I saw the gay movie Hawaii (2013) with two hot Argentinian male leads

Was it worth watching?

And where can one watch it?

R1 I liked it very much and I feel that I'm often left disappointed by most gay movies.

R2 At TubiTv linked below or on Youtube as well.

That is definitely of Marco Berger's best films. I would also recommend his newer one, Un Rubio/The Blonde One.

At least the 2 leads look like normal guys and not some roided out fitness models or club kids.

I saw this one years ago and loved it.

This movie is one of the all time best gay films. A lovely pastoral romance. The two leads are very attractive and have wonderful chemistry together. The score, also by Berger, is terrific. We you understand, the meaning of the title, it’s very moving

I’m linking a teaser by Berger when he was trying to get funding .

This is a slow-paced film with no sex. It’s about falling in love. If that’s not your cuppa, skip it. Otherwise enjoy

There are many hot men in Buenos Aires, OP.

Which one plays the Julie Andrews role?

No sex? Not even peen?

R10 Peen is shown.

Ok I'm starting it now to see peen. That will satisfy me.

Screw the middle classes! I will never accept them! My father's other family were middle class And we were kept out of sight, hidden from view at his funeral.

OP the guy that plays Martín is Uruguayan, I believe of Russian heritage. . This was used in the film as I recall. This was his first film. He’s excellent and adorable. The other actor is Argentina and probably more typical of the look of men there

When Eugenio puts Martin’s hand on his heart and Martin thinks he’s gonna kiss him and instead Eugenio chickens out a walks away is a great moment. Also the look on Eugenio’s face after Martin takes off pissed after Eugenio rejects him is perfect. These actors have amazing chemistry. One of the best films depicting falling in love, gay or straight. Also the context of class is done pretty well,l

R10 there’s an ass shot and a close up of dick in underwear but that it. Both leads are largely shirtless throughout the film as they revert to their youth play (and roles based on age and class differences).

Agree with R7, one of the best gay films. The longing is often palpable. I wish Marco Berger made more films.

Thanks for the link, OP. I will watch.

(I was also going to make a Julie Andrews joke, but R9 beat me to it.)

R5- You mean the characters are not QUEENY or SCENEY.

Does Patti Lupone make an appearance as Evita?

No R18- but MADONNA does.

R8: BA also has lots of gays.

Mateo Chiarino, the guy who plays Martin, is hot.

I'm a fan of the director. I think i've seen all of his films. They are sexy and always have nudities.

Saw it on xvideos a while ago (yes, there are a lot of non porn videos there).

TAEKWONDO is the Marco Berger masterpiece, with more cock than Old MacDonald's farm.

And all Argentineans think of themselves as AT LEAST middle class, even when they're not. Which is why they're in the state they're in.

R24 Thanks. I will check out that movie some time now

R23, Argentina has universal tuition-free education through college, which has helped grow a sizable middle class. It also has universal health care. Graduate and professional schools aren't free, but are lower cost than their US private counterparts, so professionals aren't saddled with debt like IUS graduates. Of course there are also private/fee based schools and medical care, but it's hard to understate the economic benefit of a culture that has historically promoted higher education and made it accessible. Argentina's education system is part of the national identity.

That said, there is still poverty, especially outside the capital province and city, Buenos Aires. And the current economic downward spiral combined with COVID is exacting an economic toll comparable to the crises of the early 2000s.

ANGEL is another recent gay-themed film from Argentina. Can be seen on HBO. Featuring Almodovar muse Cecilia Roth and rising male star Chino Darin.

Liked Hawaii a lot. Slow to develop and all the better for that. Are both leads straight? Vignau seems to have a regular theatre career in Buenos Aires.

I don't know if they are straight , but they are at least STRAIGHT acting.

This looks good. I know what I'm watching tonight!

This review of the movie is spot on. Not sure why the writer give it 4 stars in what reads like 5 star review

Hawaii, Taekwondo and The Blond One are all wonderful. Berger's latest one Young Hunter doesn't really work. It's blackmail/porn/thriller storyline doesn't play to his strengths. I suppose he gets people telling him to do stories other than slow-burn romances, but they are what he is great at.

Another great gay Argentinian movie - "Burnt Money". Hot, hot, hot.

The best gay TV/film content seems to be coming out of Latin America and Spain these days.

[quote] And the current economic downward spiral combined with COVID is exacting an economic toll comparable to the crises of the early 2000s

Argentina doesn't need an excuse to have an economic crisis. It happens every 5 years like clockwork.

I liked this movie but it gave me blue balls

I enjoyed this review of the movie.

Berger's movies were notorious for that r36, that is why I liked The Blonde One. Not just teasing blue balls, they go ahead and fuck.

By the time Taekwondo happened the teasing started getting old for me.

Are they straight guys who "fall in love with the person?"

Do they end up with women at the end as usual?

R12 here. I watched - slow but not boring. SPOILER. They end up together in the very last minute of the film.

R39 they aren’t str8 and they don’t land up with women. When Eugenio brother visits he confirms that Eugenio is gay and out

I really enjoyed this movie and it is worth watching if anyone is thinking about it.

Chariano did a remarkable work here. Glad Berger cut his hair from the longer style he has in the Kickstarter teaser. His eyes are very expressive. Hope Eugenio let Martin sleep with him in his bed that night

I got a rub (but the tug was thwarted) from a Massage Whore who's Argentinian and he was fucking gorgeous, seriously sex on a stick. Wasn't worth the money though and it was a really weird session. He came through town again about six months after but I didn't even consider hiring him again.

The guy with the beard is homely.

I love Vignau’s looks. He’s very handsome. He was also in Plan B playing a goofy long haired pothead who seduces a straight guy as a lark and they end up falling in love

Surprised Berger’s Absent doesn’t get more love. Very strange and sad. Kind of a gay ghost story. Lovely film

I just saw it and liked it very much!

R45, I actually found myself more attracted to the bearded guy, even though I realize the actor who plays Martin is more conventionally/gay porn-hot.

I very much appreciate the subtlety and nuance of Marco's films.

Is there any gay US films that comes close to this quality?

OP if you're interested in other Argentine films. There's one about a male bartender who after a party gets involved with a male banker and a divorced woman at the same time called Somos Tres. There's also Esteros and End of the Century.

Esteros was fantastic.

This is another wonderful gay film from South America ( Brazil ) using the similar slow-burn homoerotism plot. I cried at the end ( MARY! i know )

I'll pause to learn more about most any film from Argentina because they are often worth watching.

Marco Berger has a nice, lowkey Instagram account

Thanks R26, what's the level of crime and corruption like, compared with Brazil for instance?

R55 Like the United States, Argentina has also experienced insurrection.

"Hawaii"?

I NEVER!

I want a sequel.

Are the actors gay in real life?

I think chiriano is married to a woman. Don’t know about Vignau

This link has a picture from the filming with the actors and Berger. The writer makes the point that Eugenio might have rejected Martin’s advances because he thought Martin might have been offering himself as payment in exchange for work.

R35 Why does Argentina's economy always keep crashing?

The country is still paying off Evita's outfits and jewels.

High import duties (a MacBook will cost you $3000); huge government expenditures on the barely adequate social safety net; the peso subject to constant devaluation with ensuing inflation; World Bank demands keeping Argentina a perpetual basket case; weak export economy; post-COVID travel economy crashing; among other problems.

I love the country, but the people are mocked by the rest of Latin America for their inability to "get over themselves."

If there's one movie that encapsulates Argentina's present conditon, it's Lucrecia Martel's LA CIENAGA.

La Cienaga literally means “the swamp” and the famous street in Los Angeles is named after the swampy tar pits in the vicinity

There's also Yo, adolescente and Como una novia sin sexo. Yo, adolescente also stars one of the actors who played a gay character on the telenovela Simona.

R33, the two main actors in Burnt Money were very hot.

It's one of my favorite films. I watch it about once a year.

As for the idea of a sequel. I do not want one. I prefer to think of the two of them living in their little Eden.

R68 I agree. But Eugenio’s brother was pretty cynical. As I recall, Eugenio was house sitting . The brother was like what are gone to do? Take him to Buenos Aires and try to get him a job in a Levi store. I don’t recall exactly what he said. The class issues and pastoral setting are reminiscent of Maurice except without the generally unaccepting cultural milieu.

It's an infinitely more satisfying film than that wretched Call Me By Your Name.

Another vote for "La Cienaga". Gorgeous flick.

R69 It sounded to me like Eugenio has access to the old family homestead whenever he wants He told Martin that he and his brother & sister inherited the place from their parents. Eugenio wanted to keep the house, but his siblings wanted the money. He indicated that his uncle(s) stepped-in to cash the siblings out, so that the property could be kept in the family. To me it sounded like it was Eugenio's routine to spend summers there and do the necessary caretaking, etc. .. And yes, you're right about the brother; he was accepting, but rather cynical, or at least trying to make fun of the idea that Eugenio was going to return to the city with a live-in boyfriend, who would have tea waiting for him when he came home from work. (I think part of the cynicism might have been, because Eugenio had never allowed himself to be in that kind of relationship. - jmho)

Thank you r68. I’ve seen this film many times but it’s been a while. It has a special place in my heart and it’s one of my faves. One of the reviews called it “rapturous” and I think that’s a good description. I like the idea of Martin and Eugenio’s endless summer romance in the sun, completely unconcerned with and undisturbed by outside concerns. No sequel needed.

R59 R60 In one interview about his work with Berger, Manuel Vignau (Eugenio) is referred to as "a straight man."

I binged most of Berger's oeuvre via Dekkoo free trial. Hawaii & Blonde One are superb. Esteros is free on Tubi and actor playing Jero is adorable

I’d love to see what Berger could do with a big budget. He’s very talented

R76, if Berger needs crowdfunding for his next film projects, I'll gladly contribute if he continues to direct gay male films of this quality.

R33 yes Burnt Money (Plata Quemada) was a very sexy film! Definitely worth watching if you like foreign films. It’s based on a true story about a gay couple who robbed banks in the 1960’s.

How much does a house like the one in the movie go for in Argentina?

I'm asking for a friend.

I'm in love with the Uruguayan actor.

He’s adorable and has a sexy deep voice r80

Mateo could stand to work out. (Pic from 2019.)

The pace of the movie might be slow for some people but I enjoyed how quiet and contemplative it was.

Not really a romance movie but another Argentine film is Muerte en Buenos Aires.

Anyone know why South America is such a melting pot, whereas Central America and Mexico still resemble the dark-skinned indigenous people?

R85 you should take a second to consider why the United States is less than 2 % indigenous and Mexico is over 90 % mestizo or indigenous.

Excuse you, R85.

OP, I'm not convinced that Marco Berger is a great filmmaker, but he does REAL intimacy and intense sexual tension (sometimes paid off, other times, never...) exceptionally well. His films are 100 times hotter than any porn.

I kept waiting for them to buttfuck.

I recently watched the Blonde One and loved it.

[quote] His films are 100 times hotter than any porn.

If Marco Berger did porn, he'd be Noel Alejandro, whose films are quite hot, with some great chemistry (e.g. "Doing Elliott").

Marco Berger doesn’t make films about sex. He makes them about love.

I guess I need to check out The Blonde One. Is it available streaming?

^Highly recommend The Blonde One; here's the trailer. Have watched the film twice to let the nuance of glances sink in. It's streaming on Dekkoo, which also has Hawaii and other Marco Berger films.

Argentina should never have joined Mercosur, which allowed Brazil to fuck them over whenever it wants.

Taekwando is a surprisingly interesting study of masculinity and masculine competition

And now he has imitators

Chilling out

[quote]The rotting corpse of an Argentine Rose

Take that back.

R97 - I've never seen any of Marco Berger's films, but I saw End of the Century a year or two ago in NY and thought it was wonderful.

A couple of other good gay-themed Argentine flicks:

A YEAR WITHOUT LOVE (2005).

NIGHT WATCH (2005).

THE THIRD ONE (2014).

Another good film is Nobody's Watching, about a successful Argentinian actor moves to NYC to escape a hopeless relationship with another man in his native country.

The movie stars Guillermo Pfening, who co-starred in the Spanish HBO miniseries Foodie Love.

R97- I would say that the guys in Hawaii are HOTTER than End Of The Century

Has anyone seen 'José' by director Li Cheng? It won the Queer Lion at the 2018 Venice Film Festival.

I appreciate the recommendations in this thread!

R104 - I saw it about a year or so ago in NY and wasn't all that impressed. I thought the idea of the film was better than the actual execution. (After the film, some of the people involved - I think the director, but I was so underwhelmed I don't remember - talked about it.)

A [bold]much[/bold] better film set in Guatemala is Tremors, about a married guy (from a respectable & religious family) who becomes an outcast because his true identity comes out in the open. The film won the Sebastiane Latino Award for best Latin American LGBTQ-themed film.

R106 Thanks, I did see Tremors and End of the Century; also liked them both. I will give José a shot since I've run the gamut of other Latin America-situated gay films.

Another film from South America specifically Brazil is Eu Te Amo Renato.

I saw that one R108 and it was a decent film. There's the Peruvian film Contracorriente OP which is good.

R94, thanks! I will check it out.

[quote] Is there any gay US films that comes close to this quality?

The last American gay movie I remember liking this much was Shelter. A lot of American gay movies suffer from trying to say too much/jam too much into two hours or less. Something this quietly paced would probably struggle to find funding and an audience here.

American films (and TV) with gay characters suffer from trying to address the Top 30 social injustices on the LGBTQIAGNC+ hot topics list of the moment. Nothing is ever simply presented as the facts of the lives of the characters, it has to be explained to death from a political and a personal perspective, and contextualized against all other oppression. The result is always ridiculous stereotype and cartoon characters. I

It's always issues-driven rather than story-driven or character-driven, which is a shame.

Two recent gay-themed flicks from Chile: IN THE GRAYSCALE (2015) and THE PRINCE (2019). They're worth a look by fans of Latin American cinema.

Good thread - thanks everyone for the recommendations. I agree that it's unfortunate the pool of US films is severely lacking. Of course, it helps if I'm drawn to Latin/Spanish men

Why was it called Hawaii? Does it take place in Hawaii?

R115 no it takes place in the countryside in Argentina. you have to watch the movie. The revelation about the name is very poignant and suggests Eugenio and Martín were meant to be together and will be together forever

Mexican short film Trémulo.

Quemar Las Naves (Mex)

[quote] Mexican short film Trémulo.

Quite the charming little film. It helps the film has English subtitles.

Are Argentine men as gay as Spaniards?

[quote]Are Argentine men as gay as Spaniards?

In numbers? In degree of "gayness"? What do you mean?:

[Quote]Are Argentine men as gay as Spaniards?

"Oh my god. Ew, David!"

[italic]A Fantastic Woman[/italic]

Chilean film about a transgender woman who battles her lover’s family after he dies; Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film

R120, Spanish men. Half the male population of Spain must be gay.

Boy, the south of the border folks sure make great gay movies.

R27 - I watched about half of El Angel today, and it's leaving me kind of underwhelmed.

It comes across as a "gay sociopath" film, with the main character obsessed with the straight hunky friend/partner in crime.

To that end, I was checked out some reviews, and one by Monica Castillo made me wonder if I should bother watching the rest of the film:

[quote]Although the film’s premise is based on a true story, Luis Ortega’s "El Angel" is not a faithful biopic. . . . There's also the matter that the director took the liberty of reimagining Carlos as a gay psychopathic killer although no official version of Carlos' story hints at any queer identity. Although the film does dips into the old trope of a bloodthirsty queer villain, Ortega's version plays it serious so that Carlos can pass as straight (for a time) in the homophobic underworld of '70s Argentina. However, the camera spends a lot of time close to Ferror’s face—so the audience can see Carlos' longing, jealous gaze on the character's solemn face - and it's painfully obvious what Carlos wants to control the affections of another person. It's something he can't steal for himself.

So maybe I'm up in the air about whether to continue watching, and I wonder if the movie is actually going somewhere.

I just watched Nobody is Watching and enjoyed it. Thanks for the tip. It is on Amazon Prime.

There is also the Argentinean films Mi mejor amigo and La León

Not movies but Botineras and Farsantes were two Argentinean shows that had gay characters.

Berger's movies rock.

I saw both shows r129. Christian Sancho and Benjamin Vicuña are both hot.

There's also Otra historia de amor not sure if it's good or not but it I believe was made some time back in the late 80s.

Thank you all for the excellent movie recommendations. I will need to bookmark this thread.

To answer the OP's questions, Argentines are mostly of European descent and there are more people with Italian heritage than Spanish. Argentina also saw large scale immigration from England, Wales, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and other European countries. There's also a very large Jewish community.

At the turn of last century, Argentina was a wealthy country and was expected to rival the US. It is rich in natural resources.

But walking through Buenos Aires, the people look just as European as people in American cities do--lots of blondes, people with blue eyes, etc. They do not look like what Americans typically think of as "Latino"--brown skinned people of mixed Amerindian and Spanish heritage.

"I have a few questions. Are there a lot of Argentinian men who look like this? And does Argentina have a large middle class?"

Aren't Americans tired of exposing their utter ignorance towards the rest of the world over and over again? This is not 1990 anymore. Do have the nerve of educating through at least Wikipedia/internet before asking silly questions.

And I understand the most pausible official gentilic of united states of america is american but your country is usa (shorter and easier), not america. Argentina (for example) is America too.

Yes they're racists and love being conned.

But the fact that he never took a position for political expediency and was constantly being lectured by other Republicans about his need to do so seemed to matter to them far more than what those positions actually were.

R123 , get that Tranny shit out of this thread.

....

Is the sequel to Free Fall still on? This one should have a sequel too, maybe with them actually going to Hawaii!

Who knows r139 because it's been several years of them trying to get Free Fall 2 to happen.

A new documentary by Marco Berger.

Now at BAFICI, a Buenos Aires film festival.

R141, thanks. That looks worth a watch.

I see that the blond guy standing under the shower spray in the movie poster at R141 is actor, Gaston Re, who played the title character in Berger's "The Blonde One."

Have you seen his new movie, Young Hunter? It's very different from his others. It's a thriller, yet very disturbing. I say it's as good as Taekwondo, if not better. Butt really creepy! He's (Berger) actually really hot, if you check him out on imdb (better looking than most of the guys in his casts).

[Quote]He's (Berger) actually really hot, if you check him out on imdb (better looking than most of the guys in his casts).

R144 And he has a nice trail.

Someone warned Berger that he might get booted from Instagram for this one, but he didn't.

Another suggested he could show more on twitter .. lol!

I'm probably one of Marco Berger's biggest fans. I've seen everything he's done and own them on DVD (most were released pre-streaming days). 'Hawaii' is, without doubt, his masterpiece and up there with 'Moonlight' (which Berger adores) as one of the best gay-themed movies of all time. Their endings are pretty similar.

I'm with r3 when he says most gay movies tend to disappoint, yet Berger has managed to get it right at least three or four times, which is extremely rare especially for an indie gay director. He's very good with nuance and even though he doesn't shy away from frontal nudity, his movies are not for those wanting to be sledge-hammered by explicit sex and telenovela style melodrama.

Also, I feel like 'The Blonde One' is up there with 'Hawaii' as his best. It's available to stream on Apple TV+ and like his other films, he recycles some of the actors who are obviously his personal friends. The lead, Gaston Re, was in 'Taekwondo' and I think his performance is the best I've ever seen in a Berger movie. I have a serious crash on him and would be euphoric if he turned out to be gay.

Top 5 Marco Berger movies ranked:

1. Hawaii (2013)

2. The Blonde One (2019)

3. Plan B (2009)

4. Taekwondo (2016)

5. Absent (2011)

This IG post suggests Argentina doesn't give him the attention he feels he deserves.

Has anyone seen the doc?

Can anyone recommend other recent gay movies of this calibre? The genre seems to be regressing.

He and his friends are all so next-door cute. Exactly my type.

Working with his straight brother again. I hope he's listened to fans suggestions for a sequel or to, at least, bring back some characters.

Personally, I don't want a sequel to "Hawaii," but I could see a sequel to "The Blond One,' where it follows the title character into his next relationship as well as shows more scenes with him as a father. (Those scenes "Gabriel" played with his young daughter were quite special. The child actress was a real find.) .. In the meantime, bisexual "Juan" would be regretting his choices, smoking more cigarettes than ever, and trying to make a play to hookup with the blond one again.

Just watched in on YouTube and loved it.

Among many other things, loved seeing a Viewmaster, my favorite childhood toy.

Something I love about movies not made in the U.S.--plot points do not have the expected/obvious result. The two points that particularly stood out to me involved cans. Both of these would come to the obvious conclusions in American movies. Instead, they just added a little suspense.

U.S. movies can't do subtle. They always have to spell everything out.

There's also a recent Brazilian short film called The Gift.

I don't know why Hollywood sucks so much at this genre. The Latin Americans have it down. I loved the Peruvian film 'Undertow' too.

R158 -- Loved "Undertow" as well.

[quote]with two hot Argentinian male leads

The guy that played the drifter is Uruguayan and it was even written into the movie because of, I assume, his accent.

I like all of Marco Berger's films.

Here is a very worthy addition to gay Latin America cinema: Los Fuertes/The Strong One from Chilean director Omar Zúñiga (trailer in the link).

It's filmed in the south of Chile by the sea. Wonderful locations, great cast and story.

Cafe Com Leite

I watched Yo, adolescente mentioned by R66 - the end left me confused as to how I fell about it.

‘The Way He Looks’ is a very sweet Brazilian film about a blind boy falling for a new friend - it’s expanded from this short