User Reviews

I'm not normally in to these docu-drama type of things, but this was quite cute and so were the guys. Oddly, for a short film, it was a bit long, especially as his English was quite monotonous, but no doubt better than my Brazilian (Accent that is, I don't manscape like I should).

I just saw this wonderful gay short film on LOGO, the gay TV network. At first I wasn't really paying attention. But as the movie progressed I was mesmerized. This is one of the sexiest gay male short films that I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot and made a few myself. The acting is wonderful---especially the very sexy male lead. The directing is right on the money. And the writing is really superb---subtle and surprising. Jean Baptiste Erreca, the director and writer, has quite a career ahead of him. I can't wait to watch this on LOGO again. In fact, I might just go over and watch the LOGO Click List online right now. Bravo all around!!!!!

This movie depicts the very essence of a man's first exposure to gay culture in the heart of rural Brazil, where cowboys are as tough as they get. The main character Govinda (Govinda Machado de-Figuerirod) is a young, handsomely strapping cowboy who finds that there are many meanings to the word love and discovers sexual confusion after his first gay sexual experience while visiting the city with his best friend.

The cinematography is outstanding using beautiful locations to enhances this cleverly made film by giving the audience a graphical look at cowboy culture, how they live and how they interact with each other in Brazil. It is a narrative film, with intermingled dialogue throughout that feels unscripted; a documentary style production.

The narration (told in the voice of the main character) although good, is not convincingly of Brazilian origin, but sounds more of a European accent which can be distracting. The dialogue in the film is true and not contrived, and the relationship between Govinda and Jones seems very real and plausible. There are no gratuitous graphic sexual scenes in this film that depict Govinda's feelings for his friend Jones, but instead, these feeling of affection for Jones are subtle and sensitive in expression which is effective enough throughout the film to give the audience a sense of identity and connection with the character.

The movie is pure, with a message that is very common in all societies of life: that coming to terms with a person's sexuality is filled with confusion, fear and acceptance. A must see short film.

I saw this many years ago as a standalone and then again last night as part of a collection of shorts. As a slow awakening of a young man to his sexuality in a macho environment of Brazilian cowboys, I don't think this could have been bettered. Nor can its explanation of how love can take many forms. It's absolutely true to life, Govinda's anger at being outed for having pulled a guy the night before up to his final acceptance of what he is and what he is attracted to. On this journey he accepts that his love for Jones will always be unrequited in the physical sense but not in terms of deep friendship. I also liked the way that the rough gauchos saw through Govinda's front and accepted what he was with no problem at all.

The dialogue between the workers was unforced and spontaneous sounding. The voiceover was just perfect. The introduction of real gay rights groups into the narrative didn't seem forced at all.

This is a short that deserves to be sought out and watched one evening without distractions.

Its virtue - it gives many ways to interpret it. It could be a nice portrait of the lives of Brasilian cowboys, a sort of modest eulogy of freedom, mixing romance with lovely locations, the clash with reality of town or a delicate love story. The science of equilibrium is the best trait of a beautiful, not real convincing but beautiful short film, preserving the air of male comunity and gentle exploration of deep feelings. So, a decent sketch of a character and his universe.