This is a curious film to watch. On the face of it, it indulges just about every fetish known to mankind - from water sports to leather; domination to submission (and frequently in a bug-infested, though beautiful, rainforest) that conspires to create a rather implausible love triangle blurring fact and fantasy in an almost childlike, dreamlike fashion. "Sandro" (Leandro Faria Lelo) is a chubby, middle aged bloke who works in a factory, has the occasional shag with his colleague "Ricardo" (Allan Jacinto Santana) - it's just sex; though perhaps they do, sort of, like one another on a deeper level. Enter the handsome "Maicon" (Rafael Teóphilo) clad in leather astride a Harley Davidson (?) and both men have a new fantasy. There is plenty of fairly graphic sex - (though nothing compared to any French equivalent) and in a post-AIDS environment, these older guys seem to have little concern for their own, or each other's wellbeing - but it isn't just about casual sex. There is something more visceral about it - once the physical lusts have been sated, a semblance of a love story emerges and at times that is quite touching. It's quite a slow burn, but it isn't boring - give it a chance and it shows a side of gay storytelling devoid of the usual vacuous pretty boys in thongs and the ending is anything but straightforward.
2022-03-27
