After the celebration, as they are walking home, they see
a man being beaten by several other men, and Mauro rushes in to stop it, as
does Marilia (Titi Muller), a cute lesbian who is not above self-promotion (she
grabs a reporter’s microphone and gives an on-the-spot report, then plugs her
website). Back at Vicente’s apartment, Vicente, Mauro, Rodrigo learn that Roger
(the man they rescued from the beating) is married and has a son. “She has
no idea I was there,” Roger tells them. That leads Mauro to challenge all
present to come out before the next gay pride celebration. So they have one
year to come out.
The film then follows each of them as they go about their
daily lives. Mauro reveals he wants to be a drag queen, and begins sketching
possible costumes to wear. Rodrigo is a virgin who has a crush on a classmate
named Lucas, and takes advice from Mauro on how to approach him. Vicente’s job
is going well, and he gets a promotion. But apparently he’s led his co-workers
to believe he has a wife, and solicits the help of his friend Paula to play his
wife at a dinner. And Roger’s wife Rosa is pregnant again, and her mom is
coming to stay with them to help out. We also follow Marilia and her girlfriend
Raquel, whose story eventually connects with Mauro’s.
At dinner, Vicente’s friend Paula improvises an entire
romantic history for them, and by Vicente’s expression, we know he feels that
each passing moment, each passing fabrication, is only putting him farther into
the hole which he must at some point climb out of. Tatiana Eivazian is
delightful as Paula, by the way. And the evening suddenly takes a surprising
turn, which might leave Vicente even farther in the hole.
The challenge was Mauro’s idea, but he seems to be the
only one who never really did hide who he was. Though his parents are still
shocked when they learn about him. (Clearly, his folks are completely oblivious
to the point of being blind.) That scene where they find him in drag is one of
my favorites of the film.
The film is a comedy, though each of the characters has
serious moments. Obviously, Roger’s situation is the most serious, for it
involves other people. The tone of this film is a bit uneven, particularly
regarding Roger’s story. His wife’s pregnancy is a serious matter, and is at
first handled in an appropriate way. But then Rosa’s mother arrives and is
immediately over-the-top, and the scene where she and Roger argue in the
kitchen doesn’t ring true at all. In fact, all of the scenes with Rosa’s mother
go on much too long, and frankly don’t work. They feel like scenes from a
different movie. Roger and Vicente become an item. It’s tough, because on the
one hand, we want Roger to be true to himself and be with Vicente, but at the
same time anyone who cheats on his pregnant wife is despicable. So we’re torn.
As he and Rosa look at footage of their unborn child together, he lies to her,
telling her he has to leave town on business. At that moment, is it possible to
like the guy?
The film touches upon the pros and cons of outing
someone, which is a complicated subject. And I love Mauro’s stormtroopers
T-shirt in the restaurant scene.
The film is presented in its original Portuguese, with
English subtitles. And I have to mention that this DVD has the sloppiest
subtitling I’ve ever seen. For example, “You told you ten times” should
obviously be “I told you ten times.” “So she called her mom, that’s
living there now” should be “So she called her mom, who’s living there
now.” And “No, we like on the back street” must be “No, we live
on the back street.” “You too make a cute couple” is irritating. But
“Holly shit, baby” honestly made me laugh. By the way, the original
title for this film is Do Lado De Fora.
Boys In Brazil was released on June 9, 2015
through TLA Releasing. The DVD includes the film’s trailer, but no other
special features.
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