“TESTOSTERONE”–cry for me, Argentina

“Testosterone”

“Cry For Me Argentina”

Amos Lassen

I would not call “Testosterone” a happy movie. It began as a novel which was written by a gay author suffering from bouts of depression. It is the dark story of Dean whose lover Pablo left him to return to his native Argentina. Dean tries to track Pablo down and encounters all kids of men during his search. The cast is wonderful with David Sutcliffe as Dean, Sonia Braga (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) as Pablo’s heartless mother and Antonio Sabato Jr. as Pablo. Unfortunately the script doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of direction.

The film is heavily nationalistic and political. Dean is the “ugly American”. He lacks all social graces and his rudeness is his calling card. He goes to Argentina and shows no interest in the country whatsoever. He is an unlikable character in all aspects but he is unbelievably sexy. His testosterone is represented as brutal male power—he is violent, very sexual, vengeful and extremely compulsive.

Even with its flaws I found “Testosterone” an interesting movie to see. It is entertaining but it is not a great film. The locations shot in Buenos Aires are gorgeous—the trees are green, the sky is blue, and the cinema photography is lush. But we cannot take this movie too seriously especially after hearing the line that Dean says, “I’m just a fag with a gun who needs a chain saw.

So who is this Dean character? He is a Los Angeles writer of graphic novels who had been involved in a six month affair with Pablo Alesandro. One night Pablo went out to buy cigarettes and never returned and Dean begins a search for him which means he had to go to Buenos Aires where he hears Pablo has gone. His adventures begin there at the home of Pablo’s mother. Across the street there is a mysterious character by the name of Sofia who obviously knows Pablo. It is later that we discover that Sofia’s brother, Marcos, is a former lover of Pablo. To complicate matters even more, Marcos meets Dean and is smitten with him.

The movie takes a different direction than what we are used to. For one it does not adhere to the stereotype of gay men we see so often in movies. The gay men in this movie have humanity and foibles and flaws. But because the story loses its focus, the movie suffers completely. The ending is offensive and silly. It is hard to combine Cinema Noir

with humor unless it is satire. And if this movie is a satire, I did not get it.

The movie may sadden you and humor you at the same time and the way one man goes about finding closure reminds us that most of us have been involved in at least one bad relationship.

The beginning of the movie is intriguing and entertaining but as time passes it is easy to lose interest. And if this movie is a satire, I did not get it.

The movie may sadden you and humor you at the same time and the way one man goes about finding closure reminds us that most of us have been involved in at least one bad relationship.

The beginning of the movie is intriguing and entertaining but as time passes it is easy to lose interest. Perhaps if the script had been better, this would have been a dynamite film.