They immediately take off in a hurry to be followed in hot pursuit by Uncle Jorge and his thuggish bodyguards and when they catch up to them, they beat one of them to a pulp. Juampi though helps the other one escape and he jumps on the back of the man’s motorbike as he speeds off.
It turns out that he is also called Juan Pablo, but known as Juano, and is about the same age as Juampi. Over the next day or two the boys slowly form a most unlikely friendship : one is from a poor indigenous family and is outgoing and very physical and wedded to heavy metal culture, and the other is from a privileged background, reserved and into writing poetry.
It soon becomes obvious that Juampi has other feelings for his new more worldly friend, but is unsure if they would ever be reciprocated as he seems to like girls. This is the first time that he has even started to come to terms with dealing with his sexuality and in this environment it is not going to be easy.
There is nothing that is out of the ordinary with this story with its very simple plot that never really seems to fulfill its potential. What does set it apart from others of this ilk is that it is (to my knowledge) the first ever coming out movie set in Ecuador, and that alone makes it one worth watching.
Full credit to local writer/director Diego Araujo for this sweet debut movie of his, and for the very creative photography which was a great way to show Quito the capital too.
Labels: 2014, coming of age, drama, Ecuador
