Primos (Portuguese) [Cousins]

After a long time I am seeing a nice feel good film about teenage love, coming out, without unnecessary drama just for the sake of it. Sometimes straight forward films are much better than the films that create plot twists and intense drama just for the sake of it. For some people life can be full of surprises and yet be all about sweet romantic love. And this is what this simple film is all about.

Set in a small country town, adult teenager Lucas lives with his very religious aunt Lourdes. He is a shy boy and keep to himself, with his gardening and music. One day his aunt tells him that his second cousin Mario is going to live with them for a few days. Apparently Mario is just getting out of prison and his family doesn't want him to come home after such an incident. Incidentally, the aunt has to go on a mission, so Lucas will have to welcome and entertain Mario. Mario comes next day and is a complete contrast to shy Lucas' personality. He is happy, extrovert and makes Lucas come out of his shell. They are both happy because they have both missed love and affection. They fool around and play with each other like most cousins do but they always have this sexual tension between them. Eventually the barriers are broken and they make love to each other. This makes them extremely happy and they both are very happy and content. A neighbor girl Julia is very interested in Lucas but never gets any attention from him. The aunt comes back and sees that Lucas is happier and is glad to see them. When Julia exposes the truth about the boys in front of the aunt and other neighbors, she shows maturity and accepts their love despite her religious background. Love eventually wins.

The story of the film is pretty straightforward but primarily works because of the amazing captivating chemistry between the two boys. They carry the film completely on their shoulders. Every single scene with the duo lights up the screen. We see the gradual change in Lucas from shy teenager avoiding Julia's advances to starting to be happy with Mario being around. They share their life stories, their passion, cook and clean together, play around like little boys but also make love to each other and make each other very very happy. The fact that boys boys are extremely good looking only helps it even more. The aunt's character was a little unclear. She was religious but not really and the whole angle with religious events with neighbors seems like a  spoof and not really serious. Also the whole voodoo angle of Julia for the boys added absolutely nothing to the story and was completely unnecessary. Besides these minor glitches, the film is all about pure sweet teenage love. Small and simple dialogues like when Lucas says. "I don't want you to go, not now, not ever" really shows the depth of the love they both have for each other.

Enjoy this sweet romantic gay love story just for the simplicity of it. I remembered my young days and wished I had someone like this in my life at that point. (7.5/10)