Horseplay [Los Agitadores] *** (2023, Bruno Giganti, Agustín Machta, Franco de la Puente, Iván Masliah) – Classic Movie Review 13,080

In Marco Berger’s provocative, sexually charged 2023 Argentinian comedy drama film Horseplay [Los Agitadores], young male hockey players test each other’s boundaries in a luxury villa.

In writer/ director Marco Berger’s provocative, sexually charged 2023 Argentinian comedy drama film Horseplay [Los Agitadores], a group of young hockey playing sportsmen, at a gathering in a beautiful luxury villa for the holidays, test each other’s boundaries.

Two of them – Poll (Franco de la Puente) and Andy (Agustín Machta) – are closeted occasional sexual partners. but the others are aggressively straight macho men shouting, drinking, swearing, taunting, and fooling around. It’s a full-frontal attack on toxic masculinity.

Nico (Bruno Giganti) thinks he is straight and has a girlfriend, but he sure enjoys the horseplay. Poli accepts his homosexuality and would like more from tentative Andy than he is offering.

The film is well-concocted mix of the laddish and the homo-erotic, more persuasive in creating interesting characters, establishing sexual tension, and delivering amusing dialogue and some challenging ideas, than in carving out an involving on-going plot after setting up the simple yet complex situation. But then plot’s aren’t necessarily necessary, are they? However, even so, it does come to an effective, surprise violent conclusion.

Berger ensures his film delivers the promise of the English language title: there is plenty of horseplay. And of course plenty of naked men.

The Spanish title Los Agitadores translates as The Agitators.

Its similarities to Berger’s earlier Taekwondo (2016) have been much noted, as well as its frustrating lack of plot.

Marco Berger’s 2023 Argentinian comedy drama film Horseplay [Los agitadores].

The films of Marco Berger: Plan B (2009), Absent [Ausente] (2011), Hawaii (2013), Butterfly [Mariposa] (2015), Taekwondo (2016), The Blond One [Un Rubio] (2019),Young Hunter [El Cazador] (2020), The Carnival (2021), Horseplay (2023), and The Astronaut Lovers [Los amantes astronautas] (2024).

Marco Berger (born 8 December 1977).

Argentine film director and screenwriter Marco Berger was born on 8 December 1977.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,080

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