Review of Clandestinos (2008) by Ceph J — 02 Dec 2010

An interesting concept about a young gay man who engages in terrorists acts to impress his older lover, a notarious terrorist himself. Israel Rodriguez is well cast as Xabi, the young man. The actor is very comfortable showing off his nude sinewy body on screen andr his intensity as an actor. The movie doesn't connect the dots between sex and terrorist acts though. The women's roles, especially Pepa Aniorte as Marta and Inma Cuevas as Rebecca, come across as horny dimwits. Instead, I wish dirctor and co-screenwriter Antonio Hens had simply focused on Rodriguez and his complicated relationship with Juan Luis Galiardo playing a closeted policeman.

Also, the relationship between Xabi and his two friends on the lam from a youth prison aren't clear. The climax is a real letdown. You have to give credit to an independent film that dares to be different even when the sum of its parts don't add up to a cohesive film.