In “Death in Venice,” desire remains unrequited, both emotionally and sexually, which reason might suggest is an accurate appraisal of the fates of such situations in real life. In the newer versions, a certain kind of fantasy meshes with or entirely trumps reality: the younger man eventually responds emotionally to the older, and there’s usually a sexual convergence as well, however brief and furtive it may be.
In the realm of gay features, such films—in which the younger man is often a hustler or criminal—are so numerous as to comprise an entire subgenre. Among the movies aimed at top-drawer festivals, on the other hand, they’re rare enough to be taken as exceptional. And some occasionally are: Robin Campillo’s “Eastern Boys,” which debuted at Venice a couple of years earlier, is a better example of the form, one offering more originality and emotional force than Vigas’ film.
“From Afar,” in any case, is built on reticence. When it opens, middle-aged Armando (Alfredo Castro) spots an attractive young man at a Caracas bus stop, then follows him onto a bus. The younger guy can tell what Armando’s gaze implies and appears slightly repulsed, until his suitor flashes a wad of bills. Then they’re back at Armando’s darkened apartment, where he instructs the boy to turn around, take off his shirt, pull his pants down halfway and stand still as he masturbates.
So this is Armando’s pattern: It’s all about looking and self-pleasuring, not emotional connection. Possible reasons for his outlook are suggested in a subsequent scene where he and his sister discuss the recent return to town of their father, a powerful businessman whom they apparently hate for reasons unspecified. With this family dynamic coloring the background, Armando continues his pursuit of the young and available.
The lithe, sullen Elder (Luis Silva), who looks 17 or 18, though, is not as compliant as some. He beats Armando up and takes money and a valuable item or two from his apartment. Nothing about the film suggests that its protagonist is a masochist, but he’s sufficiently taken with Elder that he goes after him and strikes up a relationship of sorts, in part by doling out money for things the boy wants, such as a refurbished sports car.
It emerges that like Armando, Elder also has daddy issues. This presumably is meant to explain something about the conjunction of the two, but it’s a rather trite psychological idea that’s never persuasively developed. Instead, Vigas’ script gives us various side issues and opaque conflicts, such as Elder’s violent confrontation with his girlfriend’s brothers, which adds some visceral tension but is never explained.
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