Two men, who seem perfect together, fall in love in the new Chilean gay film ‘In the Grayscale.’ ★★★★
We first meet Bruno (Francisco Celhay) in his grandfathers’ workshop studio where he is living. He’s an architect, and has been assigned by the city commissioners to design a new monument in Santiago. Bruno is introduced to Fer (Emilio Edwards), a history teacher who knows Santiago inside out and will help Bruno look for a unique spot for the monument. Bruno is recently separated from his wife Soledad (Daniela Ramirez) and they share custody of their young son Daniel (Matias Torres). Soledad is very depressed about the breakup of their marriage, and there are days when she can’t get out of bed, even when she’s supposed to be watching Daniel.
Bruno, a handsome quiet type, and Fer, who’s very goodlooking, perky, full of jokes, very energetic with a perfect smile and perfect hair, spend their days together riding their bikes around Santiago. And over the course of their tours of the city, Bruno slowly starts to fall for Fer. It’s a love affair that Bruno finds surprised to be in; he always had doubts about his sexuality but didn’t realize he was going to find someone like Fer. But Bruno has responsibilities with his family, plus he’s ignoring the work that he’s been given so he’s under a lot of pressure to please everyone. And word is out that he’s been seen spending time with, and kissing, another man. Can Bruno handle the pressure of his new relationship while trying to be a role model to his son?
‘In the Grayscale,’ which literally translates to being in a state of flux, or being in a range of gray without any color, is pretty much a depiction of Bruno’s life, and is an impressive debut feature from Claudio Marcone. It’s an eye opening film depicting one man questioning his sexuality pitted against another man who’s very comfortable with his. The two male leads are very good, confident in their roles, making the story very believable. But the best bit of the movie comes at the end in the form of a song called ‘Disfruto’ by Carla Morrison which rolls over the closing credits. Morrison’s voice is angelic, and the song, which translates to enjoy, is an ode to secret love, where she sings (in Spanish) ‘be with me during this time, to guard the secret, and to be careful with these moments.’ It’s a beautiful song that wraps up the love between the two men in the film.
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