Romeos (2011)

Very disappointing...

One of my all time favorites.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is becoming really scarce that an indie film has this kind of execution. Good actors, good dialogue, a plot that is like nothing else you've seen. The movie focuses on the identity crisis of a trans person, but then it shows you that the identity crisis, often isn't coming from the person themselves (they're actually pretty sure of what gender they belong to) but its the world who has the real crisis, the people around you, friends, family who are supposed to support you. The way the main character keeps fighting to find his place, it was heartbreaking and just really touching. We see the transformation too, and its just brilliant. I was completely amazed.

I liked this movie, but casting Rick Okon as Lukas was a serious problem for me. I never for one second believed he was or had ever been female, so I couldn't help relating to that character as a man and only a man.It's a sharp contrast to the casting 15 years ago of Steven Mackintosh in the mirror-image role of Kim in Different for Girls. Kim is a transgendered male-to-female, and Mackintosh is SO believable as a woman that I had to do considerable research to ascertain that the actor himself wasn't transgendered. He wasn't, and, in fact, he doesn't look the least bit feminine in real life, which makes his casting as Kim all the more remarkable.Romeos is a pretty good movie anyway, but it doesn't depict the transgender experiences of the character as successfully as it does his experiences as a man. The movie would have been better with someone else cast as Lukas or if Lukas had just been a gay man, which is how he comes across anyway.In order to make sense of the character Okon was portraying, I had to ignore all the transgender issues, which simply were absurd for that entirely male character, and I'm sure that's not what the director intended.

Wow. Romeos moved me in so many ways that I feel...speechless. It's been a long time since I watched something that made the tiny hairs on my arms stand on edge. Moved to tears not only because of the performances (although they were extremely good) but because...finally someone has come along and made a movie so brutally honest, without apologies, on a topic that so many people are ignorant about. And we all know what happens when people are ignorant. Ignorance leads to fear and fear leads to blind hatred. That ignorance, fear, and hatred is what kills our youth, whether its from suicide or bashing.First part of the film reveals his daily routine as a trans gendered person: hormone injections, lifting weights, measuring different areas of his body, etc. He also keeps a live journal online where he connects with other trans gendered people in all stages of their transition. When Ine invites him out with her to a party, you really get to see how awkward it is for Lukas. Even though the hormone treatments have done wonders with his outward appearance-- facial hair, muscles, deep voice etc., the one thing they haven't helped him get rid of are his breasts. Lukas wears some sort of chest binding vest, but it still does not keep his bosom completely flat. This is why he layers his clothes, crosses his arms over his chest, never getting too close to anyone--another words, Lukas is always in a state of anxiety or paranoia, afraid that someone will notice.The hunky, charismatic Fabio is the one person Lukas wants to notice him, but not for his upper appendages. Fabio is the epitome of a gay alpha male, appearing to be confident in mind and body. He attracts the attention of both males and females and in some scenes in the movie, you wonder if he is bi or if he dates women to make Lukas jealous (you will see what I mean if you watch the film). Lukas is fascinated by Fabio; a part of it could be first love, a crush, but I got the sense that Lukas views Fabio as the perfect male specimen. He is everything that Lukas wants to be-- perfect body and the confidence to go with it.But all is not as it seems.But one of the hardest lessons Lukas must learn is how can he expect someone to love and see the real him if he can't even tolerate his own self? There are so many interesting topics that are addressed in this movie, but there were 2 that really fascinated me. One is during a scene where Lukas reluctantly goes with Ine to the beach because he finds out that Fabio is going. While everyone is stripped down to their swimming shorts or bikinis, you feel Lukas's awkwardness as he sits fully clothed with his layered shirts. As he watches Fabio and some of the guys swimming, Ine, his best friend, takes her bikini top off (remember, nude beaches are common in some other countries). Lukas points to Ine's breasts and starts explaining the breast removal process that he will eventually go through and Ine pushes his hand away and tells him to stop. She asks, "If you like boys, why don't you just stay a woman?" Lukas responds, "One has nothing to do with the other." Lukas is completely right. But Ine's question is one that confuses so many people in the world. There is a BIG difference between someone's gender and someone's sexuality but oftentimes they are thought to be one and the same. Gender is whether you are a male, female, or trans gender (born with parts you don't identify with and wish to change such as in Lukas's case). Sexuality is your sexual preference, what you are attracted to, such as being straight, gay, bi-sexual, etc. So even though Lukas was born female, he identifies himself as male. He is in the process of physically becoming a male. Since he is attracted to men, that would make him gay. His best friend is being hypocritical. Ine openly admits she is a lesbian. So for her to tell Lukas that he might as well stay female if he likes guys sort of makes no sense. I could see that being more of a comment that someone homophobic would say. Lukas could have turned her words back on her and say, "since you like women, why don't you grow a penis?"This leads me to the last point I want to make that the movie addresses. Once Lukas's secret is revealed (I won't say how and why), prejudice starts to rear its ugly head. Fabio turns into one of his greatest tormentors, calling him a "tranny", flaunting other men and women around him as if to say he would date anyone other then him. Straight people are not the only ones that can be ignorant and prejudice towards trans gendered people. The homosexual community can be a trans gendered person's greatest nightmare. Why? Because ignorance breeds fear, and fear breeds hate. Fabio really does care for Lukas. What holds him back is his lack of knowledge about trans gendered issues and the pressure of what others would think of him liking someone like Lukas. There is no denying Fabio's curiosity and once he lets go of worrying about what others may or may not think about him and Lukas, he is then more willing to let go of his prejudices and learn more. And let me be clear, Fabio is not as confident as Lukas thought he was. There are many reasons why, but that is for you to find out!

"Romeos"....is a Carefree title....a Fun title. BUT, buckle up your seatbelts and hold on tight....for the ride you're about to be taken on is, often, neither carefree nor fun. And why is that? Because, over and over, you'll be asking yourself: HOW is this young guy...this Rick Okon, from a little town in the Northeast fringes of Germany, able to drag us inch by inch by inch into all his emotional turmoil: Into his shyness...his physical discomfort...his fear of discovery...his beginnings of love? ....And while doing so with little more than his frequent arms-hugging-himself poses...his facial expressions...and those dark EYES. Well, the answer is just something you'll have to figure out after the trip. For each of us, it will have been different.But...forget the "HOW" we've just discussed. More important is the "WHAT"....for what we are being given here is a Near-Equal to the Oscar winning Best Actor performance in 1999's "Boys Don't Cry". That time, Hilary Swank......this time, a rising young German star. As the transgendering Lukas, Okon takes us along on an important part of his journey through the swirling emotions of Hormone Replacement Therapy. And on to complete physical transformation from female-to-male. BUT....in this film, unlike in others, the end goal is to find a same-sex (Male / Male) relationship. About which, please note the following:(( I can talk about this movie's particular sex-change circumstances in no better way than to paraphrase a quote by Reviewer, "nnenok from Slovenia" (here at IMDb.com): The MOST IMPORTANT lesson this film gives to us and to any already Transgendered-to-Male person (who is attracted to another Male) IS: ...Being attracted to a woman doesn't make you a man---but FEELING like a man does. )) So...maybe "Boys Don't Cry". Yet, perhaps at times, this film will bring you to the verge of doing so. For what we are seeing is a near breath-taking and heart wrenching performance (I often recall James Dean), about a young, transgendering German who has fallen for a macho Lover-Boy type. Yes, yes, Maximilian Befort, as Fabio, has a face and body which will keep your dreams HOT for days. A Lover-Boy?...sure. A Sex Bomb?...you bet. In fact, he's Sex on a Stick! YET, despite acting self-centered and forever off to the next conquest, his scenes with Lukas are always exciting ones...giving us a gut feel for the Fever which is building up between these 2, a Fever always tempered by fear of Fabio discovering the hidden transgendered condition.As to Fabio's side of this relationship, he is kept almost always off-balance, and in a perplexed state: Lukas being turned-on by Fabio...quickly followed by instances of Lukas shutting Fabio down. But, still, hard as it is to live with the emotional changes being thrown at him...Fabio does keep trying; he keeps coming back for more. (Leading to this Reviewer's opinion that Lukas has him hooked....letting the line out, then pulling it back--even if not always aware he's doing so).And so, I TRULY BELIEVE the ending lovemaking scene is giving us The Key to this relationship; oh, yes indeed, it is. BUT, that is not half as much as we are being told by the last few seconds shot, wherein we are watching through the lens of a digital camera...and seeing: A deliriously happy, and completely transgendered Lukas, taking off running into seaside sand dunes toward water's edge. Come on, now....STOP AND THINK about it! That CAN'T be all we're seeing. Because you know what? SOMEONE is holding that camera....You wanna take any bets as to WHO?Enjoy this Special Movie....And, thank you, Sabine.PS--And amidst all the turmoil...Thank Heavens for the occasional fun, lightness, and warm support given by terrific young actress, Liv Lisa Fries, as "Ine"...the B(Girl)FF of our Lukas during their growing-up years.****