is a work that whilst thankfully devoid of homophobia, nonetheless finds Berger delight in using untrimmed takes that and whether intentional or not, makes for a series of scenes beginning with lights, camera, but no action. Indeed, I dare say that Berger's unhurried approach to storytelling and in particular with regard to his repeated use of cut-ins of the building variety will please some, but equally frustrate others. Yet between such, this compelling work is full of subtle facial expressions, that together with telling glances, see the two men share the same bed, repeatedly kiss and along the way do all the things that straight men aren't supposedly to do with each other, aided by a narrative that's filled with words of support from their friends. To that end the Ferraro / Vignau pair excel in their contrasting roles, with both characters undergoing a series of life changing, if not sexuality defining experiences. That neither of the two men perceive themselves as homosexual, is frankly what makes this film notably different from the gay cinematic norm, given it's their reaction to their 'special bond' that dominates this feature, emotions that are as strong as they are confusing to them. The result is one of those slow burning films that you're either going to love or hate and personally I loved it, having been drawn into the emotional bond between the two men. For that in essence is the beauty of this feature, namely that of a laidback work that realistically captures the very nature of human sexuality by way of a relationship developing naturally. In short, this is a bromance that goes well beyond the call of duty, culminating in scenes of the two men sleeping next to each other that are as believable, as the endless shots of the pair stripped down to their underwear, not that we're talking about designer labels here. A global charmer for sure, even if it's far from being picture-perfect. But it is a remarkably honest depiction of two men simply falling in love with each other. Love is where the heart is, indeed. Quote: "But you said you had never kissed a guy before ... I tried other things, without kissing." ›› available as part of the NETWORK RELEASING catalogue: 13th September, 2010 / UK. ›› revised: Thursday, 7th November, 2024. Gay Visibility - overt | Nudity - from the waist up | Overall - file under ... 3+ stars ›› copyright © 2024 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com ‹‹ ›› archive reference #341 - revised ‹‹ donations are the lifeblood of Gay Celluloid; every drop helps keep it online - thank you :)