Set in Brazil, which has the highest crime rate against transgender and queer people in the world, LGBTQ drama “Private Desert” follows the period of extreme vulnerability of burly police academy instructor Daniel (Antonio Savoia). . Finally, makeover.
An extended opening sequence sees Daniel caring for his aging father, a former military commander, and dealing with the shame of his suspension and public notoriety as a result of a confrontation that leaves a new cop in a coma. See. Emotionally, Daniel is completely dependent on his internet girlfriend Sarah. Sarah is a blonde bombshell he has never met in person.
Then all of a sudden Sarah stops replying to his texts.
Director Ali Muritiba keeps the mood ambiguous as Daniel craves a physical connection with his virtual lover and skips town to Sara’s rural stomping grounds 2,000 miles north. , he slaps missing person posters with her selfies on every street corner. Is Daniel very romantic, or is his behavior motivated by something more sinister?
Unsurprisingly, Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) is not who she claims to be. Muritiba gives an online catfish a human face to delve into his stuffy home life and religious upbringing.
With all the narrative twists, the film loses steam as it settles into Sarah’s point of view, and even though Sarah’s point of view (and Fasanaro’s performance) is compelling on its own, it’s not the best of Daniel’s meticulous attention. It takes the air out of the crisis that was built by paying.
Yet Muritiba understands that a portrait of masculinity that clings too strongly to the cruelty and self-denial of Matista culture is futile. Instead, he finds grace in stolen moments of tenderness. – Hugs between longtime pals under cherry-red lights, dance floor kisses with Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” booming in the background. And in the landscape of oppression, it shines like a beacon of what can happen.
Private dessert
Unrated. Portuguese, with subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 1 minute. at the theater.