My Straight Son (2012) User Reviews (13)

A fine example in the evolution of Venezuelan cinema

[edgartorres89 · 8/10 · 9 May 2014]

I didn't really plan to see the film. A group of friends asked me to go and I agreed, so my expectations were really low. The movie ended up surprising me.

Azul y no tan Rosa might be one of the best Venezuelan films ever made. The story may be a bit too melodramatic, but it says a lot about tolerance and family relationships. The acting, even though not great, is decent. There are laughs, tender moments, sad moments and the movie is really nice to look at because of the locations.

I recommend this movie to anyone who thinks Venezuelan cinema is trash (which is not). It won the Goya Award for best Ibero-American Film, which represented a big win for Venezuela too.

Powerful message to open our minds and respect others for what they are

[hugoelopezp · 6/10 · 16 April 2020]

The message of the movie is powerful and should be passed on in our society.

I found the acting needs to mature, some scenes were like "choppy" and "rushed", meaning you would expect a scene to last 50-60 seconds and it lasts 20.

Again, it's Venezuelan cinema, and they are already doing miracles with the little resources they got.

It's not perfect, but it's a nice film.

[Avidviewer-02847 · 7/10 · 27 June 2022]

So many gay themed films are cliche driven, not this film, Yes, there have been similar films of a gay man with a straight son, but this film handles it in a mature way. Setting it totally in Spain would not have been a big deal, but setting it in Venezuela presents challenges and conflicts for the characters.

Great movie

[davidagnino · 9/10 · 20 December 2012]

I'm not very fan of Venezuelan movies, basically because most of them are about the same people and have the same plot: Crime in Caracas' poor zones(barrios).

This one, is one of the few jewels of Venezuelan cinema that shows another face of the life in this country. Miguel Ferrari takes a risk in writing and directing a movie about gay love (as his first movie) in a country which is divided in its opinions about the whole "gay" subject and which is pretty more traditionalist and conservative than other Latin countries, like Mexico or Argentina, where they actually debate the topic of gay marriage. Venezuela is pretty years away from having a serious discussion of the "gay rights" topic on a governmental level. At street level it's the same: Hate crimes against gay or transsexual people are quite common and other types of discriminations are always present in every level of life. Miguel Ferrari writes and directs a story about just that subject: Gay love, discrimination and hate crimes, even knowing that it would shorten its public, but he does it in such a way that achieves to get the topic in everybody's mouth.

The art direction is great. So is the music score. As soon a the very first scene hits the screen you realize you are about to see quality material where the sound, music and photography is taken care of. The characters are well drawed and believable in every possible way. The tone of the movie is very challenging for viewers used to fast-action films, but the director achieves in creating slow moments that can get to your heart and avoids the "boring effect" that slowly-pased movies tend to cause.

The secondary topics of the movie (Transgender, domestic violence, anorexic people and people not pleased with their bodies) are also well portrayed with humor, drama and a message to the audience. But as one chartacter of the movie points out by saying "I'm going to talk about diversity" This movie is actually about diversity, and the different types of love one feels in one's life: The love to your friends, the love to the family, romantic love, love for your job and the love to yourself.

More than excellent!

[coco_llanos · 10/10 · 27 December 2014]

Great movie that touch your soul and get into your feelings in a very lovely and sincerely way, Oh My God! Thanks so much for doing movies like this to the Director and Writer, Miguel Ferrari :) The acting of the whole cast was so real, it is like if they were living a true story. Congratulations to Guillermo Garcia and Ignacio Montes (Diego Martinez and Armando Martinez) for their acting, all their family issues were like in real life, their relationship, wow!; also to Hilda Abrahamz who was cast in a wonderful character and had a fantastic performance, she was so perfect as Delirio del Rio/Alejandra Duarte/Alejo Duarte!!!

Simply beautiful

[chrisroberts-5 · 9/10 · 5 July 2015]

A beautiful film from Venezuela. The title actually translates as "Blue and Not So Pink," but has been dumbed down to "My Straight Son." The movie is an exploration of things we wish were different and how we deal with them - be they the tragedies of life, first love, gender identity, physical appearance, bad relationships, or self-confidence. Every character offers a different element that they struggle with and their own unique solution. The film wraps it up in wonderful, believable relationships and intelligent dialogue. The plot takes you a bit all over the place, but the story never looses your attention. The actors are all uniformly brilliant and the emotion is genuine. Courageous and heartwarming, this is meaningful work and well worth anyone's time. One of my favourites.

Great gay themed film from Venezuela

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 9/10 · 6 April 2015]

Originally released as 'Azul y no tan Rosa' this film is set in Venezuela where we meet successful photographer Diego. He has a long term partner in Fabrizio who is a doctor and they are clearly in love. Fabrizio wants to take things to the logical next level, but Diego is not so sure. Then Diego gets a call from Spain from a his special female friend and lover whom he has a teenage son with. This is Armando and he has is already on a plane and Diego is supposed to meet him and take care of him for a while.

His arrival coincides with a tragic episode in the life of Diego and Fabrizio and puts an increased strain on what already is becoming an estranged relationship between gay father and straight son. What occurs is part coming of age, part dealing with loss and a lot of extreme emotions from unquestioning love to extreme homophobia.

This is one of those films that is unashamedly sentimental. The actors are all brilliant even when the plot stretches credulity and the coincidences start to pile up. That said I got all moist eyed watching this and was also able to laugh in places. In other words it was like a slice of real life where things are always going to get mixed up. In Spanish with good subtitles, it also features a fair bit of flesh on show; the opening credits feature a particularly erotic dance routine too. I found this an absolute joy from start to finish and that is despite the misgivings stated above. This is one film I can wholeheartedly recommend, gay themed but really a story about real love, real emotions and some great characters.

Simply beautiful

[nebadom · 10/10 · 1 April 2013]

The director managed to use the camera to capture a true picture of the current venezuelan society discrimination to minorities, not exclusively sexual.

Being a movie that depicts the medium class in the venezuelan country, also imprints the idiosyncratic attitude: excess, lack of responsibility, the need for a better future and the absence of opportunities in the country, the violence and the impotence against the injustice, the love and the prejudice, the blood ties that grows stronger no matter the distances.

It's a film that has both a marvelous artistic touch and a protest underlying in the plot, that thickens as unravel while the movie goes on. By the end of the film, you'll find yourself attached to the characters stories: feeling them as your friends, suffering their tragedy and rejoicing in their destiny.

Elegant, made with care to the detail and inspiring.

A movie that touches your heart

[sebastian_concha · 10/10 · 29 October 2018]

A different perspective of the LGTBI world which captures the view of a situation in which reconciliation, acceptance and tolerante and self-esteem are the key to live in harmony and love with yourself and loved ones

Fantastico!

[akira-hideyo · 10/10 · 28 February 2022]

Bravo. Meaningful, heartwarming, real, hopeful, perseverance and full of love. We need more of such nurturing stories to embrace what true humanity is all about. Enough said. Gracias!

PS: Death to Putin death to bullies!

Touching Gay/Straight father/son movie

[upglbj · 10/10 · 28 February 2022]

Spoiler: It made me cry (in a good way). A lovely movie with an important message about love and acceptance.

It was well acted and some of the scenery was spectacular.

Wonderful And Delightful Film!

[javierubio · 10/10 · 19 April 2020]

When i started to watch this movie, it captured my attention since the first minute. Is one of those films I enjoy from the beginning and the more I watch the more I am interested to every scene not because of its simplicity but also well directed and very objective and clear in every form of expression. It blew me away and I felt it authentic, realistic and i did not skip any scene because all of them were full of drama, comedy, romanticism, passion, surrender, love, compassion and originality! Miguel Ferrari brought in me so many reasons to believe in love not as a part of a separate individual but as a whole in a society where hate is still there specially in Latin America society where the macho stereotype is still visible and prejudices are the instruments to make it continue in this world. I also loved the relationship between a gay father and his teenage son where the different events of life in this drama made their relationship stronger found by love, understanding and trust. I really enjoyed this movie a lot!

Disturbing, but ultimately excellent film

[rklein123 · 9/10 · 22 November 2022]

This was quite a good film.

Some very nice writing, acting, and filming. There are some violent, disturbing scenes in the film, but they are integral to the story. Some parts are sad, some are very funny, and others are very touching.

The characters, and their relationships to one another are very well developed through the story, and quite well acted. Nothing boring or slow about this film.

It's a touching story about identity, diversity and acceptance. There are some very touching scenes and the movie comes together beautifully.

This is a serious film, with serious themes. I don't think the title does it justice.