It's so rare in life that we get beyond what we originally wanted but watching this film was one of those golden moments. I stumbled upon this movie not knowing any sort of advance word or description, merely hoping for some temporary diversion, but was instead rewarded with an amazing piece of understated artistry. Such universal appeal within the underlying honestly of the story & characters yet also showing a very personal understanding of the particular friendship, intimacy possible between gay men. So well crafted, there were pleasures to be found wherever one turned: subtle but haunting soundtrack, the clean, quiet strokes of the cinematography and the remarkably sincere performances of the cast. This is one of those films that echoes into the audience's subconscious for days and days afterwards. But being addicted to all things Robert Altman, my final judgement always comes down to the actual words and the behavior which surrounds them - that's what really determines the level of a film's impact. The conversations between the main characters, Jeff and Andreas, hit a level of realness we hardly ever see in American movies, never mind gay cinema. Even beyond that, there is a penultimate scene of intimacy between them which accomplishes a mesmerizing display of soulful quietness unlike almost anything else to be found in movies today. Hardly any directors get it right when it comes to sex, making it more about choreography or titillation rather than the underlying foundation of it all: honesty. Nothing more naked than that in this world nor anything more artistically misunderstood. But this director, Yen Tan, tore my heart out to the floor with that scene alone. There was just so much being said by the characters' faces and intertwining limbs, so much of what life is really like but that we don't realize we have in common till a filmmaker like himself finally speaks up. To my grateful surprise, I wandered upon something worth remembering and can't wait to see what comes next from Tan.
Review of Ciao
