Marco Berger gay movis

Guess no one here is a fan, oh well.

I still like Hawaii and watch it at least once a year. Plan B was really Plan B- or C+. I haven't seen Taekwondo, but it does sound just like Berger's other movies. Instead of repeating himself, I'd like to see Hawaii 2, i.e., what happened to Martin and Eugenio after they kissed in the last 30 seconds of Hawaii. But I'm not holding my breath; apparently Berger has difficulty raising money to make his films. (Not sure where I read that.)

I loved Plan B and it remains my favorite of Berger's films. Hawaii was also quite enjoyable. I loved the characters in Taekwando but, like OP, I felt a bit frustrated at the long wait to having the two main characters come together. I definitely think of him as one of the best directors of gay films presently working and I look forward to more films. I think that he's especially strong at casting sexy but interesting people in the lead roles. Even though I criticized him for it I do think that the prolonged seduction scenario is part of what makes his movies so appealing. The simplicity of his stories is also appealing but maybe it's time for him to try something more complex (a mystery or historical drama). I just hope he doesn't lose the qualities that I love including the sexiness and the warm, humane feel he has for shaping characters.

[quote] Even though I criticized him for it I do think that the prolonged seduction scenario is part of what makes his movies so appealing

But no one likes a one-trick pony.

Plan B, Hawaii and Taekwondo are in many ways the same film just changing superficial aspects of it.

I didn't like Taekwondo as much as Hawaii. but didn't feel it was a 'will they/won't they' plot so much as a 'when will they' one, i.e. that the main character had it all planned out.

OP, we have talked about Taekwondo in other Gay film threads. I completely agree with your assessment of his latest film. Its a tired shtick. I was still engaged with Taekwondo, but now instead of feeling satisfying, it felt incomplete. I hope he moves away from this format.

Argentina has been creating some good gay content as of late. I have seen Bromance and Esteros. They were both quite lovely films.

[quote]I watched Taekwondo last night and realized I am over his schtick. While I appreciated the copious amounts of male nudity (and yes, it does have that if you are interested), the whole enterprise was ridiculous. Nothing happens, and it spends the whole time with a "will they or won't" they between the two characters who are so fucking stupid that neither one realizes that are obviously into the other til the final seconds of the movie where they finally kiss.

I'm probably Marco Berger's biggest fan in the world and love everything he's done: Hawaii, Taekwondo and Plan B (in that order) but I haven't seen Mariposa. I can see how some may be frustrated by what are essentially three similar endings but I think people are being dismissive of Taekwondo without understanding that it is not just about the two guys with the sexual tension but there are other subplots and relationships between the other seven guys. One of them is an actual closet case obsessed with the host and jealous of his new friend. And as in every large group of friends, people pair off with those they are closest to. Just like Hawaii, I can watch Taekwondo again and again.

His short films are really hot. Can't remember the title- something about seduction or titillation ?

Everything he does is amazing. The problem is Americans don't care for subtlety. They grew up with porn and want to see fucking, fireworks and explosions.

I like Taekwondo more each time I watch it.

IMHO, 'Taekwondo' was the second best gay film of 2016, after 'Moonlight', of course.

[quote]I used to consider myself a fan, but now I feel like I was just hoodwinked.

So, plenty of uncut peen, then?

I've watched Plan B and Hawaii, and even though I sort of liked them it was obvious the director really really really only likes the foreplay of a possible romance. He should take that concept and make buddy movies with the same kind of slowly developing romance dynamic. Instead of the extremely slow storytelling he should fill the movie with something really happening. Imagine an intelligent cop movie with the cops slowly falling in love.

[quote]Everything he does is amazing. The problem is Americans don't care for subtlety. They grew up with porn and want to see fucking, fireworks and explosions.

Plan B and Hawaii were not amazing. Both are ok but I felt like I was watching indie B movies by a fetishist, which is really the case since it seems Taekwondo is using the same formula once again. I've seen plenty of art house films over the years and tbh Plan B and Hawaii aren't really up there artistically. It's been a few years since I saw them and to their credit I remember them quite well, so it's not like he's not talented. It just feels he's going through some trauma over and over again and just can't help himself. Or he's a one trick pony who really doesn't have anything else to say, or the desire to change anything.

I'll probably catch Taekwondo at some point but the trailer made it look like a boring model fest which reminds me of David DeCoteau's shitty erotica.

r13 = typical American. I'd like to know what you thought of Moonlight. I think the directors have similar sensibilities.

@ R14. R3 here. With all due respect, and I say this as a Marco Berger fan, he has yet to due anything with the depth of feeling in 'Moonlight' .

Loved Hawaii and liked Plan B. Manuel Vignau is in both and quite the cutie. He seems to do a lot of theatre work in Buenos Aires. Anyone have any interesting tidbits on him?

[quote][R13] = typical American. I'd like to know what you thought of Moonlight. I think the directors have similar sensibilities.

Some of my favorite slower movies are Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders, La Notte by Michelangelo Antonioni and La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini (if you can call it slow). Next to them Berger's work makes him look like a freshman in a film school.

I actually did enjoy Moonlight but it's by no means a favorite of mine. And I completely agree with R15. What bothers me most with the Berger films I've seen is that there just isn't much there. I mean I get what he's after and I appreciate he went there. But there's just something missing. It's annoying to have to keep wondering during a film what the hell is the director after: Does he really love extremely simplistic storytelling or is he just not able to make the story more meaningful. Or is his background homophobic and he just can't go fully gay in his films, which is what came to my mind a lot.

I do assume he's doing everything on purpose, which unfortunately makes his work in many ways quite infuriating. Some people probably love a sort of meditative experience his films have but is the payback really worth it?

Since I've only seen two films from him I'm probably not the most ideal person to dissect his films but since it seems he keeps repeating his pattern I find it really hard to even start watching anything else from him. That said there's something I really do like in his films but I just wish he'd somehow make it all a bit more meaningful.

So what's next for Marco?

Argentinian director Marco Berger has made representing love between men, rather than their sex and individual sexual identities, his cinema’s objective. Critics and scholars have noted his original refocusing of bonds between men, which is consonant with contemporary queer Latin/o American film and theory. To elucidate Berger’s relationality, this article outlines the formal and thematic elements in his short film El reloj (The Watch) (2008) and examines their expansion in his features Plan B (2009) and Hawaii (2013). Uniting Berger’s idea of ‘love’ with Michel Foucault’s notion of ‘friendship’, I argue that the features visualize the formation of a unique male intimacy in which men can explore each other’s physicality, share affectionate gestures, express sensitivity, play together, take care of each other and have sex. Their bonds lessen heteronormative aggression and dominance and transform sexuality, as they no longer derive pleasure solely from the sexual act but rather from the range of sensations, emotions and experiences of their multifaceted intimacy.

Rejoice Gays! Marco has a new movie and this one appears to be his most explicitly erotic movie to date.

I hope it has a happier ending that what the review is describing.

Thanks for the heads up r20.

Looks like "The Blonde One" is on Amazon, I'll probably check it out tonight. The reviews do say its one of his best.