End of the century gay movie
End Of The Century
Why I took it off the list:
After reviewing 2 similarly bleak offerings with Saint Maud () and French series The Collapse (), I decided to verify something a bit more lighthearted/optimistic off my listand chose this well-reviewed homosexual love story.
I planned to publish my review in time for Valentine’s Day, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it’s a bit late…which is maybe for the best as the film turns out not to be your standard romantic flick with a cut and dry elated ending.
Expectations
From everything I knew about End of the Century, it appeared to be a representative ‘romance develops over a short period of period in a specific location’ style narrative along the lines of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise () and its sequels.
The trailer also gave me mighty vibes of Weekend (), Andrew Haigh’s breakout queer romance that follows what essentially boils down to a successful hookup that stretches out over the titular period of age.
So, although both the actors and the background scenery (shot in sunny Barcelona!) looked pretty, I wasn’t expecti END OF THE CENTURY “A Reflection on our desires past and present…this could be a modern gay classic.” Attitude When Ocho (Juan Barberini), an Argentine poet on holiday in Barcelona, spots Javi (Ramón Pujol) from the balcony of his apartment, it sparks fantasies of a holiday romance. After fruitlessly searching virtual dating apps for him, the couple have a second missed connection, spotting each other across a Spanish beach. When Javi sees Ocho from his balcony a second time, he knows he can’t permit him slip through his fingers again. A tentative “kiss” from the balcony leads to a lust-filled, emotional hook up. What seems like a one-time encounter between two strangers becomes an epic, decades-spanning connection, in which second and space deny to play by the rules. In one of the best main attraction debuts, Lucio Castro’s End Of The Century bends perception of time whilst displaying raw human connection, breaking the traditional rules of the love story. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Two Limited films by Lucio Castro Queer cinema has often depicted the transient nature of the relationships between gay men, fleeting moments of connection that spark for a brief period and then fade into memory. It's a perfect narrative device for filmmaking, often focusing on a closed room over a closed period of time, like Andrew Heigh's extraordinary 'Weekend' or Francis Lee's magnificent 'God's Own Country'. However, that unity of time and space means we're only seeing the reality of that moment. In his exquisite debut feature 'End of the Century', Argentinian writer and director Lucio Castro considers what happens beyond that moment, and how a brief spark can echo across decades. Ocho (Juan Barberini) is travelling through Barcelona after breaking up with his partner of 20 years. As he wanders the streets, another bloke wearing a black Smooch t-shirt keeps entering his orbit. Spotting the guy from the balcony of his Airbnb, he invites the man up for a drink. His designate is Javi (Ramon Pujol), and there's an instant sexual spark between them, though something feels a bit off. Even after sex,
Oops
Description
★★★★★
• Belief Issues
• With Mustard
End of the Century
a film by Lucio Castro
, 84 minutesSynopsis
In his alluring debut feature, Lucio Castro offers both a sun-soaked European travelogue and an grand, decades-spanning romance. When Ocho (Juan Barberini), a something Argentine poet on vacation in Barcelona, spots Javi (Ramón Pujol), a Spaniard from Berlin, from the balcony of his Airbnb, the attraction is subtle but persistent. After a missed connection on the beach, a third chance meeting escalates to a seemingly random hookup. But are these two merely beautiful strangers in a foreign city or are they part of each other’s histories—and maybe even their destinies?
Castro deliberately parses out mystery after mystery, leading the audience on a journey of uncovering as the two leading men discover themselves and each other. With sumptuous lensing of a Barcelona summertime and tangible rapport between the actors, END OF THE CENTURY is a desire story that echoes across moment. Reviews
"THE BEST Queer FILM OF THE YEAR."
– Jude Dry, IndieWire
"Poetic. Ambitious. A END OF THE CENTURY