Movie Review - End of the Century (2019)

Argentinian filmmaker Lucio Castro won the Best First Feature Jury Prize at the 43rd Frameline Film Festival, probably the largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the country, if not the world. Indeed, this is Castro's feature debut. It charts the relationship between two men who seemingly fall in love and follows them as their lives take divergent and then convergent paths. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one's taste, the film has a mysterious element to it, which seems to throw into question what is real and what isn't real about the relationship that we see at various points. This element will either be fortunate or unfortunate, depending on what one can take from it. I was confused and perhaps need a second-viewing to discern what it could mean. I assume that Castro is saying something about the nature of relationships between men. It could also be about memory and perception within same-sex coupling, leading to a question of what a man has, exposing the fears and anxieties that can arise.

Juan Barberini stars as Ocho, a man who looks like he could be in his late 20's and early 30's, but might actually be older than that. He references being in a relationship with someone for 20 years, but later it's indicated that he wasn't a teenager or younger when he started that relationship. Regardless, he's now in Barcelona, Spain. He's staying at a rental apartment. He says he works in marketing. He came here from New York City and he says that his true passion is poetry. He seems to be on vacation, but he's a bit lonely. He scrolls through the gay dating app, Grindr, and masturbates alone in his rental. Otherwise, he spends his time looking from the balcony on his rental, which is three floors up, watching people walk past on the street.

One day, he sees a man walking underneath his balcony who catches his eye. He looks for the guy on Grindr but doesn't find him. He cruises the streets looking for this man but comes up empty. Eventually, while lounging on the beach, he sees the man go for a swim. He's clearly interested in this man and there's a hint the man reciprocates that same interest. Yet, there's a coyness between the two at first. It's later that Ocho does make a move in order to get the other man's attention.

Ramon Pujol co-stars as Javi who is probably the same age as Ocho. He, however, works as a director of television and films. He's currently working on a children's show in Barcelona. He came from Berlin and he likes wearing a black T-shirt with the logo for the rock band Kiss. He claims to be married and has been for four years. Yet, he's in an open marriage with a man who allows him to have sex with other people but not necessarily to date other people. However, in a progression similar to Andrew Haigh's Weekend (2011), the one-night-stand turns into more and Javi proceeds basically to go on a date with Ocho.

Things take a turn when Javi reveals that he and Ocho have met before. Yet, it seems that Ocho doesn't remember Javi, at least not at first. It's not clear if he really doesn't remember or if he's just saying so. The film then supposedly flashes back to the time where the two did meet. At that previous time, Javi was dating a woman named Sonia. Supposedly, Ocho was dating a woman named Esther. That's not clear, but Ocho does send postcards to her of his travels. Ocho and Javi have a very romantic night, but they separate afterward. Javi apparently tried to find Ocho via social media but had no luck until their ostensibly random encounter in Barcelona.

However, things take another turn and possible twist when all of a sudden, we see Ocho come home. We assume that he and Javi have separated after their second one-night-stand. However, Ocho comes home to see Javi feeding a little girl. During the so-called, second one-night-stand, Javi told Ocho that he has a daughter named Oona by his girlfriend, Sonia who passed away after donating her eggs. However, after Javi feeds Oona, Ocho takes her for a walk and he sees Sonia alive. It's unclear if this is another flashback or an alternate timeline where Sonia didn't die.

Yet, there is one final twist. Later in the night, Ocho is in bed with Javi. Ocho gets out of bed and goes to the balcony of their apartment, which looks like the balcony of the rental in Barcelona where the two allegedly had their second one-night-stand. Javi joins Ocho who explains that he thought Javi was someone else and that the 20-year relationship he described earlier was with that someone else. During the second one-night-stand, Ocho said that his 20-year relationship was with someone else and not Javi. Yet, now we're led to think that his 20-year relationship was with Javi, thus causing even more confusion. I'm not sure what to make of it. Was Ocho in a 20-year relationship with Javi or did he just have two random one-night-stands with him?

The only thing to which I can compare it is a recent short film on Dekkoo. It's Ben Empey's Faces (2019). The short film is about a gay couple. Ryan, played by Matt Pascua, is dating a guy named Nathan. Things are a little uneasy. One night, Ryan comes home and finds that Nathan looks completely different. He realizes it but doesn't verbally acknowledge it. Empey's film is about perception and how people in relationships can often perceive their partners differently from who they really are. Something similar seems to be happening here in Castro's feature, but I can't connect the dots. I can't tell if Castro is paralleling Empey's short or if it's like Sliding Doors (1998) and it's about Ocho considering alternate paths his life could have taken, but I'm not sure what purpose the alternatives serve.

Fin de siglo.
Not Rated but contains intense sexuality and full-frontal nudity.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 24 mins.

In select cities, go to Cinema Guild's website for screenings.