Review of José (2020) by Brent_Marchant — 30 Aug 2020

This noble attempt at depicting the everyday difficulties faced by members of Guatemala's gay community seeks to tell a touching and often-frustrating story. However, the picture's episodic nature (especially in the second half) tends to meander so much that it loses a great deal of its cohesiveness.

It's almost as if the film tries to check off items on a list of incidents to portray, with only a very loose thread stringing them together. The movie's beautiful cinematography, atmospheric score and fine performances by relative newcomers are all admirable, as is the picture's willingness to depict gay male sexuality realistically.

But these noteworthy attributes aren't quite enough to save a film that fundamentally has trouble finding its way, a valiant effort that ultimately comes up short.