Quand on a 17 ans

This movie was quite charming. While it was easy to anticipate a story of repressed adoration channeled in the form of antagonism, as is the case for many nonhetero- and questioning folks, it was very rewarding and exciting to see the two main characters come into their own, especially Thomas. Tension is a marvelous instrument and what I liked was that nothing in this movie was presumed or handed to you, everything took it's sweet time to present itself. Beautiful character development, Damien and Thomas had great chemistry and rawness. To me, Thomas is crucial to the film, race is big (and I could go into that further). It was also not surprising that Marianne (Damien's mother) got such rave reviews. She was absolutely splendid, captivating the screen with her restrain, affection and depth! Plenty of beautiful vistas to mirror the emotional range of all the characters... this IS a good film, one that I relate to and applaud, BUT in writing this, I am curious of the perspectives of those who are not accustomed to seeing these kind of romances/coming-of-age stories. So, I encourage any and all to see this, a movie that caters to its audience with characters who all feel, react and grow before your eyes.

All the cliches aside, yes this movie was completely predictable, i knew the father was going to die. You never saw the son struggling with his fathers death, you only saw the mother shed a few tears. it wasn't very believable how very calm it seemed to have the father die, nobody suffered greatly. maybe because the father character wasn't developed much and they wanted to spend more time on the love story aspect. the very end was super cheesy, it was sweet but could have ended it in a more thought provoking way instead of a cheesy kiss. aside from all that, the acting was pretty well done.

The photography was simply sublime. Cuts between scenes and angles were seemless and organic. The character development was lovingly drawn out in exquisite detail - Thomas' love of the mountains and his defensive loneliness because of a broken home, Damien's scholastic ambition and his growing feelings for Thomas. You could feel the tension and attraction developing naturally between the two. The acting was top notch from everyone especially the grief of the mother at tragic death of her husband. The progression of the boys feelings for each other was perfectly believable, I never caught them acting. It deserved many more awards. Truly a work of art, in direct contrast to the pretentious, contrived, over hyped Call Me By Your Name and the wooden, Shatner-like acting of Armie Hammer.

For some reason I wasn't aware this was a Techine film until the credits. Then it was an a-ha moment--I should have known. Quality like this doesn't come from many other directors. The theme and characters are echos of some in other Techine films. But this one, like his others, is fresh and original, enough so that I never made the connection. The story is not just about a gay relationship, but that relationship is the thread that holds the story together. This film has a scarce commodity: gay characters who are multidimensional. Nothing is cut and dried between them, nothing is easy. The progression of the relationship is a struggle--literally--and it feels natural and real. To me. If it doesn't seem real to you, chances are you're under 30 and have grown up in a progressive, first-world culture. For me, well... my college boyfriend (50+ years ago) was a hyper-masculine bisexual boxer who was angry that he was attracted to guys, and angrier still that he was in love with one. So, yeah, I could relate. I remember our bruises. The locale, actors, cinematography, etc., all first rate. However, if you're like me you may feel you've had your fill of LGBT coming of age stories. Just know that this variation on that theme is one you're unlikely to have seen before and it's really well done.

I was hoping it would be an interesting, and ultimately a gay film that I could relate to, but as previously alluded to on another critiqe, it was was a complete mish mash of scenes. What occasioned the animosity between the two boys? What was the visit to the gay farmer all about? There was no explanation. In fact there was no explanation for a number of scenes, and the final realisation that the boys were in love was condensed into a ten minute finale. A deeply disappointing movie, that was only worth five stars for the attractive boys that acted in it.

I don't know why this film has not been watched by many. This is a good film, a good French gay film. Like many reviewers had already mentioned, this is not your typical gay theme. It would have been better if you had tried it without knowing what kind of story is this. Anyway, I mentioned it, but it is not a spoiler if you thought so. It would have landed at you in one way or the other while learning about the film. It was more a drama than the romance. But everything has to have a nicer initiation. So, that's how the film characters take the shape. Only those important characters like the main two and another 2-3 were the all focus. The narration clearly ignores everything else to put the story straight, despite it was not about the straight guys. The tale was told from the perspective of Damien, a new boy moved into the small foothill town with his doctor mother and while his father serving in the army in an away tour. Sometimes, the perspective takes neural to accomplish the other aspect of the story. An unexpected rivalry begins between Damien and his classmate, Thomas, a loner who lives up in the hills in a farmland. As the film progresses, their fight intensifies. But there comes a time to compromise when the developments around them forces them to do so. It's the turning point for them, yet they're not in the mood to shake hands. You could say what comes henceforth, but that's where you might go wrong. This tale breaks the stereotypes and brings a fresh perspective on homosexuality. Although not fully unpredictable narration. ❝I don't know if I'm into guys or just you.❞ Besides, the places where the film shot was magnificent. Takes place in different seasons, and each time the story well exploited the region to blend with the emotions, fierce and other moods in the drama. The two boys were good. Because of the type of their role, the film looks slow in some parts. But overall gets better with its upcoming scene. The first two acts were nothing but the boys and their struggle to get over with their conflict. More like the random acts of normal reaction to such incidents. Only if it had tough guys on both the ends. But where it all leads were well planned that you may slightly disappoint with it. Like I was aware of a couple of things from the story, and it indeed that's how it turned out at the latter part. Otherwise, there's no complaint about it. Despite I enjoyed watching it, not the film that I wanted. I blame my anticipation for having such opinion. I was looking for more and more things to happen, whereas the narration was riding in the simplest manner. Especially the last half an hour brought the best out of it. Yeah, you could say it ended strongly and probably a turning point for the audience to change their stance if they were not happy so far. Firstly, it is worth watching for being a different for such concept, and that's because of the writing. Secondly the cinematography, direction, including the actors made it a better flick. But personally I was not happy about failing to come to the point in the early section. It recovered, almost at very late. And then it ended better. But still I agree it was a perfect portrayal of the older teenagers and their confusing sexuality. The contents were realistic while the film stayed true to cinematic. I hope people watch it with low expectation and patience. 7/10

Every single character felt so real and genuine.The acting was fantastic!The summary I felt was very basic but when watching the film, it's a way different experience. They did an amazing job of showing us the scenery without boring us to death and they were slowly falling in love.I loved how nothing felt rushed,the ending was beautiful and very touching. I'm so glad this film ended in a realistic but happy end for the gay characters. I'm so used to seeing sad gay films, it's so nice to see something so different. The parents figures played amazing well fleshed out characters, I truly felt for their struggles. So glad they didn't do the typical homophobic route but instead a more unique perspective. Overall,this has now become one of my favorite films.