Twisted romance

The first feature movie from Jose Campusano, an Argentine writer-director, was Twisted Romance in 2008. Rotten Tomatoes indices suggest that in some markets it was re-named Vile Romance in 2011. Either way, it is another indication that Buenos Aires is not a city of loving normality.

Joe Orton would have appreciated the storyboard, and been tempted to exploit its comedy noir potential. The central character is an acned teenager, a non-mercenary practising homosexual. His wrinkled cackling mother and wild-eyed manic sister earn their living as a duo providing therapeutic sexual services for needy middle-aged men. Presumably eager to find a father-figure, the lad picks up a long-haired weed-smoking be-ringed ultra-macho gay divorced man who's a gun merchant and bitterly separated from his young daughter.

The older man is a violent love-maker, and averse to the sensitive and dim-witted lad's wish to take his turn as the active partner. Inexplicably, unless it's an Argentine politeness thing, the women in his family are eager to host the lad's older friend for dinner, an offer which the older man accepts. This leads to the daughter deciding to get the same action her brother is getting.

Picking up a young Spanish visitor (symbolically, perhaps, the film's only good-looking and likable character), the lad gets his sexual need satisfied, but the Spaniard has probably been affected by the Argentine sun or psyche, falls in love with the lad, follows him home, and ends up, the audience must assume, gorily slaughtered by the older man.

The lad pretends to ignore that happening but is still upset about his treatment in bed. So he invites the older man home for dinner again, possibly knowing that the wacky sister will make good use of the big kitchen knife and he can take the old man's jewellery and home for himself.

Within a year of this film's release, Campusano had created Vikingo, and it is awaited with a masochistic level of interest: the tale of a "rude motorcyclist whose rigid principles are honor and respect" could be another character in search of an Orton.

Plan B

Argentine writer-director Marco Berger's second feature, Ausente, won the Teddy award for LGBT movies at the 2011 Berlin festival. It'll be worth looking out for, as his first movie, Plan B [2009] was an engaging romantic comedy.

Bruno (Manuel Vignau), an amiable bearded layabout, is firmly rejected as a life partner by his girlfriend, Laura (Mercedes Quinteros, in her first role). She still has sex with him occasionally even though she's got a new college boyfriend, Pablo (Lucas Ferraro). Bruno schemes to get her back by befriending her new love and trying to lead him astray. The plan backfires when their male bonding unhinges Bruno's own emotions, then those of his girlfriend and rival.

The cute concept succeeds: Berger presents a slow-paced, wry character study of modern-minded young men facing up to sexual self-awareness. The slow, episodic pace reflects the naturalistic dialogue and gradual development of the men's friendship.

At 100 minutes, it's a slightly over-long novella given unexpected depth by the lead actors' close-ups: Vignau's eyes twinkle and dare (imagine a Bloom-Beckham hybrid) while Ferraro's glare anxiously (in stereotypical Latin style a la Bernal or Bardem). Their mutual attraction is comprehensible, unlike the woman's role in their lives; their happy ending is too pat to be true to life.