My review. May be lengthy but please read. I welcome opinions.

I was not sure at first if I wanted to love this film or hate it. Ciao is beautifully written, beautifully filmed and beautifully acted. This is not a happy, "feel good" movie by any stretch. It is intentionally sad without being overly tearful. Very slow to move, but heartfelt, tender and sweet. I'm going with LOVE IT.

It may be important to be well-rested before watching this film. It can be easy to fall asleep to. Not because it is boring, but rather because it is very minimal. To begin with, the film's first lines are spoken eight and a half minutes into the run of the film. We already know the premise of the story, so there is not a lot of dialogue used or even needed to support it. Most thought and emotion is conveyed in the catatonic state found in the faces of the characters who have just lost a dear friend and son. At first I only interpreted this as stiff acting and a disappointing lack of emotion. On second viewing, I recognized this catatonic state as an agonizing display of pent up anguish. So much so that I began weeping for them in order to express the emotion they obviously could not. The film's first and only tearful moment comes toward the end of the film when the two men watch a home made video of Mark singing a love song. After which, Jeff is finally able to release the emotions he couldn't release until now, and grieve for the loss of his friend. You will tear up right along with him.

THE KISS
This is the most defining moment of the entire movie that conveys the connection felt between these two men. Not to mention the most tender and heartfelt kiss between two men that has ever been shown on screen. There is no sex. There is no nudity, because that is NOT what this is about. It was beautiful and sweet and never even tried to be anything more than what it was.

And that is what I loved about the entire film. It's not about sex. It's not about nudity. There was not a gym in sight, not a loud beat of music to be heard. No prejudice, no stereotypes, no "gay attitude" and the only antagonist was grief. If you dismiss this movie based on those exclusions, you will be missing out on something beautiful, honest and true.