Plan B

Many thanks to Colin for this treat.

Bruno is dumped by his girlfriend; behind a calm, indifferent expression, his mind plans a cold, sweet vengeance. She, a modern girl, keeps on seeing him once in a while, but has another boyfriend, Pablo. Bruno becomes Pablo's friend, with the idea of eroding the couple, maybe introducing him to another woman. But, along the way, the possibility of a plan B arises, a more effective one, which will put his own sexuality into question.

Set in Buenos Aires, this witty beguiling 2009 feature by Argentine-born director Marco Berger masquerades as a romantic comedy, only to confound expectations by testing its boundaries of gender. The film invites us to explore contemporary ideas of freedom and desire, and to question what it means to play with love and bisexuality. PLAN B is Berger’s first feature film and was presented at the London BFI Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and then taken on tour.

This is a charming gay-tinged Latin American film, following on from DONA HERLINDA AND HER SON in 1975 from Mexico, or Cuaron's  Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, and Peru’s UNDERCURRENT (reviews at gay interest label), and the Canadian CLOUDBURST. 
The initial problem is that the guys are not the usual good-looking stereotypes of gay movies, they both look scruffy, if not scuzzy, to our eyes now – all that hair and beards, but as we get to know them this does not matter and we really being to root for them to discuss their feelings, which happens in that blissful final scene. We liked it a lot.  There is no actual sex, we just see the guys on sleepovers getting more familiar with each other, as the girlfriend is still there, seeing them both separately.

Then they finally come together.

The BFI said: “A beautifully shot reflection on male foibles and friendships …. Grounded in two outstanding performances by Manuel Vignau and Lucas Ferraro that avoid empty rhetoric and easy clichés”.