![]() ![]() There were only eight actors in the entirety of the feature-length film. The post-film Q&A with the actors (who were 19 and 25 when the film was made)īesides the storyline of Beira Mar, the film stood out for its overall quality. Even more so, because one of the actors was even discovered via Facebook. It only makes the film’s story that much more real, that much more relatable. Though they emphasized that it’s a story that shouldn’t be told nostalgically, hence the reason to create the film while still young themselves. The director duo also explained in their post-film Q&A that the story is based on reality, that the characters were built off of some of their own experiences. But ultimately what I took away from the film was a respect for youth. This movie, Beira Mar, tells a story of youth I can relate to (despite not being from Brazil). Not just for telling a story, but as a quality of life. Youthfulness is an often sidelined quality, but as I’ve learned over the past 10 days while watching multiple films dealing with the topic of youth, I’ve remembered just how important youthfulness is. A drama that was matched with the careful choice of colors throughout, of the music, of the sounds of a deserted beach town on a winter day.Īnother point that stood out from the Q&A: The two directors/screenwriters, both young, explained that they needed to create this movie, to tell this story, while they themselves were still young (it’s their first film). There was drama in the film, of course, but it was soft and understated. Sometimes it’s good to hear-and good to tell-a good story. It was a movie he would’ve wanted when he was younger. Ultimately, that’s what I loved about this film. The director responded that he felt it was important to tell *this* story. In the post-film question and answer session with the director and actors, there was a woman from the audience who did ask why they didn’t talk about the problems or politics of coming out, or of being gay in Brazil. And those stories are just as worth sharing as the others.ĭirector/screenwriter duo Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon on the stage at Berlinale Not everyone has a bad experience coming out. ![]() There’s a sweetness to the story, a youthfulness-and, importantly, also a realness. I appreciate so much of gay/queer cinema, but much of it tends to focus on extreme problems or extreme drama. This gay film doesn’t tell a bad story-there’s no struggle for equality, no serious drama about coming out. It’s just the awkwardness between two teenage friends. The coming out experience isn’t fraught with problems. ![]() Once the friend figured it out, though, he’s totally cool with it-and simply offers a cigarette. For much of the film, you might assume he’s living a closeted life, but as it turns out-the boy is already out and his internal struggle is simply about telling his friend. And what made Beira Mar so charming and so sweet, is the way that his “coming out” is told. I’m sorry, but this movie just makes me want to talk.Ĭlearly, by this point, you’ve probably figured out that one of the boys in the film is gay. Each boy needed to come to terms with his own problem.įrom here on out, I may write some spoilers, so, uh, yeah-watch out. They each have their own issues and while on a short trip together to the Brazilian seaside ( one of my favorite places to think, if you remember…), they must resolve them. The film tells the story of two teenage boys on a short journey of self-discovery. But what's behind them, what causes them, can be absolutely terrifying.Film screenshot – don’t you just love the actor’s blue hair?! This movie understands that zombies in themselves are no longer scary. A garbled voice on a staticky police radio is mostly inaudible, except for one chill-inducing sentence: "It's not fog." Perhaps most impressive is the fact that The Beach House is technically a zombie movie, but the zombies are rarely shown. A character saying "I think I'll go for a swim" turns into a jaw-dropping jolt. He doesn't play the audience like a piano or ramp up scares with percussive crashes. When the trouble does actually start, Brown doles it out in a way that makes it feel like it's happening organically. What's left unspoken is frequently more powerful than what's said, such as the relationship tensions between Emily and Randall and whatever personal demons Jane appears to be fighting. It takes a while before anything supernatural happens, but the character interactions themselves are enough to make viewers feel on edge right away. ![]() Brown, The Beach House has confidence in its ability to create strange little tensions out of ordinary moments. The debut feature of writer-director Jeffrey A. Wisely avoiding wordy explanations or long setups, this eerie, timely chiller takes a slow-burn approach, simply observing its characters and springing its shocks naturally, without announcing them. ![]()
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