North Sea Texas (2011) User Reviews

The most bitter-sweet of teenage romances

[MOscarbradley · 8/10 · 30 June 2017]

You know you are in for a sensitive, perhaps even hyper-sensitive, treatment of homosexuality from the start. A young boy of maybe 10 or so, Pim, dresses up as a beauty queen, naked all but for a sash, his mother's jewelry and perfume. His single mother, who likes men, maybe a bit too much, and to hang out in the local bar, Texas, doesn't scold him nor do the friendly neighbours he spends so much time with. It is clear they, like us, can see the man the boy will become.

When we next see Pim he's just turned 15 and is infatuated with the neighbour's 18 year old son, Gino, and we know his future is already mapped out. The only thing is will director Bavo Defurne give us a picture of suicidal teenage angst or something more along the lines of "Beautiful Thing"? Well, let's just say there are plenty of bumps along the way in his film "North Sea, Texas".

In this country, of course, such stories of gay teenage sexuality would be virtually taboo where almost any depiction of sex in which either of the parties involved is under the age of consent is considered child abuse but those pesky foreigners have always lead the way in matters of the flesh, (remember Louis Malle's "Les Amants"?). Here, we might describe this film as brave, even daring, but it's probably quite commonplace in its native Belgium.

All the performances are good with Jelle Florizoone and Mathias Vergels as the teenage lovers, Pim and Gino respectively, slipping into their roles with remarkable ease while Nina Marie Kortekaas as Gino's younger sister, who has more than a crush on Pim, is also excellent. Only the most prurient of minds could take offence at this most bitter-sweet of teenage romances.

Poor Pim

[cekadah · 7/10 · 21 February 2016]

First read jm10701 review of this movie! This reviewer draws a nice clear picture of the characters and plot in this odd Belgium indie film. At the beginning I was not compelled to watch this movie due to the weird little boy but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.

Pim (the main character) is so sullen you'll wonder what's to become of him as his mother expresses no parenting skills and the only positive influences in his life seem to be the mother of his friend Gino and Pim's own imagination. So you just might want to follow Pim's story into his adolescence. (He has a catharsis moment alone on the beach in which he transitions into adulthood) There are other reviews here that are more detailed and repeating their praise is pointless.

The photography is wonderful, the mood of desperation is consistent, Pim's mother is a dead ringer for a 'Divine' look-a-like contest, and her boyfriend Etienne is as sleazy as he looks.

A Gay Love Story

[makiprettywoman3 · 7/10 · 3 June 2013]

If you go looking on netflix you will find there are dozens of gay themed movies. I ended up finding this dutch movie called North Sea Texas. You have a teenage boy named Pim. He has mother who is a singer and accordion player. She spends most of her time away from the house partying rather than raising her child. Pim spends most of his time at a neighbors house. This is where he meets a boy named Gino who he falls in love with. Pim likes to dream about things including drawing pictures of Gino.

There are some loves scenes in this movie between Pim and Gino. There is some stuff you might object to. Some people may not like the idea of guys kissing. Otherwise this movie is pretty clean. There is no violence in this movie. This is an interesting movie about teenage boys who fall in love. This movie shows a gay teenager named Pim whois a lot stronger that most people. He isn't confused in any sort of way. Pim isn't afraid to express his feelings towards Gino. This is a movie worth watching. It's a lot different that your typical love story.

Brilliant, stunning, beautiful

[jm10701 · 27 April 2012]

This is the story of Pim, a quiet, reserved gay Belgian boy, from the age of about ten (my guess, although he may be as young as seven or eight) to 17. In some ways, it is yet another coming-out or coming-of-age story, but it is extraordinary in so many ways that I hesitate to put it in that or any other category. It is very beautiful (both esthetically and emotionally), extraordinarily well written, produced, photographed, directed and - especially - acted. It is so far above the typical gay movie in every measure of quality that it really belongs in a class all its own.

Telling what the movie is about does it a disservice, because - although even the story is not typical - HOW it tells the story is even more important than the story itself. It is a very well made and well acted movie that really must be seen to be appreciated, but since this seems to be the first review, I'll give it a shot.

Pim lives with his bawdy, busty, blonde, unmarried mother Yvette near the North Sea and the French border. She is a semi-professional singer and accordion-player who is not unkind but prefers partying to mothering. As a result of her haphazard parenting, Pim spends considerable time on his own, often sitting quietly at a table by himself in a seaside roadhouse named Texas (which gives the movie its title) while Yvette plays and parties with her friends. Yvette has a companion named Étienne who does not live with her but drives her to gigs in other towns, who tries to be friendly to Pim but whom Pim clearly dislikes.

The elements of coming out in this move are not related to Pim, who seems to take being gay for granted, even as a child, and never shows any discomfort or uncertainty about it at all. Both his mother and Marcella, the (also single) mother of his two friends Gino and Sabrina, accept him as he is, although Marcella cares for him more than his mother does.

Since Yvette is often away, Pim spends a lot of time at his friends' house - so much that Marcella treats him as if he is her own son, and Pim's most important relationship is with Gino.

Gino is three years older than Pim, and as Pim approaches his 15th and Gino his 18th birthday, they become lovers. Their love scenes together are extraordinary in not being salacious or stereotyped or stale or shocking in even the slightest degree. They are tender yet passionate and very, very beautiful; and I never once thought, "I've seen this before." In fact, I never thought that at any point in the movie; it was as if I were watching a movie about gay teenage love for the first time.

Gino is the one who has trouble coming out, and eventually he moves to Dunkirk to live with a French girl. (Except when the actor playing Pim changes, the passage of time is not clear in this movie; and when Pim and Gino next meet, the only way we know it's two years later is that Gino mentions that Pim will be 17 soon.) Pim is devastated that Gino has abandoned him with no warning. The entry of a young Gypsy named Zoltan distracts Pim from his grief momentarily, until it becomes obvious Zoltan prefers Yvette.

I'm making this wonderful movie sound trite and dull, so I'm going to quit trying to tell what it's about. In essence, it's about a gay boy who has a LOT more sense and inner strength and is a LOT more stable and self-aware than anybody around him, and how his strength and patience dramatically affect the course of his life.

As I said in the beginning, this movie is so good in so many ways that I could write pages about how good it is. But I will limit my praise to the actor who plays the older (14-17-year-old) Pim and the director who encouraged him to give such a strong, courageous, subtle but stunning performance.

I believe the actor (whose name is Jelle Florizoone) was around 15 when the movie was made, and although he had worked on TV a little, this seems to be his first movie. But that kid carried this whole movie (because Pim really IS the whole movie) as masterfully and as effortlessly as Brando carried On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire. He is amazing.

Fortunately for those of us who don't know Dutch, there isn't much dialog, so reading subtitles rarely distracts from watching the movie. But Florizoone is so good with his face and with his body that he really doesn't need words to tell us what's going on, any more than Brando did. It would be a beautiful performance from any actor at any age, but the fact that he's 15 years old (when even great child actors start to falter) makes it even more impressive.

I've learned not to predict future stardom for young actors who give extraordinarily powerful performances in gay movies, because it never happens. But if any teenager working in movies today deserves to become a big star, Jelle Florizoone does. And if any director deserves a chance to make any movie he wants to make any way he wants to make it, Bavo Defurne does.

Tender Yet Unevenly Realized

[daoldiges · 7/10 · 16 June 2018]

I knew nothing about this film when I decided to check it out. The main character, a teenage boy Pim, lives with his single mother and older brother by the sea. He spends much of his time at his neighbor's house and slowly and gradually an attraction develops between Pim and the neighbor boy. Pim is a person a few words, as are several of the film's characters. I enjoyed watching the new and budding relationship between Pim and the neighbor boy, which they are of course compelled to keep hidden. Their relationship has its ups and downs but it always felt genuine to me. It is also short on dialogue, which I liked and did not see as a detriment but rather strengthened the films emotional impact. There were a few uneven/oddly handled sequences, small and short they were, but not enough to prevent me from ultimately enjoying this film experience.

An Excellent Film

[markswelby · 9/10 · 20 July 2012]

I'm so glad I took a chance and watched this movie. It was a very sweet gay coming of age film. I think just about every gay man can relate to this movie, and remembers what it was like to have that first crush on someone. I liked the fact that there was no violence in this movie. No one gets bashed or bullied. And it even had a nice ending! The lead character (Pim) was really quite excellent in the role. I really enjoyed the fact that, often, he didn't even have to say much and could convey everything he was thinking with a look. I wish there were more movies like this one. The kind that you watch, and want to see more after it's over. Check it out. You won't regret it.

Uneven pace, good performances

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 3 March 2015]

Belgian/Flemish films are not shown too often, but it is always interesting to broaden mental outlook and obtain information about different cultures and approaches. Noordzee, Texas includes multiple topics uncommon in most films: gay coming of age, life in the middle of nowhere governed by winds, dunes and tides, irresponsible way of living in a closed community, for example. Life is monotonous, with any arrival or departure creating an event, but children grow and adults exist, and all this may have unexpected solutions and perspectives.

Performances are good, realistic (particularly Jelle Florizoone as Pim, Eva Van Der Gucht (as Yvette, Nina Marie Kortekaas as Sabrina), but due to the complexity and versatility of elements, the plot is not seamless, the balance between slow and fast scenes is odd sometimes. Anyway, strong 7 points from me, with a recommendation to watch - unless you are conservative or homophobic.

Heart-warming Romantic journey...

[I_solved_Rubikscube_in_one_min · 9/10 · 10 January 2013]

North Sea Texas is a beautiful, well-crafted and well-shot film. Wow, its been a while since I've seen such an amazing, unadulterated romantic journey. I'm not gay but regardless I fell in love with this film so much that I sat down to write a review here.

So the premise goes like this... Its about a boy named Pim (I'm not familiar with Dutch/Flemish culture but having seen a few of their films I think a lot of guys are named Pim) who is kind of an introvert, a dreamer, doesn't talk much and spends a lot of his time drawing the things he loves. Young Pim meets a guy nearby, Gino who is three years older than him and eventually falls in love with him. There is also Gino's sister Sabrina, who is the same age as Pim and their mother.

Pim's mother, Yvette, on the other hand is a feckless woman who spends most of her time drinking, singing and playing accordion at a local bar. Her entertaining skills have taken over her motherhood skills and clearly Pim doesn't like it. Then there is Etienne, a friend of her who pretty much escorts her and hangs out by the house all the time and Pim isn't a fan of him either. These troubles cause him to hang out at his best friend Gino's place all the time; and also at a local drinking hole called Texas, after which the movie's named. Gino's mother treats Pim like family and understands the fact that he is not lucky to have Yvette as his mother.

If a write more I might just end up telling the entire story and BTW I didn't spoil anything for you. I just loved this film.

The acting of everyone in the film was so immaculate that you can just feel the emotions of each of the characters. Sexual Frustration and coming-out is what this film is all about and its all so evident in all the actors' faces that you don't need to look at the subtitles below. The cinematography is breath-taking as it captures the lovely locales of the coast of North Sea in between scenes without taking our mind off the plot.

A special mention to actor, Jelle Florizoone, who did a fabulous job playing Pim. He was actually one of about 200 teenage boys who auditioned for the part of Pim, and was the immediate choice for the filmmakers. This is his first film as an actor. The entire film rests on the character, Pim and his life and he just makes the character come alive. The maudlin displays of emotion, the cheekiness of teenage love, the heartrending feelings of his first heart-break... Oh he was great! Just because its a gay-themed film doesn't mean straight people shouldn't watch it. It is an excellent film or rather journey of Pim which mesmerises us to 'live' the characters in the film.

Its a refreshing break over films where the characters indulge in a sleaze-fest all along and then, at the end, realise that love was here all along. Its a must watch for everyone who is tired of watching cheesy films, having the same story-line, over and over again...

Years Of Exploration

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 1 August 2014]

From Belgium comes this coming of age film which is not about Texas. North Sea Texas refers to a local emporium where even juveniles gather to drink whatever. Apparently Belgium has some rather loose drinking laws. It also has some loose laws regarding the age of consent because there's no way a film like this would be made in the USA with such young participants in even tastefully done sex scenes.

The two main participants are played by young actors different at different ages. Young Pim who is the only child of the town tramp starts having is gay feelings awakened by a slightly older neighbor boy Gino. Because he finds life so unappealing at his place Pim is over at Gino's a lot. Eventually these teens do the deed and do it over and over.

But these are years of exploration and soon enough Gino gets himself a girlfriend leaving an angry Pim the odd man out. Gino's sister likes Pim, but he can't see her at all.

How does it all come out? For that you have to see North Sea, Texas. When you do you will a nice coming of age film for gay youth that would be banned in Dixie.

Growing up true to yourself, true to others.

[johnphillip-chavez · 10/10 · 15 May 2012]

A wonderful film about growing up gay and straight: discovering who you are, what love might mean, and learning to deal through trial and error with the world around you.

Set in a lower class neighborhood near the Belgian coast sometime around 1960, the story follows a boy, Pim, and two slightly older neighbor children Gino and Sabrina, from about the age of six or eight until their late teens.

Neglected by a mother who dreams of being swept off to romantic places, the younger boy is more or less adopted by the mother of the two neighbor children. The film resonates with an affectionate realism that does not treat kids as wholly innocent or without personal resources. It deals on every level with knowing who you are, and then dealing honestly with yourself and with others. In the course of the film, the children discard childhood fantasies in favor of a reality that provides scope for realizing their dreams.

The cast is outstanding. The performances of Ben Van den Heuvel and Jelle Florizoone (PIm); Nathan Naenen and Mathias Vergels (Gino); Noor Ben Tahouet, and Nina Marie Koortekaas (Sabrina) as the young / teen aged children are incredible, especially given the age of the actors. Eva van der Gucht and Katelijne Damen play the mothers, in difficult roles - the one flighty and negligent, the other tired and without illusions.

The cinematography is superb. It catches both the poetic beauty of the coastal dunes and wet lands as well as the drab reality of lower class neighborhoods in Belgium, with a color sensitivity that is at once realistic and emotive.

The movie could have easily settled into maudlin sentimentality or romantic excess, but steered a course through difficult subjects with a mixture of restraint and realistic optimism.

Following the showing, every person I talked with found the movie exceptional. Highly recommended.

Amazing Cinematography

[DoINeedT0 · 7/10 · 11 June 2014]

*Spoilers* This film was a random find for me, and I'm so glad that I watched it. It has a very adolescent feel to it, but it is quite a mature film in other parts. The acting was confident and realistic. The shots of the beach and dunes, the rain and sky with the actors' voices panning over really made the film for me. It was a lovely blending of nature and people too. All of the contrasting colours in these shots were perfect. This film reminds me of 'Glue' with the awkward silences and the nervousness of teenagers, also a coming-of-age film which I would highly recommend. I loved the fact that Pim could walk into the house of his neighbours and be like one of the family; it was even more emotional when he was crying when his mother left and also when his 'surrogate' mother got ill and died, I felt the symbolism of all the teenagers' white shirts was very powerful and her gesture with the boys' hands made it a beautiful scene. Overall, a lovely indie film, if a bit long.

what a beautiful , touching gay love story

[saraorg-91463 · 10/10 · 24 June 2018]

For some people i can expect that this wouldn't be so perfect to them , but damn this is perfect to me. i can say that i've cried about 3 times while watching this specially at the end , which is satisfying compared with other German gay movies i have seen such as : summer storm , land of storms , free fall , sasha , beach rats .... as if Germans have this kind of love or relationship issues , but that one broke the rule . i loved how the story began with his childhood and then he met Gino and fell in love with him , oh poor pim . also want to add that i liked the song at the end very much . i really got attached to that movie .

This kind of culture deserves a tad bit better treatment

[StevePulaski · 6/10 · 1 March 2013]

Director Bavo Defurne has had a pretty successful career in writing, directing, and producing short films with the kind of active cinematography and intimacy his first feature film North Sea Texas has. Defurne's deep, often unblinking look at his subjects provide us with a truly stark look at their life, and by the end, even if the short was just ten or fifteen minutes long, we achieved an understanding with his characters and his motives became clear. Of course I'm talking about "Campfire," the short he's most regarded for. And let me say, North Sea Texas is no "Campfire." The story concerns a fourteen-year-old named Pim (Jelle Florizoone), who lives in the West Flemish area of France, circa 1970. His father is no longer alive, so his mother Yvette (Eva Van der Gucht) always seems to be in some sort of relationship. A neglected and unnoticed Pim begins to develop feelings for his seventeen-year-old neighbor, Gino (Mathias Vergels), which quickly turn sexual in the wake of Gino moving away with his girlfriend. It just so happens that Pim leaves his mother to live with other relatives and be closer with Gino and his ultimate goal is to try and make their star-crossed relationship work in the long run.

Coming-out cinema is beginning to grind not only its own gears together, making for many awkward, too little too late films, but my own personal ones too. Just having gay characters and a gay love story doesn't make a film edgy, exciting, or visceral on its own merits. There needs to be more human interest in the story and, unfortunately, this is greatly lacking here. For starters, there are too many characters. There's no real reason why the mother needed to have a boyfriend in the first place and there's no true reason why Pim had to go live with his relatives anyway. The film could've easily shown him as a neglected boy just because his mother and him were growing distant with each other.

Second, the film inhabits the increasingly tedious style of "less-is-more," minimalist filmmaking, which, for this type of story, simply does not work here. It's distracting and makes the film appear inherently vapid of content and story. There are too many scenes of extended periods of silence and too little scenes enriching us with these characters. Long silences can work in film if we're given something to contemplate during the time of the silence. All we're given is a very fragile, loose gay relationship between two young boys, and because of the lack of development we haven't become invested enough to truly care or even worried that something may not work out.

But it appears I'm being too hard on a film, whose good intentions are noticeable and somewhat credible. Jelle Florizoone is a fine, subtle screen presence, excelling at a role that is certainly brave for his age, and likewise for Mathias Vergels, whose older character has even a little more to thing about than his lover. Quite possibly the most electric scenes in North Sea Texas are when Pim and Gino are confronting their repressed sexual tendencies in a tent in the woods, which involve many intimate sequences and alive emotion. These scenes alone make the film hard to dislike in many ways.

Yet the problems in North Sea Texas are a bit too big to ignore. There's careful directing, beautiful cinematography (if we're comparing it to other works of queer cinema, it's about half as good as the kind we see in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain), and bold performances, but there's also methodical writing, too many characters, slow progression, and an achingly minimalist style present. All I can hope is that one day, the youth of France get a gay movie that could very well represent their culture in a more intricate, sophisticated way.

Starring: Jelle Florizoone, Mathias Vergels, Eva van der Gucht, Katelijne Damen, and Noor Ben Taouet. Directed by: Bavo Defurne.

Surprising and tender but a little confusing

[Garcwrites · 5/10 · 8 January 2015]

Pim, Gino, and Sabrina, are entering a period of sexual awakening and the movie is very much about finding love, first love, and heartbreaks. It's a bit of a strange movie with a very slow and dream-like pace. There seem to be a lot going on in Pim's mind but it doesn't always translate on screen. I am not criticizing the actor here because I think he did a great job, I'm just saying that some scenes could have used a little push to make them great.

There are extremely long silences and yes, they are putting emphasis on those scenes and the fact that Pim lives in a dream world. But maybe there are too many of them. Pim cannot seem to catch a break in this film, when he's starting to get over Gino, here comes another heartbreak. In that aspect the movie is very realistic, it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. There're subtle changes throughout the movie showcasing that change is part of life, something that we have to deal with.

North Sea, Texas has beautiful photography, great visuals and score that add an eerie feel to the movie. Speaking about eerie, Pim started off, sweet but slowly got creepy - in my opinion - with his obsessive hoarding of anything guys he liked owned. I also didn't understand the whole alphabet reciting thing but it sure added to his creepiness.

Finally, for a film set in the 1970s with gay characters, it was refreshing to see that the whole shame, self-loathing and guilt of being gay was dismissed for a coming of age story. Treating Gino and Pim's story as the most natural thing.

If you haven't seen the movie please watch it and if you want to talk about it tweet me @wornoutspines.

A beautiful film to feel and empathise

[Gordon-11 · 25 November 2012]

This film is about a quiet and introverted young boy in Northern Belgium, who falls in love with the boy next door.

"North Sea, Texas" is a slow moving film, but it captures your attention by its great story telling. The story has little dialog, but a lot is told between the lines. Every action and every facial expression tells more than a thousand words. For example, the film tells viewers that the town is underprivileged by minor details such as Gino's mother pouring sugar sachets into a jar, and Pim's mother wearing the same dress almost every time she goes out. Towards the ending, there are scenes open to interpretation, leaving viewers to discuss what really happens.

"North Sea, Texas" is more of a film to feel and empathise. It is well made, and will touch your heart.

Stylish Romance

[martimusross · 7/10 · 9 September 2020]

North Sea Texas

Very slow, atmospheric movie about young love in Holland, very well acted and had much to see about what is ultimately meaningful in life.

Glacial pace

Heart-warming journey of adolescent gay love

[Sundancer-UK · 9/10 · 13 August 2012]

The 'coming-of-age' genre is really too broad to describe North Sea Texas, the first feature film from Belgian Director Bavo Defurne. There have been many films which portray the highs and lows of adolescent gay love, but few which do so in a way which draws you into their world in such an imaginative and creative way. The awkward silences, deserted roads and the long empty beach are symbolic of the emotional isolation of "dreamer" Pim. His only refuge being the place where he feels acceptance and understanding is with his 'surrogate' family - single mother Marcella, her daughter Sabrina, and son Gino - the subject of his love.

Jelle Floorizoone, (Pim) carries the film with incredible maturity and professionalism, helped by an excellent cast of characters who add to the film's charm and depth. Empathy with Pim comes naturally, and many will have been down a similar road - though clever twists keep you guessing and, just when you think you know what's coming around the corner, it takes an unexpected turn. As the boys grow older Gino drifts away from Pim, into the arms of a French girl, culminating in a confrontation of rage on an empty wind-swept beach. "Sometimes people have to make choices" is Gino's excuse, but when his mother is taken seriously ill, he returns to find Pim at her side. Sometimes it takes the love of an understanding mother, through a simple gesture, to show that her son's choice may not be the right one.

Having first seen North Sea Texas in the cinema earlier this year, and now again on DVD, it's a film that warrants repeated viewings. Like a painting, North Sea Texas has many layers: the more you look the more you see, understand & appreciate. Emotional and uplifting, North Sea Texas is one of the most engaging & original films about adolescent gay love since Danish Director Lasse Nielsen's ground-breaking "You Are Not Alone".

Included on the DVD is a short but excellent Premiere Featurette and film trailer. Running time 01:34:19, format 2.35:1, audio Dolby Digital 5.1

Portrays the suffering of youthful unrequited love & exploitation

[earthinspace-1 · 6/10 · 26 January 2016]

...partial spoiler about general themes.

You've heard this film is about a gay boy named Pim. That label is cargo in our societal theories of life. Pim's only about 14, and he might still be a father and family man some day. I choose not to take sides on theories of sexuality here, and to blur my eyes when considering the moral vision of this film. No nudity in the film, by the way. The story's about a neglected boy whose first feelings are that he's attracted to a boy. When the boy, to whom Pim's attracted, overtly returns the attraction -- literally seduces Pim -- all Pim gets from it is a roll in the sack. The other boy's not seeing Pim as a permanent friend. Young persons are inexperienced and cannot be expected to see all that's coming from their experiences. We adults realize we do not know what's going on, and maybe we forget how much more painful it can be, or was, when we were that age.

Lots of moments of uncertainty and awkwardness are woven together into a decent film. Clearly, the loneliness is not ended by a few episodes of sexual gratification. So that moral tone does not mislead a person who watches this film to understand themselves.

What Pim, like many young persons, does not yet know is, how to grow relationships which really blossom into a friendship that lasts. Like most of us, that's just the tip of the iceberg of what he doesn't know. For some, the taboos are confusing to some members of society because bullying is widespread in society, based on anything that makes a person into a member of a minority. Their feelings could not be openly discussed with a careless majority.

Real a mood feel good movie

[tuxedo93 · 10/10 · 19 May 2012]

If you are down, try this movie.

It's excellent creation of time and space. The actors are all believable.and this movie should have gone to the Oscars instead !

It would be nominated for best soundtrack, best picture, best actors, best photography.

Suited from 12 years old.

No violence.

Compare it with 'Get Real', and 'A beautiful Thing' but better.

It give an excellent idea how gay's explore their world in the 1950-1960's in Belgium.

interesting idea but disappointing execution

[ufotds · 6/10 · 22 October 2013]

This film disappointed me because the language used is some very clean and un-natural "dixi-antwerps". As the film plays at the sea side, it makes the accent even more unrealistic.

The movie is based on a novel and it feels like the dialogs have been taken literally which doesn't take into account how much more tolerant written language is compared to spoken.

Further, it feels like the scenes chosen drop a bit out of context, with little introduction as to why the characters feel towards one another like they do.

All in all, I found it mechanical and I didn't manage to feel with the characters.

A beautiful coming of age film

[tx_funone · 9/10 · 26 February 2013]

What beautiful film about love in all its forms. Love found, love lost, love unrequited. Your heart goes out to the central character Pimm. He lives in a single parent household with his mother but she is far more interested in going out and socializing than giving him any attention. At one point she is going out and for dinner she just tells him to open a can of sardines.He becomes infatuated with the handsome slightly older boy next door and at one point even jumps at the opportunity to move in with his family when his mother runs off with a new man leaving him behind only to find out that the boy he loves has grown up and also moved out of town.It does tend to be slow but I thought the slow build up just adds to the story. The final ten minutes had me on the edge of my seat afraid of what was going to happen. If you don't cry as much as I did your not human.

Beautiful phim

[ayonbhunia · 7/10 · 16 May 2022]

This movie is a kind of rollarcoaster for phim to find a love. Some things remained unfold tho but it's good movie ! Love the end. And love phim's calmness with a attitude ! Overall a nice movie but one time watch.

brings back fond memories of my childhood

[dave_vogel_1 · 10/10 · 19 July 2021]

Its just that type of film. You will thoroughly enjoy it and the boys are cute too!

A quiet & humble coming of age/coming out film.

[domotheawsome · 6/10 · 14 August 2020]

This film is cinematically serene-- I want to say nearly a third of the film consists of aesthetic shots of the coastal town and it's hidden beauty. There is little dialogue, most of the story is interpreted through the actors. There is a seamless flow to the film (until the end, where everything seems choppy & sped up) Overall, an aesthetically pleasing film that is a very different take than the typical coming out stories that use common themes of bullying and self-shame as a crutch.

Here's my main qualm with this film, it was a bit too slow, which further translates to boring. If you enjoy slow dancing, taking in the sights and sounds, and love stopping to smell the roses, then I am sure you will enjoy this film. At first, I appreciated the aesthetic clips of waves crashing and Pim looking solemn, however as the film progressed it felt forced, unnatural, and unnecessary. It detracted from sincere moments in the film & left the viewer in a grudge (the viewer being me).

Second, I disliked the ending. I thought the film, maybe an hour in, was absolutely beautiful. However, the ending was tragically... terrible. (((Major spoiler))) From what I take, Sabrina & Gino's mother dies from some sort of kidney thing, Sabrina takes on a job at a local eatery to sustain herself and Pim, and the movie ends with Gino coming back from France(?) and professes his love to Pim. I thought, the entire time, this is incredibly lame. This mercilessly reminded me that this movie derived from a YA/children's novel-- instead of a sweet ending to a peaceful film, you have an unrealistic, over-the-top conclusion that doesn't ride with the rest of the book. After the mother dies, it just didn't make sense to me. Maybe it's my human morals talking, but after a loved one dies, you don't resume your petty love triangle, have some respect for the mother. She was a relatively minor character, but the fact that she passed away & the romance continued made me angry.

Overall, 6/10. I had high hopes after reading reviews prior to viewing, and for the most part, I am not completely let down. It's a stunning film & it deviates greatly from the typical coming out film, but it just was a little lackluster.

No ones hair changed

[hughman55 · 3/10 · 30 May 2013]

The main portion of this film spans at least three years and no ones hair changes. It doesn't get longer, shorter, darker, or lighter. How can an entire cast of a film undergo no superficial changes over a three year period? Did peoples hair not grow in this seaside town? Was their hair growth tied to the slow pace of the story?. The two teen-aged boys had an unbelievable amount of sex. Wow. I didn't do that well in my twenties. And the scene in the hospital with the dying mother and two boys was just bizarre. This plot seems to me to be projection by the film maker. This just doesn't read like an adolescent's life story. And the poor sister. Could someone throw that poor girl a bone? I haven't seen a more sad sack character since Joy Jordan in "Happiness". There's not much else to comment on about this film because not very much happened over the 90 minutes that it took this paint to dry.