Los Agitadores (Horseplay) is the latest film from queer Argentinian director Marco Berger (The Blonde One, Taekwondo, Absent). A group of ten handsome, fit young male friends in their mid-20s share a smart villa in the Argentine countryside for a few days over Christmas and New Year. The men know each other well and are happy to be naked together, share beds, and spend their days hanging by the pool, gaming, drinking, taking drugs, and pulling pranks (mostly involving each-others cocks and butts). As in any vacation house share – especially one with ten men – after a few days cracks within the relationships start appearing as individual personal boundaries are breached. We soon find out that all is not as it seems regarding sexuality in the group of heterosexual men and the relentless slightly homophobic, homoerotic banter in the group starts to cause ructions. A group of girlfriends arrive to spend the New Year with the men, and this sets off various events and discussions.

Berger’s film combines great casting and cinematography and accurately portrays the angst of hanging out with a group of straight friends when not out about your own queerness. The film is also an interesting study of the boundaries between fun banter and toxic masculinity. El Macho culture is alive and kicking. The men are beautiful and the relaxed, often full-frontal, nudity amongst a group of friends is refreshing to see. There is so much great skin in this film! Some interesting plot lines are developed although these were not fully explored and a lot was left to the imagination. Maybe too much time in the film is devoted to the horseplay between the men rather than the underlying serious plot lines, although the horseplay is very easy on the eye. Overall a good film.

 

Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant  (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah