![]() ![]() ![]() Ribeiro makes the protectiveness of the characters around Leonardo, rather than Leo’s potential coming out, the motor of the drama, with both Leo’s mother ( Lucia Romano) and father ( Eucir de Souza), getting a couple of well-written exchanges in which they discuss their parental doubts and fears with their only child. Leo’s parents are possibly even more protective than Gio, as they don’t even like their teenage son to walk home unaccompanied or stay home alone, much less go on a school trip or move abroad for a high-school exchange program. Indeed, Giovana is extremely protective of Leonardo, though there might also be some jealousy involved when she sees Gabriel absorb part of her duties and potentially be the object of her friend’s budding amorous feelings. Ribeiro’s command of tone is key in making this setup believable, focusing on the innate goodness of his young characters before slowly allowing them the space to rebel as they try to assert themselves and leave their protective childhood cocoon behind. To make matters worse, Giovana’s clearly smitten with her handsome childhood friend, but she’s shy and there is no way Leonardo can pick up on any visual clues. Though they must be 16 or 17, both Leo and Giovana live in a sheltered suburban environment that’s almost too innocent to be true, as neither has ever even kissed anyone. Their familiar and safe routine is upset when a curly-haired cutie, Gabriel ( Fabio Audi), joins their class and becomes friendly with Leo, while Giovana wonders whether he could be romantically interested in her. They sit next to each other in class, where Leo uses a braille typewriter to take notes. Leonardo ( Ghilherme Lobo) has been blind since he was born, so he has never even seen the face of his devoted best friend, Giovana ( Tess Amorim), who walks him home from their Sao Paulo school every day. They make coming out a clearly personal instance of human growth.Rolex's Emoji Watch, Oris' Kermit and a $20M Diamond Timepiece: The Most Talked-About Debuts at Geneva's Watches and Wonders ShowĪ shoo-in for some serious love from queer film festivals and distributors, this title should also prove popular at festivals more generally aimed at teenagers or uncomplicated, narrative-driven foreign films. (Neither Leonardo nor Gabriel have reached what Bronski Beat called "The Age of Consent.") By uncovering youthful gayness, director Ribeiro and actor Lobo portray the root of compassion. (This may be the brightest, most existentially ecstatic-looking film since Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky.) How Leonardo manages his shaken friendship with Giovanna and negotiates the feelings Gabriel keeps secret is a testament to gay humanity. (If you think this happened already you're misreading Hollywood's various gay pity parties.) Perhaps that's why Ribeiro chose a visual style that resembles a birthday card. The Way He Looks represents the birth of gay self-acceptance on the mainstream screen. As a wishful fictional construct of our own youth, he may be a product of this open-tolerance, pro-gay era, but this aspect of personality represents an encouraging cultural fact: The Way He Looks should be a big hit and it should forever dispel the tendency towards self-loathing demonization that ruins so many movies about gays that pretend to be "honest" but simply give in to shame, even when the filmmakers themselves should know better-like Gregg Araki and his unpalatable Mysterious Skin (unmysteriously praised by the unevolved status quo mainstream media). The title The Way He Looks has two meanings and neither is ironic: Leonardo has a dark-eyed, curly-haired cuteness easy to fall in like with (Abercrombie & Fitch or the old Joey magazine would pay his modeling fees). Director Daniel Ribeiro avoids making Leonardo one of the world's neediest cases. ![]()
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