This was the first big Brazilian drama that HBO worked on, and it’s a five-episode miniseries that lasts almost five hours in total. It’s a really emotional and political story set in Rio de Janeiro during the late 1980s, and it does a great job of showing what that era felt like while the country was dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. Since the world feels so divided today, the show is a beautiful reminder of how queer people can find power by standing together when things are hard. The story is actually based on real things that happened, specifically about flight attendants who smuggled AIDS medicine from the US into Brazil in the 80s. It works as both a history drama and a strong political message. The show is mostly about three people: Nando, his best friend Lea (they both work as flight attendants for Fly Brasil), and Raul, who is a performer and an activist. A lot of the story happens at a club called Paradise, which was one of the few open gay clubs back in the 80s. Nando is a h...
Selim is a very handsome young man of Algerian descent who has some sort of strained relationship with his father, especially Ince his mother's death. He longs for love and acceptance form his father which he rarely gets. Selim, along with his closest friend Luise, are hustlers, who go out at night drinking looking for clients and mostly going as a couple. One night when they find an older customer who takes liking for Selim, things change. That man provides love and warmth of the kind he was expecting from his father. Selim saves enough money through his work to help with his father's surgery but he refuses to accept his son's money. When he gets bashed for homophobia, he ends up overdosing himself and dies in his hotel room. The father, with the help of Luise, finds out the truth about his son's life and his heartbroken.
I had mixed feelings about the ending of the film. Did the father finally accept and forgive his son, or was it even more hatred. Also, what wasn't clear was why the son and father were estranged? The mother's death, if anything, should have brought them closer. I wish the plot was further developed a little for us to understand the character psyche better. The tone here is rather cold and the characters never cause much compassion. The subject has depth but I feel it wasn't written properly and deeply enough to be able to say something lot more meaningful. The film is simple. Direct and to the point with some good acting. Selim, the actor, was really really good looking and fit the part really well. His eyes conveyed his longing. The other actors did their part ok. Overall its an average film. Not great but you don't get bored either. You just are left feeling wanting to know more. (5/10)
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