Skip to main content

I Am Jonas (French) [Boys]

The english title 'Boys' for the wider audience is a bad and such a common title, that it doesn't tell us anything. Now that I have gotten this out of my mind, lets focus on the film which focuses on Jonas over two timelines which is a decade apart. An event from his teenage years haunts him with the guilt he’s carried around since being a teenager.

Jonas is a 30 something troubled young man. He picks up fights at the popular gay bar and sleeps around. His boyfriend has had enough of it and ultimately dumps him. But all this volatile behaviour has something to do with his past. Meanwhile we also see that Jonas has been stalking this young man everywhere but we don't see the connection until later. Flash back to 1997 when Jonas as a teenager meets the rebellious new student Nathan. Jonas immediately has crush on Nathan and they become good friends. The friendship. and eventually curios love blossoms and is depicted quite well. When they share their first kiss, the sparks are immediately felt. But a serious incident happens where Nathan gets kidnapped or murdered, we will never know and Jonas was the only one with him that night. Finally we see the connection that this young man is Nathan's brother and all Jonas is trying to seek is forgiveness.

This movie is a very emotional yet charged movie. Its hard to even imagine the pain that Jonas must be going through to pick up all the fights and behave the way he does. The director teases out the answers slowly and carefully, capturing our hearts even before the full picture comes into focus. The acting is brilliant by everyone. Everyone is so good, especially the guy playing Jonas that you feel you’re experiencing the film’s events as if you were walking in his shoes. As a teenager he’s shy, lacking in confidence and a bit awkward but always very endearing. As an adult he’s a lot harder, visibly troubled and struggling to move on with his life. Our life gets shaped by events that happen with us and this movie is a wonderful example of that. My one big problem with this film is the finale. It felt a bit rushed and I would have loved to see some kind of closure.

This film is not going to disappoint you. You will want to know what's going on and why Jonas behaves the way he does. You wonder how his life would be today, if the said incident did not happen. A movie succeeds when it makes you think and this film does a wonderful job of it. You just need to be patient. (7/10)

Comments

luigi43 said…
It's rushed , the finale , IMHO cuz , after the meeting with the " mater dolens ", he is going back to his empty life of sorrow with
no hope to explain himself why his first love ended in such tragic way .
shahar said…
just saw it last night. the adult Jonas plays in all the gay films that came out this year.
Its a good movie and i liked how they played it to different directions ( the way that French movies do ) but in the end it felt like its missing a sting. Not because of the ending ( i liked it ) but i felt the writer\director was putting more effort of hiding the cards about where is this going and playing with the viewer that he left something amiss - can't put my finger on what .
The acting was good - love Natan mother.
Golu said…
You both have summarized my thoughts exactly
Sailor Maan said…
Great movie, it had my stomach twisted several times (like when Nathan's mother sees Jonas in the swimming pool years later, or the pain of young Jonas after the terrible events).
I liked the very end when Jonas is finally able to go to the funfair. I take it as a sign he is finally able to move on with his life (but I would have wished for a little more development too)
Golu said…
I agree. It is sometimes hard to empathize with a guilt stricken character. Only an individual who suffers it can go through the exact state of mind.
French movies are getting better and better and it certainly has to do with Félix Maritaud. It deserved a better ending, I agree upon that. Very good acting. Both romantic and sad, I loved it.
Golu said…
Any other specific french gay films that you would recommend, which you dont see reviewed here?

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin

One Summer Night (Korean)

I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who

Ultimate masturbation: Shigoki no yama (Japanese) [The Ultimate Masturbation]

I would never know what was the point behind making this film. Was it supposed to be a comedy, cos it wasn't. It wasn't even porn. It was just a silly attempt at making something absolutely senseless and ridiculous. The story, as well as direction is equally shoddy. You could laugh for having seen something so bad, but I wouldn't call that comedy. An old man runs a camp about gay masturbation. The explanation given is that gays masturbate for pleasure unlike straight men, for whom the act is seen as shame or because they can't find a woman. One day a straight man shows up and wants to join the camp for his thesis. After discussion, he is allowed in. Rules include that you can masturbate together, you can masturbate one another, but there is no fellatio or anal sex. Some students of course breaks rule. The teacher then talks about 2 forms of masturbation which gives ultimate pleasure. He shows one without touching and then refuses to talk of the other. Somehow suddenly,