Jose

By: LEinTucson

I'm always less than fond of giving poor reviews to movies with good intentions, but this is so episodic in nature that it appears to have no focus. Yes...we see our lead and his mother are achingly poor, and things don't seem to be going in their favor at any point, but we never see much more than that. Our lead smokes, has a phone, and doesn't always work hard at the job he has. How can I root for this guy? They are behind in bills, and he puffs it away, pays for a phone and slacks off on a job that he could lose.

The one good thing in his life slips away and he's left with even less than before. Talk about a downer movie!

And the ending? Don't expect an ending...you won't get one. I guess if "life goes on" is an ending, that's it.

The acting is good, and it has an authentic feel to the productions, but I can't recommend this.

By: Amos Lassen

"JOSE"
Love, Loss and Queer Desire
Amos Lassen
Jose is a gay 19-year-old Guatemalan living in poverty with his doting mother and is to consider his life of secrecy in a new light when he falls in love with a young construction worker. Li Cheng's drama is based on extensive interviews with gay and marginalized youths across Latin America. What we get is a reflective drama set in Guatemala about love, loss and queer desire lived in a culture defined by crime, violence, macho attitudes, strict religious beliefs and binding family ties. It stars nonprofessional actors in neorealist traditional style with a narrative backed by a confident visual sense. Filled with gay sex and nudity, "Jose" is not so much about homoeroticism as it is about emotional candor.
Jose (Enrique Salanic), 19, lives alone with his mother (Ana Cecilia Mota) in a seedy apartment and the two of them eke out a living as best they can - she sells sandwiches without a license at street markets around town; he works a busy intersection directing passing motorists to a cheap-eats outlet. They tell each other every morning to "Be careful," suggesting the dangers that are a part of their lives. A preacher on Jose's regular bus route urges passengers to get closer to God, giving us another thread in the social fabric.
Jose enviously watches the sweet loving of his straight co-workers (Esteban Lopez Ramirez and Jhakelyn Waleska Gonzalez) and he searches for connection through a hookup app on his phone. He checks it constantly. His encounters take place in a flophouse that rents by the hour with the sounds of other couples having sex audible through the thin walls. He lies to his mother about his reasons for coming home late and bringing in less cash.
When he meets Luis (Manolo Herrera), a construction worker from Izabal, an emotional and physical spark ignites. Luis has a job on a site converting a fire-damaged former luxury hotel into condos (a metaphor for dreams downgraded by reality and he plans to leave the city when the work end.
Jose borrows a friend's motorbike and he and Luis ride to a remote countryside spot. They steal kisses and caresses along the way and then make out in a bamboo field once they get there. They talk of love causing Luis to ask Jose to go away with him, possibly leaving Guatemala for someplace better. Jose hesitates, feeling bound to stick by his mother, who is not unaware to her son's clandestine life and she prays for his protection and forgiveness.
The untrained actors naturalistic performances. There's a persuasive sorrow when Jose waits for Luis at their regular rendezvous point or searches his city's marketplaces looking for him.
There is a depth of feeling, a strong sense of frustration, and hunger for growth and change. This is a sensitive portrait of being young and gay in an unaccommodating culture and an astute look at male sexuality in a culture that's infused with machismo.
Growing up in a hyper-religious world, José believes that he is not entitled to a romantic happy ever after and the film's arc follows him as he begins to discover that maybe he has a choice in the matter. When Luis disappears, José has to make a choice: does he go back to his previous life, or does try to find Luis and risk everything? This is presented with a matter-of-fact honesty that takes the audience aback, especially because it's never as simple as most movies make it.