Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)

It's about two young guys who become friends after a chance meeting. In time their relationship evolves into something more complicated. The good, it's a very good movie and does ultimately have a happy ending although there are some painful hurdles to overcome to get there; the annoying, not long after the guys meet, one leaves for a year and we only see one of the guys reading letters from the other and that really broke up the flow of the movie.

"Aristotle" (Max Pelayo) is something of the school heart-throb, but something is missing from his life. He can't swim! It's at the local pool he meets "Dante" (Reese Gonzales) who offers to teach him. Pretty swiftly the two are as thick as thieves and when "Dante" has to move away they resort to ever more intimate letter-writing. It's the latter lad who proves to be the more open about his sexuality and he exacts a promise from his friend that puts quite a strain on their relationship, one that proves to be quite perilous for "Dante" and eye/heart-opening for "Ari". There are several themes woven into this drama, but what's a bit different is that they are more subtly presented. We can guess where the narrative is going, but not the many bumps along the way that address issues of culture, family, bigotry and love. Both lads deliver really quite poignantly throughout, as does Veronica Falcón as the mother of the increasingly conflicted "Ari". It takes a look at prevailing familial and societal attitudes - real and assumed - and gently unpicks the worst of human prejudice whilst also celebrating our diversity without recourse to endless sentiment and cheese. I thought that Gonzales stole the acting plaudits with a performance that is both honest and engaging and it packs a lot of story as well as some mischief and some fun into ninety minutes. Worth a look, I'd say.