The Way He Looks

... of discovery as a blind adolescent boy falls in love for the first time and embarks on his journey to manhood with the arrival of Gabriel at his school, much to the annoyance of his best friend Giovana.

First off, let me just say this: if you haven't watched the movie yet, I strongly recommend you not to watch the short film first. I found that watching the short film first ruined my watching experience of this movie.

I actually forgot how I stumbled upon this movie; I think the movie trailer was auto-played by the Youtube player. Anyway, it is indeed a great film, and I was so happy to have come across this movie by accident.

To be frank, one of the reasons I was keen on watching this film is because of its high rating. It's just a few marks below one of my absolute favorites, Weekend (2011), which stimulated me to watch this film.

Basically, this movie is an elaborated version of the short film. The two films more or less have the same plot. I always think it's hard to turn an outstanding short film into an outstanding 90-minute movie. This one definitely did not disappoint me. When I was watching the movie, I was thinking why it could get such a high rating. Well, the reason is really simple: it is genuine. None of the dialogues is misplaced; the emotions are heartfelt; and the cinematography is indeed splendid. The actors made the plot believable too: Gabriel (Audi) and Leo (Lobo) were great actors; they conveyed the emotions smoothly. I was surprised to know Audi's real age and Lobo's normal eyesight. I guess that is evidence that they really carried the story well.

There are one or two scenes which can be considered slightly explicit, but they don't exist just for the visual stimulation. They carry weight, reveal characters' inner-feelings, and move the plot forward. You know, some films include explicit sex scenes which indeed provide pleasure for the viewers, but this movie is not one of them.

I also loved how the plot is so simple yet heartwarming. Like some reviewers have pointed out, this movie does remind you of what first love feels like, especially for gay teenagers. The confusing emotions and the hesitation of whether to trust your feelings are revealed splendidly in this movie. Also, the fact that the film involves a blind character adds a twist to the movie. The plot is indeed a wonderful one, but after watching the movie, I can only wonder whether a blind, gay teenager falling in love with a new student who also happens to be gay is plausible. I'm not saying that the fairytale ending is implausible, but the way that the movie is packaged as "a beautiful youth story" took away a tiny bit of my love for this movie. Hence why it's a 8/10, not 9. Nonetheless, in this world where gay stories almost never have happy endings, I will gratefully take this movie.

One more point to add: I don't know if critics have noticed, but clothing have become a recurrent theme in gay film and literature. Like Jack's bloodstained shirt in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Oliver's "Billowy" shirt in André Aciman's novel "Call Me By Your Name" (2007), Gabriel's jacket has become one more item to be included in the recurrent theme of "clothing" in gay film and literature. The meaning of clothes is not just on physical but also metaphorical level, and in this film, Leo's yearning for Gabriel is best revealed by how he treated Gabriel's jacket.

Let's just put it this way: if you haven't seen the movie, you need to watch it as soon as possible.

If you want to feel that Oh-my-God-I-am-in-love-for-the-first-time feeling, hunt down a copy of this movie and fasten up your seat belt.

There are a lot of movies out there that pertains to the burdens of gay teenagers. However, this one seriously made its way to my heart. This is nothing mainstream, not even a hint of being a novelty film. I was jumping up and down, I cried, I laughed, I felt confused--this is a bomb;a ticking time-bomb. And the only thing that makes the ticking faster is the beat of your heart.

This is a hidden gem, a must-watch for those who are tired of mainstream movies. It is like reading a book but in a multi-sensory way and what makes this film unique is the fact that you cannot simply move on. You'll always be haunted by this movie and you'll find yourself tying the strings of your heart tighter.

I was referred to this film by a link from another film, and decided to watch it for enhancing "land diversification", plus the film was Brazil's submission to the Academy Awards. As I new nothing about the protagonist's disability, the very start did fascinate me already (how all this would go on?), and, for me, all events went smoothly on towards a smart and tasteful ending.

In spite of sensitive background and topic (at least for many), it was handled with piety, without sensationalism or platitude. The fact that a disabled person had gay feelings, was pleasantly collateral, not prevailing - we just obtain a nice view of teens' dreams vs. reality in São Paulo. As the performances (both younger and older) were skillful and realistic as well, it all just fell into place, and the result is a very good example of a film depicting youngsters should be - as versatile as their inner world and wishes. Highly recommended particularly for the younger people all over the world.

This movie is amazingly good. I already had a taste of it with the short "Eu não quero voltar sozinho" and could not wait to watch the full movie. I had great expectations before even seeing the teasers or trailers... The movie is sweet, delicate and makes you feel so good! The characters are really well constructed. You can see how the actors improved and grew up. The dialogues flow naturally, and the camera works really well with the story. Although I already knew what would happen (because of the short) I was thrilled on many scenes. A really nice touch of the movie was to use small dialogues of the short. The movie makes you want to sit on the movie theatre for many hours. The music made me really happy. I was bobbing my head every time Belle And Sebastian was on, and could not hide my smile on the entire movie. The scenes are so well constructed that you forget that you are watching a movie - it has a dream-like feeling, even on the scenes where there is prejudice. Daniel Ribeiro did an amazing job, and so did the actors. I am in love with the story. This movie is for everyone who believes in love.