Hawaii *** (2013, Manuel Vignau, Mateo Chiarino, Manuel Martínez Sobrado, Luz Palazón, Antonia De Michelis) – Classic Movie Review 12,406

Marco Berger’s simple but effective 2013 gay love story film Hawaii is more or less a two-hander, as two young men from different social backgrounds, childhood friends years ago, meet up unexpectedly and confront their growing attraction.

Argentine film-maker Marco Berger’s deceptively simple but extremely effective 2013 Spanish language gay love story film Hawaii is more or less a two-hander, as two young men from different social backgrounds, childhood friends years ago, meet up unexpectedly under different circumstances and try to confront their growing attraction for each other.

Mateo Chiarino stars as homeless, drifter Martin, who arrives at his former hometown in rural Argentina and seeks a temporary job at the house of quiet, reflective writer Eugenio, played by Manuel Vignau from Berger’s 2009 film Plan B. Martín had hoped to stay with his aunt after his grandmother died but finds out that his aunt has moved somewhere unknown. As he has nowhere to stay and little money, he sleeps behind the ruins of an abandoned building and looks around for odd jobs. Eugenio offers him work and a home for the summer, prompting a new adult friendship and possibly more, as a subdued game of supressed power and desire starts up.

Hawaii is a sweet, subtle, compelling and charming gay romantic drama. Nothing much happens. There is no plot to speak of. But it is really quite mesmerising. It is all about sexual tension, feeling, subdued passion, arousal and mood, and Marco Berger’s real big on this. He can speak volumes with looks, glances and unspoken words. He’s unafraid of silences, and taking in the scene, and exploring his actors, and taking his time to do it. It’s brave and bold, but he knows how to make it work. This is a gentle film, not particularly sexy, and not explicit at all, as innocent and beautiful as the summer and the country place it is set in. It builds up an intense air of mystery and even of suspense. Something bad, or at least doomy, seems about to happen all along, and you eagerly await what Berger and his two actors have in store for us.

Talking of the actors, Manuel Vignau and Mateo Chiarino give flawless, miniaturist performances as the two guys, in attractive portraits of strongly masculine vulnerability. Manuel Martínez Sobrado appears briefly as Eugenio’s brother, who pops in, and there are tiny roles for Luz Palazón and Antonia De Michelis.

To explain the title. Eugenio finds a stereoscope reel in his old stuff, namely 63 Honolulu Hawaii, and puts it into a projector. He uses the reel to woo back Martin at the end of the film. Apparently though, the pictures projected, including the two pineapples, are not from that Reel 63 at all.

It is funded by Kickstarter, which raised $27,000, so that’s good then.

Berger describes Hawaii as a ‘Jane Austen contemporary story’, as it evokes the same classic tale of two people from different social backgrounds and the dynamics between the powerful and the helpless.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,406

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