{"id":8167,"date":"2020-02-13T20:41:04","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T19:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/?p=8167"},"modified":"2020-02-19T20:47:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T19:47:06","slug":"usa-the-san-diego-union-tribune-review-jose-explores-a-gay-love-story-in-guatemala-amid-an-age-of-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/en\/usa-the-san-diego-union-tribune-review-jose-explores-a-gay-love-story-in-guatemala-amid-an-age-of-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Usa, The San Diego Union-Tribune: review, Jos\u00e9 explores a gay love story in Guatemala amid an age of uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Li Cheng\u2019s film, a gay teen embarks on a new romantic relationship<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJos\u00e9\u201d is hardly the first movie to spotlight a young person navigating their homosexuality in a repressive and perilous environment. Nonetheless, this sophomore feature from Chinese-born director Li Cheng, who co-wrote with George F. Roberson, feels like a singular and essential entry in that subset of LGBTQ coming-of-age films with an international beat.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 (Enrique Salanic) is a poor, gay 19-year-old living with his devoted and devout single mother (Ana Cecilia Mota) in a humble Guatemala City apartment. They both survive on the minimal wages they earn selling fast food: Jos\u00e9 works hustling passing motorists into a shuco (hot dog) joint; mom is an unlicensed sandwich vendor. They share a quiet domesticity that appears to include a sort of \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d silence about Jos\u00e9\u2019s sexuality. But mom is more aware than she may initially seem and prays \u2014 alone, aloud and a lot \u2014 for her son\u2019s safety and salvation.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jos\u00e9, who discreetly hooks up with other guys on a Grindr-type app (his phone is truly his lifeline), meets and falls for Luis (Manolo Herrera), a handsome construction worker who moved to the city from coastal Izabal. Jos\u00e9 and Luis form a tender, increasingly intimate bond — both physically and emotionally — one that\u2019s separate from the world around them and yet, in its own careful way, very much a part of it. Their motorbike journey out to the countryside proves a lovely and lyrical romantic interlude.<\/p>\n

But when Luis announces he wants to relocate again \u2014 and for his lover to go with him \u2014 it\u2019s a bridge too far for Jos\u00e9, uncertain how he could leave his needy, adoring mother and familiar surroundings. As written and performed it\u2019s a poignant dilemma, which plays out in credible and evocative, if perhaps overly meandering and (purposely) imprecise fashion. That Jos\u00e9\u2019s final actions, which take to him to some ancient Mayan ruins, are fueled, in part, by a telling chat he has with his grandmother (Alba Irene Lemus) during a visit to her rural farm, adds a nice touch of intergenerational synchronicity.<\/p>\n

When it comes to their characters\u2019 personal details and histories, Cheng and Roberson, who lived in Guatemala for two years to research and shoot the film (\u201cJos\u00e9\u201d has a deeply vivid sense of place), largely mete out specifics on a need-to-know basis. This dialogue-light tale often leaves it to the viewer to decipher certain story points, while relying on imagery to do the rest.<\/p>\n

The script also drops in several strands and moments \u2014 an earthquake, a street robbery, a budding romance between Jos\u00e9\u2019s co-workers, and more \u2014 that have meaning but don\u2019t pay off as they might in a more traditional narrative. Still, they all add up to create a kind of observational patchwork that jibes with the movie\u2019s neorealist style and understated tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cJos\u00e9,\u201d which won the Queer Lion award at 2018\u2019s Venice International Film Festival<\/strong>, is also filled with fine, naturalistic performances from its indigenous cast of nonprofessional actors. Salanic, who was recently prevented from entering the U.S. for the movie\u2019s premiere due to enhanced domestic travel restrictions (authorities dubbed the American-educated actor a \u201cflight risk\u201d), brings his character to life with a stirring well of decency and reserve. Mota, a professional psychologist in real life, displays a touching and authentic vigilance, while Herrera infuses Luis with a compelling mix of warmth and self-possession.<\/p>\n

Cheng and cinematographer Paolo Giron often keep a respectful distance from Jos\u00e9, utilizing effective long shots that can underscore both location (the busy street corner where Jos\u00e9 meets his dates, for one) and feeling (from fear to alienation to elation). At other times, the camera remains behind its subject, employing either tracking or stationary shots that convey their own emotional or thematic jolt.<\/p>\n

Although Jos\u00e9\u2019s sexual encounters, which often take place in cheap hourly rental rooms, are frankly presented, his dating app communiqu\u00e9s are never seen; Jose\u2019s eyes during those frequent, furtive glances at his phone screen say it all. As does the ambivalence we witness during his random, non-Luis hookups, even with those men who show interest in Jos\u00e9 beyond the bedroom.<\/p>\n

But growing up gay in a land rife with poverty, violence and intolerance, how can someone like Jos\u00e9 not be uncertain about what he wants from life \u2014 or believes he can even attain? It\u2019s one of the many concepts this small film explores with timeliness and insight.<\/p>\n

The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a> by Gary Goldstein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Li Cheng\u2019s film, a gay teen embarks on a new romantic relationship \u201cJos\u00e9\u201d is hardly the first movie to spotlight a young person…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[421],"tags":[1014,1006,529,1403,704],"class_list":["post-8167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-review","tag-jose-en","tag-queer-lion-2018-en","tag-review","tag-the-san-diego-union-tribune","tag-usa","post-item","post-even"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t