Review: 'Sublime' Full Of Age-Appropriate Angst

"You're a bundle of sadness," his dad says to 16-year-old Manu. Well, he says it in Spanish, since "Sublime" is a film from Argentina with English subtitles. Indeed Manu mopes a lot and, like many a teenager, being articulate is not his strong suit. Many of his lines consist of just a few words, responding to questions with such evasive or vague replies as "I don't know" or "More or less," accompanied by a shrug. If Manu is not very forthcoming in this coming-of-age movie, he's still a sympathetic protagonist.

When it comes to our young hero's gay feelings, audiences watching this film will be in the dark in the literal sense; they won't need highly attuned gaydar. "Sublime" begins by foreshadowing, going back a dozen years or so to a party, with mini-Manu having an unhappy birthday until a certain pre-schooler pal named Felipe arrives and their faces light up. Flash forward to scenes of them as two teens lying close together in bed: Looks of longing, tender touches, and then.... Manu wakes up from the dreams. His kid sister shares the room, and she reports that he talks in his sleep. Uh oh – what did she hear? Manu is a tormented teen with braces on his teeth, worries on his mind, and (awake or in dreams) his big puppy-dog eyes on the object of his unspoken affection: The unsuspecting Felipe, his schoolmate and bandmate.

Emotional words for songwriting and for school assignments flow more easily than their conversations – which rely on complaints, calling each other insulting names, and their ongoing game of weighing one gross-out experience against another. The triggers for moving from silently lusting to trusting enough to admit attraction are when each of the boys is on the precipice of a sexual encounter with a girl. Dare Manu tell Felipe how he feels and risk breaking up the longtime friendship, and the band, too?

Martín Miller (Manu) and Teo Inama Chiabrando (Filipe) offer sympathetic portrayals, with appropriate, natural-seeming facial expressions, body language, and non-verbal reactions that the camera lingers on. Writer-director Mariano Biasin treats the characters with respect and affection, and, while things are sometimes frustratingly slow-moving, it can be emotionally moving witnessing the frustrations and anguish of these people who seem truly free and feeling "sublime" when playing their music. (Emilio Cervini supplied the original songs that are prominently peppered throughout.)

"Sublime" is neither manipulative nor sugar-coated. It has its heart in the right place, and there's a place in our hearts for that kind of film.

"Sublime" screens at the OUTshine Film Festival.

ROB LESTER returns to Edge in 2019 after several years of being otherwise occupied writing and directing musical theatre shows, working as a dramaturg, arts consultant, and contributing articles and reviews to various outlets. His long-running "Sound Advice" column covering cast albums and vocal CDs has been running regularly at www.TalkinBroadway.com for almost 15 years.

This story is part of our special report: "OUTshine 2022". Want to read more? Here's the full list.