Snails in the Rain (2013)

Too much of everything

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Blistering performances.

A good film, probably only real criticism is that the main character seems to be taking his top off too much. Whilst that's not a problem, it seems to be at odds with the rest of the film.

The main actor is gorgeous; very buff body, chiselled face, lush locks of hair: a Hebrew Adonis. One could gaze at him for the duration of the film alone, if looks were of single importance here. But I suppose if this film is meant for the gay market, then that stud should be taken into homosexual situations more so than it does here. Alas, in this film, homosexuality is merely his closeted state of being. As such, the film delivers very little thrill. 90 percent of the content of the film is taken up with heterosexual relationships and a very stern heterosexual environment (that nagging girlfriend being in the picture most of the time, really gets on my nerves, no surprise he gives her a good whack at one point). The other 10 percent constitute to, at most, ten minutes of exciting secret sexual shenanigans between guys in dimly lit cruising spaces. However, those ten minutes do not add up, to enough excitement for me to have to sit through a whole feature length film of boring heterosexual people that are of no interest to me whatsoever. The erotic film poster with two men kissing is misleading, as it's an infinitesimal moment in the film; be warned!

Snails in the Rain (2013) is an Israeli film written and directed by Yariv Mozer. It stars Yoav Reuveni as Boaz, a handsome and intelligent college student. Life is going well for Boaz--he's awaiting a scholarship offer that will probably arrive, he's well-liked, and he has a charming woman who is his fiancée.When Boaz checks his mailbox for the scholarship letter, what he finds instead is a series of notes written by an anonymous male admirer.Boaz is uncertain about his sexual orientation. He had a male partner when he was in the military, but appears committed to his female partner now.The problem--for me--arose when Boaz committed an act of sexual violence against his partner. She let him off with, "That hurt. Don't do it again." I think she should have seen this as a red flag.You'll have to see the movie to learn how it ends. My guess is that the story will play out for Boaz long after the closing shot of the film.We saw this movie at the Little Theatre as part of the wonderful ImageOut Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on DVD.

An interesting film made in Israel, verging on the thriller and being erotically charged throughout its duration. A kind of staccato rhythm that slowly but surely takes the hero, as well as the characters around him, and the members of the public towards the climax. A study in human nature, and a very beautiful human nature, quite a painfully so one, as the young man seems to feel the gaze of everyone looking at him as a sort of blade cutting through his thin layers of conformism and indecision. The claustrophobia induced by the ever-present girl-friend and exacerbated by the heat alternates with the memories of brief moments of truth and courage lived in the army. Rather disappointingly, the end is marked by a more or less voluntary choice of turning one's back on courage and returning to the trodden path of cowardice and avoidance of one's inner truth.