Futuro Beach (2015)

You won't be disappointed!

Waste of time

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Donato (Wagner Moura -'Elite Squad') is a lifeguard at 'Praia do futuro' and gets called into action one day when two German tourists get into trouble in the turbulent surf. Donato is unable to save him but afterwards meets Konrad - this is the friend of the drowned man and he is gay - just like Donato.Well one thing leads to another and they get romantically entwined. It is a relationship built on lust and though that can survive for a while it always seems doomed to failure. Whilst the inevitable catches up on the love front, Donato seems to have also, not run, but ambled away from his past and family. That is a past with a memory and it is just as inevitable that it too will catch up with him.Now this is a very well made and observed film, with some stunning scenes and a confidence to know when to ramp up the ante and when to let it meander by in a pique of self absorption. There is a smattering of bedroom action, but simulated and nothing over the top. This is a relationship piece more than anything else and covers most of the bases. It has a full range of emotions too and reactions but approaches its subject from the view that there is essentially good in all of us. This is a film for those who want to be made to think and if that floats your boat then I think you will get a lot from this film.

"Beach" opens with two motorcycle riders riding along the sand, and cooling off in the waters of a nearby beach; When one of them drowns, the lifeguard tries, but fails to save him. The lifeguard Doni, ( Wagner Moura) strikes up a "friendship" with the buddy of the guy that was lost (Clemens Schick). Lots of hot guys. The friendship turns into more... but the plot development moves pretty slowly. Konrad wants Doni to stay, but Doni wants to get back to his job and his family. Full frontal nudity. Lots of butt shots. Not a lot of dialogue, but maybe that's part of the charm. A whole lot of dancing in nightclubs. Some GREAT scenes of a giant indoor aquarium, and also many ocean scenes. Then his family issues catch up with him. Doni must decide what's important to him. The ending was a little metaphysical, but you can judge for yourself. Certainly worth the price of a DVD on amazon.com.Directed by Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, who has done numerous films. Co-wrote this with Felipe Bragança. Very Euro.

I was greatly pleased by this film on several levels. The first and most important is the level of production, writing, direction and acting. The film is coherently written, well produced and well directed. The acting is well done with appreciable character development over its three acts. This makes it outstanding as a gay-themed film.The second level of my enjoyment of the film was its realistic style. Real men, albeit very sexy, with real lives having real sexual and emotional contact. The low-keyed dialogue and commonplace action blend well to create a sense of being present in those real lives. This is enhanced by the episodic nature of the story line. Less linear and more vignette.Finally, the frankness of the lives of these men who love in a surrounding world of heterosexual conformity makes its own political statement without having to. It is of the same excellent caliber as the French film "Stranger by the Lake". With films like this, I feel gay-content cinema has evolved far beyond camp and soft porn.

This is one of those films that- when you read the story synopsis- sounds like it will be utter sentimental tripe, lousy with cliché-ridden dialog. This film is anything but.This is one of the best gay male-themed films I've seen in a long time. I'd put it right up there with Weekend in quality, but the two films couldn't be more different. Weekend is dialog-driven, Futuro Beach is not. There are long spans where nobody says much of anything; you just observe. In the beginning, the story doesn't seem like it of holds a lot of promise.But just wait. When this film shifts gears, it really shifts gears. It's impossible to predict where it's going next, always a sure sign of a good movie, IMO.While the dialog is sparse and unsentimental, there is emotion all around. The men may be terse with each other, but they're expressive. We don't know if they're in love. That's how unsentimental this movie is. The words "I love you" are never going to be spoken in this modern relationship. What we do know is that there is a dynamic between them that neither wants to abandon.The themes of this movie are big: life (truly living) and death (just existing). So you might be tempted to assign life-message metaphors to the locale and action. Don't. Just let the film wash over you. This is one of those rare movies that immerses you in its own universe, and by doing so, gives you some insight into your own.