Donato (Wagner Moura -'Elite Squad') is a lifeguard at 'Praia do futuro' and gets called into action one day when two German tourists get into trouble in the turbulent surf. Donato is unable to save him but afterwards meets Konrad - this is the friend of the drowned man and he is gay - just like Donato.Well one thing leads to another and they get romantically entwined. It is a relationship built on lust and though that can survive for a while it always seems doomed to failure. Whilst the inevitable catches up on the love front, Donato seems to have also, not run, but ambled away from his past and family. That is a past with a memory and it is just as inevitable that it too will catch up with him.Now this is a very well made and observed film, with some stunning scenes and a confidence to know when to ramp up the ante and when to let it meander by in a pique of self absorption. There is a smattering of bedroom action, but simulated and nothing over the top. This is a relationship piece more than anything else and covers most of the bases. It has a full range of emotions too and reactions but approaches its subject from the view that there is essentially good in all of us. This is a film for those who want to be made to think and if that floats your boat then I think you will get a lot from this film.

This is one of those films that- when you read the story synopsis- sounds like it will be utter sentimental tripe, lousy with cliché-ridden dialog. This film is anything but.This is one of the best gay male-themed films I've seen in a long time. I'd put it right up there with Weekend in quality, but the two films couldn't be more different. Weekend is dialog-driven, Futuro Beach is not. There are long spans where nobody says much of anything; you just observe. In the beginning, the story doesn't seem like it of holds a lot of promise.But just wait. When this film shifts gears, it really shifts gears. It's impossible to predict where it's going next, always a sure sign of a good movie, IMO.While the dialog is sparse and unsentimental, there is emotion all around. The men may be terse with each other, but they're expressive. We don't know if they're in love. That's how unsentimental this movie is. The words "I love you" are never going to be spoken in this modern relationship. What we do know is that there is a dynamic between them that neither wants to abandon.The themes of this movie are big: life (truly living) and death (just existing). So you might be tempted to assign life-message metaphors to the locale and action. Don't. Just let the film wash over you. This is one of those rare movies that immerses you in its own universe, and by doing so, gives you some insight into your own.

PRAIA DO FUTURO (Beach of the Future) a Brazilian/German coproduction is another competition entry at Berlin 2014. Helmer Karim Aïnouz a Brazilian-Algerian 48, is a film director and visual artist. Aïnouz's first feature debut, Madame Satã, premiered in 2002 at Cannes. He is from the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará on the Atlantic coast and that is where this film opens before moving to Germany to follow the trail of its lovers, Donato, Brazilian, and Konrad, a German motorcycle tourist in Brazil. Donato is a lifeguard on this most dangerous ocean beach and saves Donato from drowning, then immediately becomes his lover. So this is basically a tale of gay masculine love between two macho types you wouldn't take for gay and that is maybe the message of the movie. "You can't tell a gay from his cover" -- The homosex on screen is so realistic that it looks non-simulated ~ these guys were really into their respective roles as far as sex is concerned. However I found neither actor very interesting as characters so I left soon after the first big blowjob. "Nymphomaniac" this not, but it may be in contention for one of Berlin's famous Teddy prizes -- The Berlin Teddy Bear sidebar is the mother of all the Gay and Lesban festivals that now abound around the globe.

The thing that struck me the most about this movie is how beautiful it is, and I mean literally, aesthetically. Not only is the scenery gorgeous, but also its camera work is outstanding: Praia do Futuro's shots are absolutely amazing, most scenes could be made into pictures to be hung on the walls of an art gallery - there could probably be a whole exposition just made with screenshots of this movie.The film's appeal, however, doesn't go much beyond that. Its plot had potential, the trailer made it seem like it would be intense and deeply emotional, yet the whole story is quite dull, with some unclear or poorly explained parts and underdeveloped dialogue. The characters don't lack depth per se, but their personalities were rather shallowly explored, perhaps hindered by the lack of vocal expression or by the stumbling plot.Contrarily to what a review I read (in another website) suggested, I did not feel like this movie was too cliché-ridden, and the unoriginal moves were fairly understandable, as they could be justified by either the situation in which they were inserted or the characters' psyche. Yet, I feel the innovative elements were obscured by the overall dephtlessness of the whole production and great ideas and quotes were lost in senselessness and barely-existent dialogue.This is definitely not a bad movie, it was just not enough to touch or affect me in any way.