Starring: Miguel González, Juan Pablo Castiblanco, Melissa Cordona, Daniel Espinosa
Director: David Salazar, Francisco Salazar
Country: USA
Adrian (González) and Sebastian (Castiblanco) are both Colombian immigrants living in New York City. There, they live openly as a gay couple, but back at home, nobody knows about Adrian’s sexuality. When Sebastian loses his job and his visa application is rejected, their relationship is put to the test as they go to great lengths to find a way they can stay together, but when Sebastian realises that if they returned to Colombia together Adrian wouldn’t continue to be with him openly, he begins to question the validity of their relationship.
Not to be mixed up with Gregg Araki's 1997 movie of the same name, this is not the first film to depict LGBT+ relationships against the backdrop of the US immigration system. The rules here are not automatically cast as the villain of the movie, but instead it is Adrian’s unwillingness to come out that is the real thorn their side. Their relationship is all sweetness and devotion at the start, but that contrasts heavily with the rough they are forced to take later, after the smooth. And while Adrian’s charm is particularly beguiling, it’s not long before the mask slips, as his fatal flaw is the problem that may destroy their relationship.
The central couple are nice enough and their chemistry is palpable initially. But as the film continues, Sebastian’s inability to stand up for himself is about as irritating as Adrian’s selfishness. The film is slow and plods along at a snail’s pace and by the time that their problems really hit the fan, it’s hard not to feel ambivalent toward the couple. The immigration rules are unfair, of course, but as these are only the catalyst that starts the decline and fall of their relationship, it doesn’t quite ignite a passionate response from us about whether they should have been put in this position in the first place. Really, we just end up hating Adrian, which I don’t think is what the director intended…
UK Release: On Demand – out now on Dekkoo, On DVD – 22nd February 2021, released by TLA Releasing.