MovieChat Forums > Noordzee, Texas (2012) Discussion > Very, Very Sweet and Rewarding

Very, Very Sweet and Rewarding


I wasn't sure until dying Mom joined the two boys' hands together, but I whooped for joy at the end. This was a VERY pro-gay movie, because it has a Happy Ending. The angst of gay teen love is told over and over again, but this fantasy included a little honesty, too - like Gino's bisexual affair.

Pim and Gino were delicious. Pim is hopelessly co-dependent, and I can see the boys moving to the Big City (wherever that may be), Gino repeatedly cheating on Pim, Pim hopelessly despondent and eventually - walking into the ocean and not walking out. BUT, this movie wasn't about that. It was about the fear, wonder, joy, sadness and revelation that occur early in such a relationship. Really enjoyed this one. Where's that rating thingy - this gets a "9".

Wish there were more (any?) American films of this quality and conscience, but they seem to be few and far between. Teenage gay love is ultimate romance, it is "the love that dare not speak its name", after all.

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I couldn't put it better myself. I loved this film. And the two boys were so sweet together. This film kept me enthralled until the credits rolled. There's something to be said for world cinema films. The acting was superb too. Great story.

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Question to both of you: do you think Gino stays?

My take on it is Gino accepts he's gay and has been fighting his true feelings for Pim. It's not until his mother dies that he realizes life is too short and perhaps he should be with Pim so he comes back.

In any case, I just watched this a few days after seeing Weekend and I must say those films are two of the best gay movies I've seen in almost 10 years. Moving, heartfelt, romantic, open for interpretation.

I wish more gay films, especially American ones, were as thoughtful and well made as this.

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Not aimed at me but still here's what I think.
I think Gino have always wanted to stay with Pim but he was afraid of the consequences if people find out(something that still hasn't completely gone away) so he forces himself into being with a girl, as established norms suggest (also happening very often these days), and guilt is what makes him not contact Pim for years. He never gives a reason as to why things didn't work out with Françoise, so I assume he secretly knew it'd never work so he just let go.

Offtopic: I just checked the ratings statistics.. Females 45+ rated the film 5.5 - a lot lower than males 45+. I would've expected it to be reversed.

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I'm a female 45 +. I thought it was excellent. A great movie for teens I thought, too. Especially gay kids.
So nice to see a film with a happy ending for gay characters.

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I agree, all characters were portrayed so well. Very fine acting and movie making.

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There is the film "Wild Tigers I Have Known", produce by Gus Van Sant
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430768/
and the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUcaA47a3y4

and Van Sant's film "Paranoid Park" has a gay undertone. (and I have to admit I didn't really see it at first until I read a review from one critic then I went back and re watched it.
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkMDs3FXVzg

and of course there is the film from the 1970's "You Are Not Alone", not american but still very impressive it was made even back then.
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmGnT6sYFAs
(and note if you are offended by child nudity you may not want to see YANA, being a foreign film it's not uncommon)

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It is actually quite normal in foreign films and television to show underage full frontal nudity even to this day. Because its not really seen as sexual even if it is implied. . Can you imagine watching an episode of like "modern family" here in the US where the kid in it is being made fun of in the school showers and they show everything, what the reaction would be like in the US, while in like Finland, it's right there on network primetime tv.
Also there is not much hangup either and part of normal life, most kids the age of Ken ( it think that was the younger ones name) go to the public beac nude. And I believe Jelle Florizoone who played Pim was only 15 at the time of filming you you see his bare, behind at the end of the film. That shot by itself would be more controversial then the whole age, gay love story line.

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The most astonishing, refreshing, rewarding film about young gay love I've ever seen, bolstered by Jelle Floorizone's truly amazingly honest lead performance! It reminded me of my first love and our similar struggles! I'm running out of adjectives because there are so many reasons why this film is to be loved! It's such a sweet heartfelt love story and one of the most romantic movies I've ever seen regardless of the main couple's sexuality! That's why it breaks all barriers! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! JELLE is going to be part of the new wave of younger actors who will revolutionalize the industry on an international level!

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also check out The Myth of the American Sleepover its not a great film more geared towards the highschool, mtv, juno like audience, and the gay theme story in a sub plot. And it is also a movie I only saw once, and I am ok with it. But I enjoyed the film for the aspect that I contacted to the gay character in the film because, he was me in HS.

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I found the ending...unfortunate. I wasn't rooting for any kind of Pim/Gino reconciliation at all. I thought it was your typical teen crush between a gay boy and a straight or bi guy who was experimenting. Gino growing up and moving on was realistic, as was Pim experiencing the heartbreak before literally burning away the past, baptizing anew, growing up, and moving on himself. Pim waking up from his dreams was the natural course of things, and the most empowering moment for the character.

The final moments of the film I felt were regressive for both characters, particularly Pim. I don't think there is going to be anything lasting here, as I don't think Gino would "stay" with Pim. I found the ending very out of step with the remainder of the film and quite pandering just for the sake of a pseudo-happy ending. The ending felt tacked on, like some gay man's fantasy of what he wished could have happened in his youth, which was very out of step with the more realistic and grounded themes of the preceding hour and a half.

And considering that we never learn who Pim's dad is, the revelation that Yvette slept with Marcella's husband, and that said husband bares a resemblance to Pim, I'm not convinced that Marcella's hand joining wasn't some deathbed attempt to join brothers. Making the whole affair rather, again...unfortunate.

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At the beach, Gino implied his relationship with Pim had meant nothing, which was devastating for Pim. At the end Gino admitted that Pim is important to him after all. For Pim, that is an important thing to hear. Of course a lot of viewers aren't satisfied with that. I hear this complaint repeated. But for me I don't mind that the end is understated in this way.

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