Al Berto (FilmOut)

"Al Berto," a biopic from filmmaker Vicente Alves do �, is a fictionalized and highly dramatic account of a traumatic period in the life of the gay Portuguese poet Alberto Raposo Pidwell Tavares, who was universally known simply as Al Berto.

It's set in the mid-1970s when a very young Al Berto (Ricardo Teixeira) has just returned home to Portugal after a recent sojourn to Brussels to study painting. The country is in political turmoil after the recent revolution, and he decides to squat in a large derelict mansion that has been dispossessed from his wealthy family. There, he focuses on his writing.

His return to Sines, a small rural town, is welcomed with open arms by others of his own age who want to rebel against the authoritarian regime now in power. He becomes the de facto leader of a small bohemian community whose like-minded attitude to non-conformity, and all manner of art (plus sexuality), starts to create a peaceful haven where they can live their alternative lifestyles. This, however, does not sit well with most of the reactionary locals who resent not just the brazenness of the confident Al Berto's openly gay lifestyle, but also the fact that their own quality of life has diminished greatly as a result of all the political troubles.

The center of the story is the passionate and steamy romance that Al Berto has with Jo�o Maria (Jos� Piment�o), a handsome local singer. It seems that everyone, especially the girls, has their own crush on Al Berto, but surprisingly he is not the one that strays and brings the torrid love affair with Jo�o to a crashing end.

The film, however, has a much broader canvas and looks at the consequences of them all being outsiders in a society struggling to come to terms with a younger generation that refuses to accept their outdated and intolerant norms. This particular decade is an especially troubled time for Portugal and is hardly the moment when the establishment might accept the liberation and permissiveness that Al Berto and his group want to claim for themselves.

Aside from being a wonderful history lesson, the film is enthralling simply because of Teixeira's performance as Al Berto. Looking like a young Ben Wishaw, this charismatic and talented actor exudes the perfect amount of confidence and sensuality; anyone might fall in love with him. His scenes of intimacy with Piment�o bristle with electricity, as the two possess a compelling onscreen chemistry.

"Al Berto" is a far from normal coming of age story, but it is one that will resound for anyone who can remember a time when it took real guts to be openly gay.