August 3, 2001

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Growing up, growing apart

Two young friends discover their differences, one is gay, the other straight

www.

Nico and Dani

Directed by Cesc Gay

Avatar Films

Reviewed by Anthony Glassman

When high school comes to mind. fond memories are evoked of illicitly smoking cigarettes, both tobacco and marijuana, drinking Bailey's mutual masturbation

Okay, perhaps not. This is America, where all teens are pure of heart and virginal until marriage if not death. Nobody drinks, nobody does drugs at least not that the religious right will admit

However, in Spain things are a little different one of the interesting aspects of Nico and Dan (Krampack) According to director Cese Gay, the film's original title is a Spanish term for getting a little help from a friend when in a time of sexual need. No further explanation will be given here. What's more, liquor laws are significantly different in Spain, enabling a coming of age movie to show two teenagers drinking in a bar without the aid of fake identification Apparently, the age for purchasing tobacco is lower as well, and on the Mediterranean coast, people don t bat much of an eyelash at a little pot

However, there is something much deeper at play in the movie than watching kids use chemical substances both licit and illicit

Nico and Dani is the tale of two high school friends on their summer vacation. Nico comes down from Barcelona to visit Dani, whose parents have gone away for a couple of weeks, leaving him in the care of the cook and Dani's tutor

Nico wants to be a motorcycle mechanic, Dani wants to be an author. Nico wants to get into lovely Elena's shorts while Dani would prefer to be. in Nico's

What started as adolescent experimentation" becomes much more for Dani, while Nico is ready to move on to what he considers the big leagues The film looks at the changes in the boys relationship with an honest eve far more so than most American films would dare to. The shifts in Danis moods from love and longing to anger and jealousy Nico's attempts at subtle withdrawal, the tutor's efforts to let her young ward know that he is not alone, all mesh well into a complex tapestry of ten days in the summer when two young men's lives change forever.

Quite frankly, the biggest problem with the movie is suspending disbelief enough to buy that a young man as classically attractive as Fernando Ramallo, playing Dani, would be attracted to the gawkish Jordi Vilches in the role of Nico.

However, as both the script and direction make abundantly clear, the two have known each other for years, and love each other very much. The problems arise in the differences in their loves for each other, Dani's being romantic and Nico's platonic.

The film won a load of awards, from the Prix de Jeunesse (youth award) at Cannes to the Fipresci Prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. It was nominated for three Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, as well.

Having made a successful Ohio debut at the Cleveland International Film Festival, it recently played in Cincinnati and will open August 3 in Cleveland and August 10 in Columbus. It is not to be missed, if only for the fascinating way Cesc Gay managed to put in a number of sex scenes between the two boys without showing any noticeable nudity.