It's the time when Muslim raiders engaged in religious crusading, the seizing of goods and the slave trade, we meet Miguel Cervantes. The young man has just suffered a grave wound that has rendered his left arm mostly useless. The Moors imprison Cervantes with other captive members of the nobility, clergymen, and aristocrats, where they are held for ransom. He alongwith a priest in this captive recognize his penchant for story telling and engaging his audience, entertaining them with exaggerated accounts of his own adventures, or inventing new ones. That skill set attracts interest from “the dreaded Bey” himself, eavesdropping from a window in his luxurious quarters above the prison yard. The bey is an Italian converted to Moor who summons Miguel for stories and grants him a day's freedom every time he likes something. Nonetheless, the two gradually achieve a sort of intimacy, one that after a time turns physical and romantic. But even before any such event happens, a jealous Father Blanco doesn't like this fact. While all this is going on, Miguel's eventual plan is to flee and through these stories and his freedoms, he plans for an escape. He himself is increasingly torn between loyalties, plotting escape plans even as he and the Bey appear to fall in love.
The film is about the power of the imagination as a form of escape from brutal reality. Cervantes finds he is able to hold the other hardened captives rapt with theatrically-told stories of their imaginary escape, stories which come to the attention of Hasan, the bey of Algiers, a man who is both sexy and psychopathically sadistic. Their relationship id dynamic and complex. Hassan was a former prisoner who renounced his Christianity to save himself and rise the social ladder, and he tries to get Cervantes to do the same. Event though the film is primarily a prison based action, but we have a lot of visually arresting scenes when Miguel has his day off and he chances upon the barbershop where he sees all kinds of men having 'fun' with one another. The scenes between Hasan and Miguel are quite sensual and provocative leaving audience to make up their own mind on what actually happened between the two men. The relationship that forms between the two might first be made out as Stockholm syndrome, but the mutual manipulation quickly turns fraternal and more. Both the actors are hot and do a fantastic job here. They have this white-hot chemistry that’s equally antagonistic and sexually-charged. The actor playing central character is the heart of the film truly. He’s full of fire, whether telling stories, plotting his great escape, or listening to the eldest prisoner, who in part inspires him to start telling stories in the first place, and the actor brings his charisma to full force. Aside this gay love story, there is a lot happening in the film and its sub plots, the rapid shifts of scene and perspective lead to a loss of focus and a lack of subtlety in the character development. Overall, the film is a layered cinematic experience that both entertains and provokes. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started watching the film but having read so much about it after watching, I enjoyed it even more and would strongly recommend. (7.5/10)
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