Burnt Money
dir. Pineyro
Opens Fri March 29
Cinema 21
An interesting, yet ultimately boring component of much of today’s gay cinema is that the films gay-bash themselves over the head. Far too many are concerned with I’m-coming-out-and-nobody-understands-me plots instead of telling a good story, where the characters just happen to be gay. For a great example of this, please see Burnt Money–a movie that may involve gay characters, but conveys a message even the most tight-assed hetero can understand.
Directed by Latin American filmmaker Marcelo Pineyro, Burnt Money tells the true story of a freaky crime committed in 1965 Argentina. Nene (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and Angel (Eduardo Noriega) are two gay lovers/thieves known as “the twins,” who rise to prominence in the local crime community due to their heightened ability to work together. However, like many long-term relationships, their love has cooled, and a botched bloody heist sends them and others in their gang into hiding. While waiting for the police to lose interest in the case, Nene and Angel are forced to deal with their feelings in highly personal ways; Angel hears “voices” telling him to renounce homosexuality, while Nene sexually experiments with both men and women. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) the two are inextricably locked together in love, which sets up an ending that you just know is not going to turn out well.
Though the film tends to drag in places, and the symbolism can be a bit on the obvious side, Burnt Money is less a movie about homosexuality and more a movie about how love locks people together–for better or worse. If you’ve ever had a relationship that you know is no good and yet, you still can’t let go, then you’ll certainly feel for the plight of Nene and Angel. In the end, Burnt Money offers up a true tale that transcends sexuality and makes the case that it’s not who you love, but how.
