Gay Interest Films

..GIF Rating

Synopsis:

Based on the autobiography of gay Peruvian talk show host Jaime Bailey, Peruvian director Francisco J. Lombardi made this drama adapted from Jaime Bayly's novel. Life in Lima as seen by a beautiful upper-class homosexual youth Joaquin, a young man from the high class of Lima, deals with problems concerning his sexual identity as a child, then as a teenager pressured by his macho snobbish father.

Sensitive Joaquin, caught between his overprotective, religious mother (Carmen Elias) and his macho father (Hernan Romero), leaves home to study law. A romance ripens between Joaquin and college student Alejandra (Lucia Jimenez). Her friend Rocio (Lita Baluarte) is scheduled to marry secretly gay Gonzalo (Christian Meier). Joaquin begins a series of trysts with Gonzalo, eventually leaving Alejandra, dropping out of law school, and turning to drugs and sex with wealthy Alfonso (Giovanni Ciccia) before departing for Miami and a life that continues to spiral into an addiction to cocaine. A chance encounter with Alejandra in a Miami club prompts his return with her to Lima where he completes his law studies and must face the reality of what his choices are to live with his personal liberation within a society that remains unchanged and demands his resignation to that fact.

The premise of the film happens to be culturally on target. In Perú, as in most of Latin America, it does not matter if you bed a man as long as you pass off as straight--meaning a wife, kids, and macho behavior. As a culture exposé and critique, the film is right on target.

Independent Review:

"A wild ride from beginning to end!"

A Spanish-language flick based on the autobiography by Jaime Bailey. Originally titled No Se Lo Digas A Nadie.

I actually saw this in Peru, in it's native language, when it came out in theaters, it was received with enthusiastic reviews though widely considered taboo because of the subject (as society there is deeply religious and not as liberal as in the States).

It follows the life struggles of Joaquin, an upper-class boy with an ignorant, religious mom and a very macho no-nonsense father. He discovers early in his youth that he is attracted to other boys though he doesn't really understand why and thinks harshly of himself because of it (even praying to God, asking him to make him "normal"). As an adult he further tries to repress his nature by dating a fellow student in law school, named Alejandra. Unfortunately, Joaquin can no longer go on with his farce when he meets Gonzalo, a secretly gay man engaged to Alejandra's best friend. From there begins Joaquin's rebirth as he delves into sex, drugs, lies and double-lives.

This movie was beautiful in it's drama and angst. Joaquin goes through so many emotions, from a repressed childhood, to a liberating yet dangerously manic adulthood. The part that gets me the most is that this guy really REALLY wants to destroy the part of himself that is gay, he tries everything, even confiding in his girlfriend with his secret. When he finally does accept that he is gay and prefers men, he is thrown into a chaotic life of violence and drugs, where he finds an odd freedom in expressing his love, but at the same time is treated like an ignorant child as all his partners rebuke him for being "stupid and falling in love." Joaquin believes that it is his right to love freely and desperately searches for someone who will love him unconditionally while all his partners either tire of him, or marry; leaving him behind. Still, just as Joaquin resigns to living a double-life like everyone else in his society, you get a sense of hope at the end that the man just hasn't learned his lesson after everything.

This movie explores many views on homosexuality. From religious views that homosexuality is a sin, to Peruvian society norm where men should be macho, to a desperate woman in love who thinks it's a curable illness. Even within Joaquin's partners there is a great pressure to appeal to society and therefore they usually tell him to marry a woman and keep his gay side as a sort of hobby. Then there is Joaquin himself who cannot accept anything but an openly gay life... or does he finally give in to everyone's warnings and settle down?

I would highly recommend it. It's a wild ride from beginning to end and actually pretty tasteful in it's sexual content though nudity is not shyed away from at all. If you love drama and twisting plots this movie is a definite must see.
~ Charlatan

Independent Review:

"Latin society may be more tolerant of your “vices” than you might think, as long as you play the game"

This drama by Francisco J. Lombardi (No Mercy) is ostensibly about what it is like to be gay in Lima, Peru. But it really seems to be about being the scion of a really wealthy family and having serious substance abuse problems. I suppose you can’t blame young Joaquín for being a bit confused. His mother smothers him with femininity and his father is a real pig who loves visiting the local brothel and shooting animals and who doesn’t feel a whole lot of remorse when he accidentally runs over an Indian on the highway. Not the most sympathetic authority figure to have around when all you have on your mind is sex with your male friends.

If this film were set in North America or in Scandinavia, we know how it would turn out. But what about macho Latin America? At one point we think Joaquín is going to be “cured.” At another point we think he has liberated himself by going to Miami. But the ending, somewhat reminiscent of the Italian film Ernesto, is ambiguous and leans toward resignation. The apparent moral: Latin society may be more tolerant of your “vices” than you might think, as long as you play the game.

Most frequently heard line: “Take some more coke. That always makes things better.”
~ Scott Larsen (United States)

READ ME! ..(Important "Don't Tell Anyone" PDF Information File)

Film Background Information
Web: Cast, Bios and Additional Details at IMDb
Director: Francisco J. Lombardi
Writers: Jaime Bayly (novel) & Giovanna Pollarolo (writer)
Complete Credits: Full Cast, Crew & Credits
Genre: Drama
Awards: 1 Nomination
Runtime: 120 min
Spoken Language: Spanish
Subtitles: English

Subtitles: English .srt file

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Film Clip: "Don't Tell Anyone (No se lo digas a nadie)"




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