Hawaii

Part of the exceptional beauty of Marco Berger's Hawaii is its rhythm, the slow, deliberate, observant pace of its story. But that rhythm finds a counter rhythm in the frequent cuts from shot to shot. Some linger, some come and go quickly. Watching it, both in the experience of it at the moment and later in reflection, you become increasingly aware how much is being shown, how much you are witnessing. The film is remarkable, among many other reasons, for the acuity of its eye, not only how much it sees, but how much detail is brought forth to ponder and feel. Its clarity, in a profound sense, means something.The setting evokes in its light something of a pastoral world. Only the two main characters really matter. It is like a world elsewhere, where the outside world need not intrude. What this isolation allows for is enormous concentration.It is a two person film, with three other characters very briefly in it, only two of whom speak. What the movie unfolds is the complexity of two men's falling in love. But that complexity includes more than who they are. It embraces the world in which they find themselves, the house, its pool, its lawns, trees, and flowers, the river near by. It means that their pasts, who they once were together, also must be relived and revived. As they work, together or separately, as they eat, as they talk, as they relax or compete or play, their feelings, their sensual responses to the world around them and to each other, are changing, intensifying.When such emotions are being aroused, slowly, often quietly, unsurely, deeply, perhaps surprisingly, the whole world matters. It becomes more present. The "island" of a sort where they find themselves together becomes more and more part of who they are. That, I suppose, is one of the meanings of lyricism in film.Each shot in the movie has its own beauty. Marco Berger is a film maker whose work is informed by a painterliness, not in the slightest bit arty or self-conscious, but clear, attentive, intense, where the whole composition enlightens the totality of its details.Desire makes the whole world around you more keenly present. So it is in this film. The story of these two men's becoming lovers involves all that surrounds them as well, especially memory which, more than in Berger's earlier work, plays a vital part in this movie and, in one instance, gives it its title. Memory, among other values, is here restorative. It becomes, in many senses, the means to return, the way to spare love the failures of loss.Sometimes, when a character is speaking, the movie goes silent. You do not hear him. Why that is so is as important as the dialogue you do hear. How silence and words interplay in the film is nowhere more astonishing than in the significance of the word 'pineapple.' Only a filmmaker of great sophistication and depth could have imagined this image and how it becomes so important to the movie, not only to its conclusion, but to the whole of it as you think back upon it or watch it again. Both in words and in gestures much of the film resonates with what is not being said, in glances, in glimpses, in looking away, in looking back.The actors are as fine as the film in which they appear. This is a great work. That it is also a great act of gay film making is not incidental. I think this might be one of the finest films about two men's falling in love ever made. But there is no need to categorize. It is a work of art that resists categorization. That is part of its brilliance as an astonishingly beautiful and perfectly crafted movie.But it is also an unusually generous film, generous in its vision. Its two men behave decently, are good, and act to one another's benefit as much as or even more than for their own. It is a film about gift-giving. One character almost loses what he longs for, hopes for because he doesn't what to risk the other's happiness or future to get it. The word 'good' can too easily collapse into moralism. But the moral vision in this movie, its spirit of generosity, is at once both serious and elating. This is an unusually fine movie, rare for its illuminations, its sensitivity to detail, its attention to the nuances of silence and gesture and to the richness of simple conversation, its sensual allure, and its ethical depth. I felt, after watching it, elated.

Hawaii is a gay movie only in the sense that Citizen Kane is a film about building a house.Writer and director Marco Berger explores the universal themes of lost opportunities, lingering jealousies, and mutual interpersonal dependencies. The film starts with an out-of-content flashback and then moves very slowly (“Eat the damn piece of fruit already!”).When Martin (Mateo Chiarino) comes knocking at the yard gate of his boyhood friend Eugenio (Manuel Vignau) looking for summer employment the pace picks up. The old patterns of their boyhood relationship are quickly reestablished. Eugenio was the rich kid, with a big house and a swimming pool. Martin was the poor kid from down the street who grew up wearing Eugenio’s discarded clothing. Eugenio seems to be the sexual predator and the dominant of the pair. At the end, however, ask yourself who most got exactly what he wanted.Both actors are masterful at using their eyes to move the story along. Chiarino’s eye movements are mesmerizing. Vignau, working from behind a pair of glasses, uses his eyes to reveal both his character’s motivation and Eugenio’s need to win when they replay games from their childhood. One scene in particular is worthy of the great Fred Sanford (Red Foxx). If you are old enough to remember Sanford and Son, the scene will make you smile.Mateo Chiarino is from Uruguay (as is his character). I apologize for not realizing that Uruguay is producing such fine actors and not knowing more about Uruguay in general. Situated between Argentina to the south and Brazil to the north, Uruguay is considered to be the most stable democracy in South America.The film is in Spanish with English subtitles and takes place in Argentina. The Spanish is not the Mexican/Latin American dialect we more familiar with in the U.S., so don’t feel bad if your high school Spanish fails you at times.My only disappointment was the dialog in the scene that justifies the name of the film. I found it mostly inaudible and it’s without subtitles. While other reviewers on this site caught the meaning of “Hawaii” immediately, I missed it and consequently had to struggle with the motivation underlying the last few scenes.Berger and his actors have done a masterful job! This is not the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it’s the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Realmente disfruté esta película positiva sobre la amistad y el amor masculinos. Los dos actores son atractivos de forma normal. Sí, algunos dirían que es lento, pero en realidad ese era su encanto. Estoy muy feliz de haber comprado esta película.

I can't say enough about this movie! Actors perfectly chosen. Storyline was heart warming and thoughtful. You can't help but root for the characters. Marco Berger makes intelligent films that are beautiful and enjoyable to watch.

Leggendo una recensione mi sono incuriosito a proposito di questo film che non avevo mai sentito nominare, probabilmente oggetto di festival di nicchia o cose del genere, e ne sono rimasto letteralmente rapito. Bello è poco e devo dire che consiglio caldamente di riguardare anche il precedente Plan B, sempre col solito protagonista di Hawaii. Un plauso alle musiche e alla regia veramente stratosferica.

アルゼンチンの片田舎に親戚を頼って戻ってきたMartin。だがその家は他人に売られていて、親戚は行方が分からない。行き先を失ったMartinは野宿をしながら家の修理や清掃の仕事を探す。ある日訪問した家で、幼なじみのEugenioと出会い、雇ってもらう。そして二人が一緒に働いたり、身の上を話すうち愛情と欲望が育っていく。MartinはEugenioに野宿を知られたく無いため嘘をつくが、その時の表情が実に良い。惨めさとバレる恐れと辻褄合わせ、見事な表情作りに驚く。Eugenioは愛情表現が苦手で慎重なので関係がなかなか進展しない、Martinはある行動を決断するがかみ合わない。Hawaii、このタイトルとカバー写真からハワイでの物語かと思ったが全然違っていた。プールで全ての音が遮断される中、Martinが言った「二つのパイナップル」がｸﾛｰｽﾞｱｯﾌﾟされる。いったいHawaiiとは？幼なじみが出会った時、過去を踏襲する中で二人が共有するものが今の絆を強さを目覚めさせる。ゲイ映画として非常に良く出来ている作品だ。

très très beau film les acteurs sont remarquable une histoire comme ont aimerais tous avoir en plus il se termine bien que demander de plusje le conseille vivement un film a conserver dans sa dvdthéque