Socrates (2018) User Reviews

Deeply moving human story of a (gay) teenager left to survive on his own in São Paulo

[wimdurang · 8/10 · 17 November 2019]

Deeply moving and totally convincing film. We follow the protagonist from very close which makes us viewers pulled into the story. Impressive acting by the young Christian Malheiros (debut)! Teen Socrates has to make a life on his own, when suddenly his mother dies. No-one wants to help him with a safe place to stay and sleep, unless he pays, but he really can't find much work as a minor. And in an environment where identity is taboo, things are even tougher. Between despair and youthful energy, he tries his best. While being faced with bureaucracy and other people's cowardice, and fighting for survival and freedom (and love), he still needs to find a way to cope with his mourning. All this makes him grow up very quickly, and even though still being just a teenager and having weak moments, he seems sometimes more mature than many adults he meets. Intense and deeply human picture. Also remarkable about this very well made low budget film project : made together with street youth from the favelas.

Wonderful

[bavarianoryx · 8/10 · 10 October 2018]

Having come to the showing with any clue of films plot was I can confidently say I was very surprised. The beginning moved a little slow and the cinematography seemed almost primitive (I later learned that was intentional) but otherwise the film ultimately crescendoed into a tour de force. There aren't many films as intimate and visceral as this. More films should have teens and young adults working on the staff to give a different perspective from what film watchers are generally used to

Depressed, motherless gay kid becomes homeless.....

[ohlabtechguy · 7/10 · 24 February 2021]

Wow....compelling movie to watch, but for all the wrong reasons. It gives a glimpse of dire poverty that exists in Brazil, where even the tropical weather and palms aren't enough to offset the ugliness of it all. The primary lead, Socrates, is a 15 year old kid who suddenly and unexpectedly loses his mother, his only guardian. The movie follows his desperate search for a job in order to keep his apartment and buy food. Who is this actor playing this kid? Every scene looked real, tragic, pathetic, depressing and it left me feeling grateful for all I have, right here in wintry Ohio.

What a life

[Goloh · 7/10 · 6 April 2021]

Socrates, a good-hearted boy being pushed into manhood the hard way, lurches from crisis to crisis. Then this fairly short film ends.

There was room to tell us more, even while we can probably guess the back-story involving his father. The cinematography is brilliant, and the English sub-titles were precise and colloquial, so that was a big help. Not too unusually for Brazilian films, "Socrates" gives us the feeling of being right there, almost as if it were a documentary. I understand this was a project involving young filmmakers and they should be commended -- it's strong, and would only have been made stronger by filling in bits and pieces of the story.

See this film and wonder at its excellence

[jromanbaker · 10/10 · 28 April 2020]

I am tempted to not overuse the word masterpiece, but misused though it is I consider this film to live up to the word. For those who can please see this film, and then again I wonder if it had been a heterosexual youth at the centre of the film it would have had wider acclaim here. The trajectory of the fifteen year old is almost as terrible as the young man in ' Sauvage ' except that the sexual scenes are not made explicit. France is not Brazil, and from what I see here of the homophobia, the betrayals and the abuse of one so young it makes me wonder how anybody at the bottom of the pecking order can survive there. I will not give spoilers, except to say with the sudden death of his mother this youth ( innocent and yet forward when he feels love for another youth ) falls into the many traps that a ruthless society inflicts on him. And there is a love story here, and hope could have been there except for the homophobia which seems intrinsically endemic even in large cities. As for the film itself it is in my opinion flawless, and so is the performance from the youth who has been named Socrates. Wisdom indeed and an inner knowledge way beyond his years. Seeing it in the terrible times we are living through I thought of Brazil now and what is happening there now. Any viewing of the film cannot avoid the political background. It goes way beyond in depth many other LGBT films. Why ? To sum up there is so much else in the scenario beyond homosexuality. Along with my familiar favourites of ' Sauvage ' and ' Theo and Hugo ' it is a rare film of extraordinary beauty. If there was a 10+ it would fall into that category.

Amazeballed - Highly Recommended

[seanmichael-31752 · 8/10 · 19 April 2022]

Apologies for the tawdry headline but I was just now a bit blown away by this flick. I had recently seen director Alexandre Moratto's "7 Prisoners" (also excellent) so dug back into time (via IMDB LoL) to check out his earlier work.

WOW there was so much unexpected raw honesty and imagery and emotion in this movie I was flabbergasted. And it was produced by young students!!

Exceptional.

Socrates (2019) - 7.2

[Bonnell7 · 10 January 2020]

Act 1 - 7.0

Act 2 - 7.2

Act 3 - 7.3

Film is about a gay man who was only accepted by his mother whom he loses and then struggles with her loss and finding a place of his own

See this poor kid struggle through a multitude of harsh situations from poverty to his sexuality

Malheiros gives an intimate performance as Socrates as he struggles to survive in an unforgiving environment

Film is about loss and finding acceptance for who you really are

Film is short and too the point and works well throughout

Direction and camerawork always give you a closeup intimate look at our character, feel like you're there with him

The gay plot cane out of nowhere but worked for the film

Films fault is that it doesn't arise to the emotional heights that it could have

Overall a nice small film that is worth a watch





Brazilian film

Powerful opening with a teen boy discovering this mom dead in her bed suddenly

Socrates meets with a woman that says he will be put in a home if he doesn't have a guardian

Socrates has been filling in at work for his sick mom and doesn't tell anyone she has passed but can't get the money for rent

Socrates is trying to get a job to pay rent so he can stay in his home

Socrates gets some work through a friend

Kids gets made at Socrates for working fast and tries to start a fight

Tries to get his moms old job embittered can't because he is underage but gets her pay

Socrates gets a call from Maicon the kid he got in a fight with about a job but says it fell through and offers him a drink instead

Turns out they are both gay and this is a very shocking turn for the film

They have very passionate make out session

Socrates goes to get his moms ashes but isn't registered to get them and gets very upset

The lady from child services found his dad and Socrates doesn't want anything to do with him

He gets drunk, throws up and yells at his landlord

Socrates goes to see Naicon and has dinner with him

They have fun and mess around at the beach the next day

Two guys catch them kissing and they get harassed and get in a fight

Socrates can't get a job and gets kicked out of his apartment and seeks solace in Maicon but can't find it as he is ashamed of who he is in public

Socrates is allowed to stay at his cousins on the patio

Socrates father comes and gets him in the morning but Socrates runs away

Seems like family knew he was gay and tried forcing him back into church in hopes of praying the gay away

Socrates goes to see Maicon for a place to stay and sees he has a kid of his own and gives him some money and tells him to leave, breaks Socrates heart

Socrates now has nobody and nowhere to go and buys a room for the night and drinks and cries and gets kicked out and throws up in the morning

Socrates is about to do a sex act on an older man for money but can't go through with it and runs away

Socrates goes to his fathers house who doesn't let him in and ridicules him for being gay

Socrates is reduced to eating food out of the garbage and sees a rock and goes back to his dads house

He hits his dad in the head with a rock and then steals from him, including his mothers ashes

Socrates goes to the beach with all his things

Walks into the ocean and struggles to stay afloat with his moms ashes

Walks out and lets some of his mom go in the beach and cut to black to end the film

.

Clever and daring

[RoyMince · 9/10 · 28 September 2023]

Wow, where do I start. This heart felt refreshing movie almost leaves you wanting more when it comes to an end. The Director really took time and saw things through as the acting the visual shots and the storytelling all provide a perfect blend into one beautiful storyline. I've watched this movie three times and it just gets better each and every time this is a film that's perfect for any situation and highly recommended. This Director I will definitely keep an ion for future projects because the mind and creativity is next level. Kudos to the casting crew for such an amazing job and Film that they created. Really amazing work.