North Sea Texas (2011)

A teenage boy's search for love finds him fixated on a boy who lives nearby.

Director:

Bavo Defurne

Writers:

André Sollie (novel), Bavo Defurne

Stars:

Ben Van den Heuvel, Eva van der Gucht, Thomas Coumans

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ben Van den Heuvel	...	Young Pim
Eva van der Gucht	...	Yvette
Thomas Coumans	...	Zoltan
Katelijne Damen	...	Marcella
Nathan Naenen	...	Young Gino
Noor Ben Taouet	...	Young Sabrina
Mickey	...	Mirza
Patricia Goemaere	...	Simone
Daniel Sikora	...	Maurice
Victor Zaidi	...	Julien
Jelle Florizoone	...	Pim
Nina Marie Kortekaas	...	Sabrina
Mathias Vergels	...	Gino
Luk Wyns	...	Etienne
Ella-June Henrard	...	Francoise

Storyline

Pim, the emotionally abandoned and affection-starved young gay son of a small seaside town's resident floozy, grows up dreaming intensely of a loving father who will someday come for him, but never does. Frequently home alone, Pim often spends time at a neighbor's house where another single mom and her two teenage children accept him matter-of-factly. As Pim is about to turn 15, he and neighbor boy Gino become each other's friend-with-benefits, entering a period of sexual awakening together. Life, however, is all about change, and while Gino (a couple years older) is ready to move on and move out, Pim is not, leaving Pim behind to carry on with his continuing crush for Gino (while Gino's sister Sabrina develops an unrequited crush for Pim).

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Plot Keywords:

gay | sexual awakening | caught in the act | male male kiss | teenage love | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Belgium]

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch German French English

Release Date:

2 November 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

North Sea Texas

Filming Locations:

Ostend, Flanders, Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,487, 4 November 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$27,578, 17 February 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Indeed films,Mollywood,Eén

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The young Pim parts his hair on the left, contrary to Gino, who Pim has a crush on. The slightly older Pim now parts his hair on the right like Gino, with whom he has fallen unalterably in love.

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Goofs

Pim's page with drawings of Gino on it changes between cuts.

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Quotes

Gino: Now we've both got the same knife.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to all the kids whose parents would not allow them the chance to take part in this film. It gets better.

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Soundtracks

Circles
Music written by Adriano Cominotto (as Cominotto)
Performed by Adriano Cominotto

User Reviews

Heart-warming Romantic journey...

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...