I Like it a lot!!

Nattlek 1966

Nattlek 1966
1h 45min | Drama | 12 September 1966 (Sweden)

Storyline:
The story about a man who's trying to get rid of his memories from his past. He grew up in an upperclass-family in a castle and now revisits the castle with his fioncee.
User review:
Jan (Keve Hjelm) fights impotence (literal and symbolic) and anguished childhood memories in a decadent Swedish castle where risqué parties and daring scenes defy 1960s' movie censorship, reaffirming the ground-breaking role of Swedish films in helping advance adult, sexually concerned themes in international cinema (q.v. Bergman's "Through a Glass Darkly", "The Silence" and "Persona", Vilgot Sjöman's "My Sister My Love/ Syskonbädd 1782" and "I am Curious Yellow", etc). "Night Games" includes a bold flashback scene of Jan as a child (sensitive Jörgen Lindström, who played the young boy in Bergman's "The Silence") caught masturbating.

10 1/2 (2010)

10 1/2 (2010)
1h 48min | Drama | 13 October 2010 (Canada)
Storyline:
Tommy, 10 years old, is well known by Social Services. He is considered a danger to society. Gilles, his guardian at this halfway house, sees potential for redemption in this kid driven by violence.
User review:
Having heard many positive reports about this film I sought it out for months. Although I'd have been happy to pay for a download or a copy on optical media I eventually had to resort to underhand methods of online acquisition — and then, finding the Canadian French dialogue and its Quebecois argot incomprehensible, go on a further search for subtitles.
Was it worth the effort? For me, certainly; but I stop short of recommending it to others.

1er amour 2013

1er amour 2013
1h 20min | Drama | 21 June 2013 (Canada)
Storyline:
Antoine, 13, spends the summer vacation with his parents in a rented cottage on an island in the middle of the Saint-Lawrence River. His neighbour, 17-year-old Anna, is an enigmatic and lively young woman. Antoine begins to experience the first stirrings of love-which soon yield a troubling brew of anxiety, desire and obsession. He eventually comes across a terrible secret that will forever change his life.
Review:
The frustrating thing about 1er Amour is that it has so much unfulfilled potential. There's the possibility of a really good movie about adolescent obsessions, about unrequited love, about first love.
Director: Guillaume Sylvestre
Writers: Guillaume Sylvestre (screenplay), Ivan Turgenev (novel)
Stars: Macha Grenon, Marianne Fortier, Pierre-Luc Brillant
Country: Canada
Language: French
Release Date: 21 June 2013 (Canada)
Also Known As: Premier amou

Amor Estranho Amor 1982

Amor Estranho Amor 1982
1h 37min | Drama | 11 November 1982 (Brazil)
Storyline:
Man remembers 48 crucial hours in his life when, as a teenager, he visited his mother, the favorite woman of an important politician, in a bordello owned by her, right before some important political changes in Brazil, in 1937. In those hours, he discovers his own sexuality.
User review:
Hollywood produces hundreds of action/cartoon/fantasy films each year. Look closely and you'll see they all mimic each other. Redundency is key in Hollywood. However if you seek a thinking film, which reaches into your every day life, look to Foreign Films. Here is one called " Amor Estranho Amor. " Roughly translated it means, 'Love, Strange Love. ' It's the story of a man, Hugo (adult – Walter Forster) who's returning to the family home he lived in when he was a very young Brazilian preteen boy growing up amid the governmental turmoil of the 1930's. Having been evicted by his Grandmother, he is taken to live in his mother's house, a glamorous, socially exclusive, high class Bordello. While there, Hugo as a child (Marcelo Ribeiro) recalls the two days he spent with his prostitute mother and a bevy of beautiful whores. While a group of political radicals plan the over throw of the government, Hugo is treated to the eye-popping candy delights of his youthful imagination, while his mother warns him of those same pleasures. The movie is stylish, often opulent with respects to the lavish settings, the gorgeous women and most startling with the innocent beauty of the boy and his mother. However, the stagnant dialog and poor acting of the principals leaves much to be desired. Although there is much controversy over the inter-action between the young boy and the lascivious courtesans, there is nothing in the movie to be feared by any save those who lack sophistication. As for those mature enough to accept this masterful art piece for what it is, the writer/director Walter Khouri, his cast Xuxa Meneghel, Tarcisio Meira and Vera Fishcher are to be praised as they have given the world a foreign Classic. Well done. *****
Director: Walter Hugo Khouri
Writer: Walter Hugo Khouri
Stars: Vera Fischer, Tarcísio Meira, Xuxa Meneghel

Nico And Dani 2000

Nico And Dani 2000
Krámpack (original title)
R | 1h 31min | Comedy , Drama , Romance | 16 June 2000 (Spain)
Storyline:
Coming of age, on a Barcelona beach, during an eventful week: Nico arrives at Dani's for part of the summer. Dani's parents are away, Nico is keen to lose his virginity, and Dani, who's been Nico's friend since grammar school, wants time only with Nico. Dani's plans to hunt and fish are waylaid when Nico catches the eye of Elena and her cousin Berta. He wants to go to the beach with the girls, cook them dinner, and make love to at least one of them. Dani wants social and physical contact with Nico. Watching from a short distance are Sonia, Dani's tutor, and Julian, a gay writer, who picks up Dani's vibes. Can Nico and Dani sort out friendship as well as their mixed desires?
user review:
I completely missed the boat on this one – KRAMPACK (a.k.a. NICO & DANI) is an excellent film. To temporarily ditch any pretense of objectivity, this was very nostalgic – my adolescence was a good bit more modest, but the experiences and conversations (even the summertime setting) at many points through this film hit close to home. I won't rehash the plot, which is well-covered by previous reviewers here, but I will say that the film really gets the mix of unease and anticipation right in depicting the evolving relationship between Nico & Dani. On this front, it's a five-star gay-themed drama.
The performances are quite expressive and naturalistic – no movie-of-the-week feelgood speeches appear here, and none are needed. The slightest changes in expression (contrast Nico's responses to Dani through the first 2/3 of the film, to his responses during the last 20 minutes or so) convey great warmth and understanding, giving him the ability to reaffirm his friendship with Dani (in a 'positive' statement greater than any speech) even as they both understand by film's end that the dynamic of their friendship won't ever be quite the same.

Pianese Nunzio 14 anni a maggio 1996

Pianese Nunzio 14 anni a maggio 1996
1h 54min | Crime , Drama , Romance | 5 September 1996 (Italy)
Storyline:
A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year old boy. It's the chance the gangsters were waiting for to get rid of the thorn in their side. Will they be able to force the boy to accuse the priest of sexual harassment and have his reputation destroyed?
User review:
This is the very timely story of the relationship between a priest and a teen who wants to be one in modern day Naples. It is portrayed as a pure, honest, innocent relationship on the part of both.
While most of the people close to either of them are aware of the relationship after Nunzio moves into the church, it is refreshing to see how they treat it in an almost matter-of-fact manner. There is some minor ribbing by some acquaintances but nothing like the mean-spirited harsh torture a boy in modern America who willingly participated would be subjected to.

Vito e gli altri 1991

Vito e gli altri 1991
1h 23min | Drama | 19 September 1991 (Italy)
Storyline:
VITO AND THE OTHERS is the groundbreaking film which drew international attention to the problem of neglected youth and street crime in poverty-stricken Naples. The film's opening moments are startling and deeply disturbing. A despairing Rosario has just murdered his wife and daughter at the dinner table on New Year's Eve. Somehow, Vito quietly convinces his father to drop the gun, spare their lives and call the police. Placed in the custody of sexually abusive relatives, Vito is left free to roam the trash-strewn back streets of Naples where he and his friends engage in drug abuse, prostitution and petty crime. Ably acted by a large cast of nonprofessional street kids, VITO AND THE OTHERS is a heartrending portrait of innocents without a future.
User review:
Vito (Nanelo Triola) and others in his gang of delinquents come from troubled backgrounds. Vito lives with his aunt Rosetta after his father murdered his mother and sister. When we meet Vito he already had a few scrapes with the law.
It is one long downhill run, starting with petty crime, but quickly also involving burglaries, robbery and worse. As often happens in these tragic cases, drug abuse also plays a role. A young Vito, only twelve years old, gets arrested and spends some time locked up with other older youths. It is not an easy life; he gets assaulted and it is even hinted that he is raped. His aunt gets a lawyer who insists that Vito is too young to be locked up like that and that she should sue the state and get compensation. When she hears the word 'compensation' her eyes light up; she is clearly intent on making some money rather than just helping the boy.

Out Of Hand aka Keller – Teenage Wasteland (2005)

Out Of Hand aka Keller – Teenage Wasteland (2005)
1h 32min | Drama | 6 March 2008 (Germany)
Storyline:
Sebastian and Paul are two bored boys about 16 years of age. They drink alcohol, steal – and attend a private school. They can't find a sense of meaning in their present adolescent existence. They abduct Sonja and lock her in an old, abandoned factory building. But what shall they do with her? Disorientation, fear, desire and also love are changing to cruel aggressivity.
user review:
This ca 1,5 hour film starts off well, but then, after a certain event related to a checker called Sonja, the power decreases and the scenes become protracted at times, the characters "run aground", even if their development is visible… There are some twists coming, but together with some clichés, paving the way for predictable ending (fortunately, created with versatile accomplishment). As for performances, they are good: Elisabetta Rocchetti as Sonja Ludwig Trepte as Paul, and particularly Sergej Moya as Sebastian. It is the performances that make the film more or less watchable, although there are dozens of stronger youth films available, including from Germany.
Well, on the other hand, I acknowledge that I do not belong to the target audience of the film.