Esteros

The Argentine film "Esteros," written by Andi Nachon and directed by Papu Curotto and based on their short film "Matias and Jeronimo," is the kind of thoughtful and quiet love story that you almost never see in American film.

Cutting back and forth in time between their early adolescents and their adulthood more than 10 years later, two men, Matias (Ignacio Rogers) and Jeronimo (Esteban Masturini), try to come to terms with their feelings for each other.

As a boy, Matias used to spend his holidays on a farm in Argentina, a fertile estuary near the Esteros del Iber�, where he enjoyed lush vegetation, rare wildlife, birds, fish and the world's largest rodent, the capybara. This experience instilled in him the desire to become a biologist. Here he also explored his burgeoning sexuality with his close friend Jeronimo. But Matu moved away when his father got a job in Brazil, and time and distance drew the two boys apart.

It's only accidentally that Matu runs into Jero when he returns to his home town, Paso de los Libres, on the eastern part of Corrientes. Now Matu has a serious girlfriend and a good job, while Jero enjoys filmmaking and special FX work, but has never settled down.

Brooding, shy and rational minded, Matu would rather not rekindle his friendship with Jero, who is undisciplined, free-spirited and openly gay. But the natural beauty of the estuary beacons to the biologist, and he follows his boyhood friend back to the farm where a sudden rainstorm leads to a powerful sexual reunion.

There just one problem. Jero want more from Matu than he can provide. Jero wants a life companion, and Matu already has a life.

With beautiful nature photography and a slow, contemplative pace, "Esteros" is a sumptuous movie experience.

Though this DVD has a few minor problems with the subtitling, it's only mildly distracting. It includes a 10-minute bonus feature of interviews with the director and the cast, along with a host of Breaking Glass trailers.

"Esteros"
DVD $19.98
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