The Flavor of Corn (1989)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

'The flavor of corn' is a film about friendship and love between a young boy and his teacher. Italy in '80, before pedophile hysteria' which would come after from USA, was a normal country where things like that can happen. Often parents happily welcomed a true friendship like that, well aware of natural attraction from a boy to a man, a model and example to follow, with all the affective implications that accompany such relationships. This is not a good movie, and the director' amateurism is evident, but it is a courageous movie. And this is not a small matter. Remarkable is the contrast between the instinct of the boy and the 'neurosis' of his teacher. The real problem for him is not the boy courtship, but the feelings of his own homosexuality.

Im writing this hours after having seen "The taste of Corn". This is is interwoven meticulously creating a very heavy suspenseful drama with a subject matter most would consider very taboo. However, Lorenzo Lena manages to create sympathy and even empathy as we see his plight given a very inappropriate situation. Making matters worse, the family loves him and may have an idea of what is really going on. It is a difficult subject matter to undergo, but the film beautifully presents the conflicts with honesty, warmth & heart. If you can find this movie, you must give yourself an opportunity to experience this gem of a film. You won't regret it. simply put... engaging and outstanding. In essence, seek this film out!

My guess is that this movie is going to evoke different feelings in different people. I felt disappointed- not of the movie – I like it a lot, but of the way the leading character (a first year teachers) choose to follow – I almost screamed " how dare you " – even trough I know that some people would say that he did the right thing. The scenes were filmed very professionally – the river, the barn, the fields – you just have to see it for yourself. There is one thing that I find strange – the open minded people that live in the rural Italy in the 80s – this is almost unbelievable - for its time I am sure that this movie was considered very controversial – I won't be surprised if it is considered controversial even today . Feeling such as friendship and love are portrayed very good and there is a lot of romance – even trough sometimes it gets between all that clusters of the routine live. Trough I enjoyed the movie – it made me sad – it did not surprised me much , as I know that there is rarely a thing which one could consider perfect – even if thing is called love – and probably especially if that thing is love. I can only hope that someday people will realise that the important thing is the love itself

Lorenzo is a college student doing a student teaching assignment in a small Italian Village. He has recently lost his mother, is estranged from his father and has no family to speak of.When he visits the home of Duilio, one of his students, he's taken into the family and between the family's welcome and Duilio's infatuation with him, Lorenzo is forced to question his attitudes and those of society towards gay relationships and relationships between those of differing ages.Add a woman who offers the young teacher a sexual relationship but no affection, and Duilio's stepmother's suspicion about her son's teacher and Lorenzo is forced to confront his deepening feelings for the boy.I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The question of gay relationships between younger and older have always troubled me. Who am I to judge but at some point there IS such a thing as child abuse. Where is the line to be drawn? In this case the ages are not that disparate, and the oversight by the youngsters family adds a whole new element to the equation. This movie tastefully handles the subject matter, does not veer toward the sensational and ends in a thought provoking way. Bravo.