Film ReviewsThe Way He Looks
Nov 26, 2014, Anchorage Press
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Every generation has a coming of age story. For the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community, coming of age also means coming out, or at least coming to terms or awareness about one's sexuality. In LGBT cinema, telling a coming of age story goes beyond a single character's bold act of individuation. It is an act of telling stories that fight bigotry on a larger scale and transform the individual and his or her surroundings-and hopefully, the audience. LGBT coming of age stories run the gamut from understated, philosophical studies like Chantal Akerman's Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the 1960s in Brussels, to the absurdly comical and essential, But I'm a Cheerleader by Jamie Babbit and starring Natasha Lyonne.
The Way He Looks is about Leonardo or Leo, a middle-class, smart and charming teenager coming of age in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Leo discovers himself as he navigates a sea of bullies, friends, and family. And if these complexities weren't enough, Leo also has to deal with an environment that doesn't understand that his blindness is not a disability, he simply has other ways of perceiving the world. Leo's primary struggle is to open people's eyes to the world from his perspective. When Gabriel, a new student, comes along and befriends Leo and his best friend Giovana, sparks fly in all directions, and teenage angst beautifully unfolds with an astounding degree of kindness on the part of the filmmaker as Leo and Gabriel discover their feelings and attraction for one another.
The Way He Looks is a Brazilian film directed by Daniel Ribeiro. Leonardo is played by the winsome Ghilherme Lobo. His portrayal of a blind character is believable, though not as believable as Audrey Hepburn's in Wait Until Dark. Gabriel is played by Fabio Audi, whose curly hair and long eyelashes make the character of Giovana (Tess Amorim) and others swoon. The original Portuguese title of the movie is Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, which translates to "Today I want to go back alone" and it's based on the short film I Don't Want To Go Back Alone (2010).Viewers can see the original short on the film's website (thewayhelooks.com), however, the short is not subtitled, so it's a good opportunity to brush up on Portuguese. It's a shame that the original title was not used as the translated English title because viewers may miss the nice detail just before the closing credits where the title of the film changes from, "Today I want to go back alone" to the title of the short film, encapsulating the sense of hope and possibilities that the film weaves from beginning to end. The Way He Looks is Ribeiro's debut onto the international film circuit. The film has distribution in 15 countries so far; in the US it is being released through Strand Releasing, which since the late 1980s has distributed over 140 LGBT films. The Way He Looksjoins the ranks of coming of age stories alongside another Strand Releasing film from the late 1990s, Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål), about two teenage girls in a small Swedish town who are also muddling through the difficult teenage years and find their first love in one another.
The Way He Looks is tight, well balanced and good humored. It depicts the subtle pain of rejection, conflict and jealousy without being disproportionately melodramatic. The film has strong primary, secondary, and even tertiary characters; they're developed to the degree that viewers will see themselves in one or more of the characters, regardless of sexual orientation. The story of Leo is the story of many teenagers who perceive themselves to have some sort of limitation or insecurity. In the case of Leo, his blindness leads those around him to underestimate his abilities and growing independence. A poignant scene in the film comes when Leo's been comes home late, his parents are worried sick and make a stink about his tardiness. His mom says she was worried because it was dark out, and Leo responds that for him, it's always dark. Jarring realizations like this begin the shift in his parents' perception of Leo from a child to a young adult. Viewers may expect that the close relationship between Leo and his parents will bode well for Leo's first love experience. Leo sees nothing but possibilities; when he meets Gabriel, this is no different. Feeling attraction for Gabriel is natural, and gender is a non-issue. Gabriel is a little more cautious, and Audi expertly delivers intimate moments of awkward self-awareness. He steals glimpses of Leo with such tenderness it makes him and viewers blush. Their friendship develops through sharing of music and conversation, and love immediately follows through quiet moments. The great part about falling in love, whether it's the first time or the tenth is that people see the best in one another, and love not only what a person is, but also what they can be. In The Way He Looks, the possibilities are endless, Gabriel and Leo dance, go to movies, and Leo even rides a bike. For this generation, a coming of age story is easy like Sunday morning.
The Way He Looks will play Monday, Dec. 1 at 7:45 p.m. at The Bear Tooth Theatrepub
The Way He Looks is about Leonardo or Leo, a middle-class, smart and charming teenager coming of age in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Leo discovers himself as he navigates a sea of bullies, friends, and family. And if these complexities weren't enough, Leo also has to deal with an environment that doesn't understand that his blindness is not a disability, he simply has other ways of perceiving the world. Leo's primary struggle is to open people's eyes to the world from his perspective. When Gabriel, a new student, comes along and befriends Leo and his best friend Giovana, sparks fly in all directions, and teenage angst beautifully unfolds with an astounding degree of kindness on the part of the filmmaker as Leo and Gabriel discover their feelings and attraction for one another.
The Way He Looks is a Brazilian film directed by Daniel Ribeiro. Leonardo is played by the winsome Ghilherme Lobo. His portrayal of a blind character is believable, though not as believable as Audrey Hepburn's in Wait Until Dark. Gabriel is played by Fabio Audi, whose curly hair and long eyelashes make the character of Giovana (Tess Amorim) and others swoon. The original Portuguese title of the movie is Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, which translates to "Today I want to go back alone" and it's based on the short film I Don't Want To Go Back Alone (2010).Viewers can see the original short on the film's website (thewayhelooks.com), however, the short is not subtitled, so it's a good opportunity to brush up on Portuguese. It's a shame that the original title was not used as the translated English title because viewers may miss the nice detail just before the closing credits where the title of the film changes from, "Today I want to go back alone" to the title of the short film, encapsulating the sense of hope and possibilities that the film weaves from beginning to end. The Way He Looks is Ribeiro's debut onto the international film circuit. The film has distribution in 15 countries so far; in the US it is being released through Strand Releasing, which since the late 1980s has distributed over 140 LGBT films. The Way He Looksjoins the ranks of coming of age stories alongside another Strand Releasing film from the late 1990s, Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål), about two teenage girls in a small Swedish town who are also muddling through the difficult teenage years and find their first love in one another.
The Way He Looks is tight, well balanced and good humored. It depicts the subtle pain of rejection, conflict and jealousy without being disproportionately melodramatic. The film has strong primary, secondary, and even tertiary characters; they're developed to the degree that viewers will see themselves in one or more of the characters, regardless of sexual orientation. The story of Leo is the story of many teenagers who perceive themselves to have some sort of limitation or insecurity. In the case of Leo, his blindness leads those around him to underestimate his abilities and growing independence. A poignant scene in the film comes when Leo's been comes home late, his parents are worried sick and make a stink about his tardiness. His mom says she was worried because it was dark out, and Leo responds that for him, it's always dark. Jarring realizations like this begin the shift in his parents' perception of Leo from a child to a young adult. Viewers may expect that the close relationship between Leo and his parents will bode well for Leo's first love experience. Leo sees nothing but possibilities; when he meets Gabriel, this is no different. Feeling attraction for Gabriel is natural, and gender is a non-issue. Gabriel is a little more cautious, and Audi expertly delivers intimate moments of awkward self-awareness. He steals glimpses of Leo with such tenderness it makes him and viewers blush. Their friendship develops through sharing of music and conversation, and love immediately follows through quiet moments. The great part about falling in love, whether it's the first time or the tenth is that people see the best in one another, and love not only what a person is, but also what they can be. In The Way He Looks, the possibilities are endless, Gabriel and Leo dance, go to movies, and Leo even rides a bike. For this generation, a coming of age story is easy like Sunday morning.
The Way He Looks will play Monday, Dec. 1 at 7:45 p.m. at The Bear Tooth Theatrepub