(2016, 90 min)
Country: Argentina
Director: Lucas Santa Ana
Studio: TLA Releasing
Language: Spanish with subtitles
SYNOPSIS: When four friends go on a camping trip in a remote part of Argentina, sexual tensions quickly bubble to the surface. Once in virtual seclusion by the beach, Juli (the only girl) quickly recognizes that that the boys seem to have a closer relationship than what she would consider 'normal'. The line between friendship and love fade further for two of the boys in particular as their desire becomes too much to bear. When what started as a simple getaway quickly becomes tinged with sex, romance, and conflict, everyone is forced to confront who they really are for the very first time.
REVIEW:
Gay Secrets and Three Men
Three young men, Santi (Marcos Ribas), Adrian (Augustin Pardella) and Daniel (Javier del Pietro), go camping in a forest near the sea. They have been friends for a long time and share an intimate camaraderie of playing jokes on one another, engaging in horseplay and having fun.
However, this time things begin to get a little more complex when Adrian makes a move and kisses Santi while they’re swimming in the sea. Soon after they meet a woman, Julieta (Luana Pascual), who they invite back to their camp. Although it’s supposed to just be the three men, Julieta and Santi start sleeping with one another. Daniel is dealing with his own problems and is concerned about his seriously ill grandfather. Eventually secrets that could mean the end of the three men’s friendship begin to come out.
“Bromance” looks at how groups of friends can seem incredibly close, even though the characters do not know much about each other. Here we have three men who are used to their relationship being like it once was when they were younger; playful while avoiding deeper questions, and making jokes to avoid things whenever things threaten to get a little too serious. Indeed, Adrian is increasingly aware that their relationship is based around the fact they don’t know the full truth about one another, and that they are avoiding finding out, but he has reached the point of unrequited love and something has to change.
Think about people we call friends and spend lots of time with and about whom we don’t know much about them on a truly personal level. Many of us have had issues like Adrian; being in love with a friend and having no idea what to do about it.
We can also relate to Santi, who may be gay or be straight or bisexual, but doesn’t want to deal with it. Adrian and Santi are strong and interesting characters but, Daniel is enigmatic. We see that the characters are not as close as they think they are Bromance is an interesting look at this close trio, who may not be as close as they think and we see that a breaking point is not far away.
As director Lucas Santa Ana builds the relationships between the different characters, he explores what may be going on between them – some of which they’re aware of and some of which they aren’t. Unfortunately, the film ends with a happy ending but I did not find thus a satisfactory way to close the action. After carefully sharing what’s going on with the characters and who they are, it suddenly ends with us feeling that “Bromance” is more about defying expectations than bringing clarity or conclusion to the themes.
-- Reviews by Amos Lassen (http://www.reviewsbyamoslassen.com)
