BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“If you had ever stolen a kiss from someone, how would you give it back?” – Quote from The Way He Looks
Sometimes to go forward, you must look back. And going back to watching this charming, seductive, warm, coming-of-age, as well as coming-out movie is truly comforting. Occasionally, it is just necessary to just reflect on our own lives through the eyes of someone else. In this movie, that concept comes through both literally and figuratively. This creative and moving film explores a high school boy’s first experience of falling in love with another boy while navigating life as a blind teenager. We get to experience love through a whole different prism.
Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) by every human measurement would have to be considered a very handsome young man, who is astonishingly well adjusted despite being visually impaired. He has managed to adjust to being a teenager with much gusto and a flair for independence, to the consternation of his parents. More so from his mother who worries about him constantly. He does not hide from his disability; he merely embraces it and makes it a part of who he is. Like being left-handed or right-handed. It is who he is. Not that he is fully accepted; he is not. He is still taunted by others who think they can bully him. While physically they can; emotionally and mentally, they will never break him. He had learned to accept his disability and to accept it as an integral part of himself.
With the usual teenage dimensions that no one will ever ‘love me’, he is beginning to wake up to the idea that he is a sexual creature. His best friend and constant companion is Giovanna (Tess Amorim). She has been his friend since childhood and provides him with his physical guidance as well as the emotional support that he needs. To say that their relationship is close would not quite describe it accurately. It is somewhere between sister and girlfriend. Sister for him while girlfriend for Giovanna. Until someone else enters the picture to change their dynamics.
As soon as Gabriel (Fabio Audie) enters the classroom as a new student, there is something magical in his voice that Leonardo is awakened to. The only vacant seat is behind Leonardo and before long, they have become friends. All three. Yet a special bond between Gabriel and Leonardo begins to develop that even Giovanna notices. So much so that jealousy pushes her away from Leonardo.
It is Gabriel who makes the effort to bring them back together as he recognizes that their bond is beyond friendship. It is intrinsic and must be saved. At a low point, when Leonardo becomes frustrated with what he thinks is the universe conspiring to keep him from experiencing his first kiss, Gabriel, in an impulsive yet obvious move, kisses him. He too feels what Leonardo is also feeling.
When Leonardo confesses to Giovanna that he is falling in love with Gabriel, Giovanna suddenly and unexpectedly leaves the party they are attending. Bewildered and confused as to what is happening in the visual world he cannot see, he can only speculate. Until Giovanna comes and says that after having been shocked by his statement, wants to wish them well.
The rest of the story is the experience that must be felt. So, I leave that for you to enjoy. There is no point in spoiling that or diminishing its impact.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this movie? There are so many outstanding performances in this movie, including all the character performances. With the protagonists being in a class by themselves, I think the one who shines a light in this movie in terms of transitions is Tess Amorim as Giovanna. She is a remarkable individual who befriends a blind boy and treats him as she would anyone else. She is no doubt one of the major reasons why he is so well-adjusted to living a ‘normal’ life in a world in which he cannot see. Her influence on him cannot be underestimated, for sure. At the same time, as they begin to mature, she cannot control his sexual growth and perhaps never realized that Leonardo would or could be gay. It was my impression that she secretly harbored romantic feelings towards him; it would be hard not to. However, as she saw the relationship between him and Gabriel grow, she began to sense, maybe fear, her influence over him might wane and Gabriel would become Leonardo’s sole emotional support. And ostensibly love interest. And then when she finds out this is the case, some part of her is devastated but with the grace and dignity of being a true friend, she accepts the inevitable. She knows that the kind of love Leonardo wants and needs cannot be provided by her. This is such a beautiful example of a reflective acceptance of true friendship.
This is a movie that flew under the radar, and it should not have. Its impact is significant and far-reaching. Here is a young man with a significant disability who functions in its society with the utmost normalcy (that he can) and who falls in love with someone unconditionally. More importantly, that person falls in love with him – unconditionally. Their love is based upon the acceptance of one another for who each is. Does physical beauty matter? Perhaps, but that is not the only concept that carried this relationship over the threshold. Obviously, that meant nothing to Leonardo as he has no idea how Gabriel ‘looks’. So, for him, it is all innate.
What this story does not do is present itself as some Pollyanna treatise. It felt real, genuine, and plausible. Both young men are secure in who they are and what they are. Leonardo does not hide behind his disability. He wears it. Gabriel does not wear his gayness. He accepts it as who he is. Both realize that they found each other and for whatever reason unfathomable to us, are attracted to each other. And in the end, as you will observe, are proud to do so.
This is an exceptional movie and ought to be on a required list for any class trying to teach adolescents about acceptance. It feels real and comes from the heart. Gabriel and Leonardo are not characters; they are – us.
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