In s “neo neo-realistic” style, JOSÉ giv a raw (meang hont) pictn of digeno gay sexualy as experienced by two young men ntemporary Central Ameri. The Guatemalan-ma film was the claratory wner of the official Queer Ln award at the 75th annual Venice Film Ftival.
Contents:
- ‘JOSE’ FILM REVIEW: POWERFUL DRAMA EXAM BEG POOR AND GAY GUATEMALA
- LI CHENG ON MAKG "JOSé," AN EPIC GAY LOVE STORY SET GUATEMALA
- ‘JOSé’ REVIEW: COMG OF AGE GAY GUATEMALA
- REVIEW: ‘JOSé’ EXPLOR A GAY LOVE STORY GUATEMALA AMID AN AGE OF UNCERTATY
‘JOSE’ FILM REVIEW: POWERFUL DRAMA EXAM BEG POOR AND GAY GUATEMALA
* jose gay film *
Wh s engagg drama of a young gay man facg the challeng of g of age urban Guatemala, Li Cheng’s “José, ” a prize wner and dience favore at Venice and other ftivals, might obvly be tegorized as an LGBT film, one of a fairly faiar sort.
The film’s prs not don’t say whether the filmmakers set out to foc on a young gay man or if the ia emerged durg their rearch, but the ncept allows them look to several areas of Guatemalan life reprented by three different lol where we observe 19-year-old José (Enrique Salanic) durg the story’s early stag. This three-rnered existence is perhaps typil of many young gay men the world over, but Jose’s versn of is soon rattled by somethg new: love. After a LGBTQ ft n, the Spanish-language drama — about a young gay man Guatemala — has opened theatrilly and ntu to expand.
Precisely wrten and liberately shot, “José, ” a Guatemala-set LGBTQ character examatn om Che-born director Li Cheng, is a movie preoccupied wh the private tragedy of unfulfilled impuls and aspiratns as a rult of wispread homophobia and emotnal blackmail.
LI CHENG ON MAKG "JOSé," AN EPIC GAY LOVE STORY SET GUATEMALA
A gay 19-year-old Guatemalan livg poverty wh his dotg mother is forced to nsir his life of secrecy a new light when he falls love wh a young nstctn worker Li Cheng's drama 'Jose. * jose gay film *
Intertgly, as opposed to numero gay-themed featur om Lat Ameri, the tastrophic nsequenc for his characters are not physilly vlent durg the time we spend wh them. Relign as the major source for discrimatn and nmnatn — addn to earthquak servg as a plot pot or narrative vice both — un the two versns of beg gay Guatemala. Ma the neorealist filmmakg tradn, the film is a nuanced and vivid look at beg gay Central Ameri.
Gay Love and Tradnal Connectns.
‘JOSé’ REVIEW: COMG OF AGE GAY GUATEMALA
“José” is a remarkable, strikg drama about the tle character (Enrique Salanic), a 19-year-old gay Guatemalan who liv wh his sgle mother (Ana Cecilia Mota) a poor neighborhood. (“José” is his sophomore feature). A romantic drama about a poor, gay Guatemalan teenager seems que removed om your background.
We talked to a hundred young, poor, and gay guys Lat Amerin ci. This is a love story about two men that was forbidn and tenr a rough, vlent, and homophobic world. Enrique [Salanic], who is Mayan, said that there are two gay kgs Mayan society, and there’s a famo picture of them hand hand and posed the bed, so we vered them, and the guys kissed like the two kgs.
For the sex scen, many gay films are aaid to show a penis, or a plete sex scene. We need to be hont wh gay sex scen and make them like straight sex scen. Throw the discretn of beg a closeted gay boy and the ia of dog somethg that uld potentially shatter your world ma those kiss all the sweeter.
REVIEW: ‘JOSé’ EXPLOR A GAY LOVE STORY GUATEMALA AMID AN AGE OF UNCERTATY
The film shows José and Luis unearthg their affy for one another, takg them on somewhat of a road trip to ral areas of Guatemala, a historilly nservative and Catholic untry, wh strgent laws and a homophobic realy. In an terview, openly gay actor Enrique Salanic and Director Li Chenge offered some sight on their procs workg on José and what the film reprents for the untry of Guatemala.
In our terviews, one seven-teen year old had recently e out to his mom as gay, and she replied, “That’s ok, but you’ll never know te love” – the ference beg that somehow homosexual relatnships uld never rise to the level of love that’s rerved only for heterosexuals, and that homosexual relatns are only some sort of extreme and exploative and animalistic sex (which are mon trop of homosexual sex, even queer cema).
LC: Indtry people told would be impossible to make the film Guatemala due to wispread homophobia, and sce, they said, no actor would kiss another man. Hardly the first movie to spotlight a young person navigatg their homosexualy a reprsive and perilo environment. Nohels, this sophomore feature om Che-born director Li Cheng, who -wrote wh Gee F.