José

José is hardly the first movie to spotlight a young person navigating their homosexuality in a repressive and perilous environment. Nonetheless, this sophomore feature from Chinese-born director Li Cheng, who co-wrote with George F. Roberson, feels like a singular and essential entry in that subset of LGBTQ coming-of-age films with an international beat.

Precisely written and deliberately shot, José, a Guatemala-set LGBTQ character examination from Chinese-born director Li Cheng, is a movie preoccupied with the private tragedy of unfulfilled impulses and aspirations as a result of widespread homophobia and emotional blackmail.

The scenario here is soapy and a tad familiar. But Cheng’s vivid depiction of the life going on all around his characters . . . enriches the story and makes José, his life, his world and his predicament something anyone can relate to.

Cheng delivers a mood that is unquestionably human and, at times, unexpectedly hallowed (as when Jose stares down the worn face in a Mayan ruin). José brings to light the promise of a director as compassionate as he is observant.

The film delicately depicts the hardship of being gay in a Catholic culture and the pressure for machismo in a crime-ridden country.

This is a wisp of a film that for many will lack payoff, but it has a depth of feeling, strong sense of frustration, and hunger for growth and change that heighten involvement. Its sensitive portrait of being young and gay in an unaccommodating culture also makes it deserving of attention.

Li Cheng gets much closer to capturing his characters’ predicaments when he trusts the images alone.

This noble attempt at depicting the everyday difficulties faced by members of Guatemala's gay community seeks to tell a touching and often-frustrating story. However, the picture's episodic nature (especially in the second half) tends to meander so much that it loses a great deal of its cohesiveness. It's almost as if the film tries to check off items on a list of incidents to portray, with only a very loose thread stringing them together. The movie's beautiful cinematography, atmospheric score and fine performances by relative newcomers are all admirable, as is the picture's willingness to depict gay male sexuality realistically. But these noteworthy attributes aren't quite enough to save a film that fundamentally has trouble finding its way, a valiant effort that ultimately comes up short.

I have been sitting here for an hour trying hard to find something positive to say about this movie and the best I can come up with is, "It isn't a bad movie!" This movie runs 85 minutes and if all the useless 'fill' was edited out it just might have made an hour TV show in the 1960s except now the quite not out of the closet gay 19-year-old uses a phone app to hook up with other guys. Jose has a needy, religious mother and when he finally falls in love he has to choose between her and the man he loves. Does the fact that he is poor and lives in Guatemala make this an 'interesting and different' movie? No! What and how does his mother make a living? How does Jose make a living? He stands out in the middle of the street waving his hands, seemingly directing traffic. Why does Li Cheng, the director, and screenwriter with George F. Roberson, bring in a scene with Jose's grandmother except to allow a few more scenic shots? How does Jose, so poor, have the money to spend on 'rent by the hour' hotel rooms to take the guys he meets over the phone app? Why do Cheng and Roberson waste time with unnecessary cinematography and storylines that go nowhere? Why not tell us about the mother, the grandmother and, certainly more about Jose and Luis, the man he falls in love with? Yes, there is nudity and showing men having sex and about as interesting as showing heterosexual couples having sex in their movies! Oh yes, no full-frontal nudity and only one quick sideways shot! It is not all bad and/boring as there is a 10-15 minute scene of Jose (Enrique Salanic) and Luis (Manolo Herrera) riding on a motorcycle along the countryside that is as romantic, joyful and Valentine Day's worthy as you could have seen in and 1960s movie.