In the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Gabriel has just moved in with his colleague, Juan. Shy and reserved, Gabo is reluctant to follow Juan's wandering hands and meaningful looks.
Un rubio (original title)
Gabo (Gastón Re) is the kind of person who is buffeted by life’s events. His wife dies, so the young father deposits his daughter with her grandparents and moves to Buenos Aires where he takes a job in a carpentry workshop. He rents a room in the flat of a colleague, Juan (Alfonso Barón). Juan has a number of slobby friends who frequently and unexpectedly visit, making the already messy flat even messier. Gabo uncomplainingly cleans up after them (when he is not prone on his bed reading). Even after he and Juan start a sexual relationship (the only time in the film Gabo takes the initiative), Gabo looks on, uncomplaining as ever, while Juan continues bedding not only his girlfriend but also, perhaps, another man.
‘The Blond One’ is 108 minutes long and – perhaps because I saw the film in the very crowded cinema of the British Film Institute’s ‘Flare’ festival for LGBTQ+ films – feels every one of them. There are several shots of the carpentry workshop, of Gabo watering his plants, and of groups of men engaged in inconsequential chatter. They undeniably set the tone of the film (slow), but there should have been fewer of them. Not helping matters is central character Gabo’s personality: he is *so* quiet, *so* unobtrusive, that it is almost as if he is not there half the time. On the plus side, Re does a competent job of portraying Gabo’s hurt with bewildered looks (and does not let his status as co-producer excuse him from his fair share of the film’s nudity duties). Barón, who according to his IMDb listing is an inexperienced actor, provides a good naturalistic performance.
The Exchange – El intercambio (2023) by Marco Berger
Absent (2011) – gay film by Marco Berger (Ausente)
