Peyote

The world of Omar Flores Sarabia's Peyote is a place where vision is at the least double-sighted. One looks through windows, cameras, computer screens, in and through other's eyes. Peyote in this movie is not so much a psychedelic as it is the elusive goal of vision, of change. Like most stories about trips, whether a road trip or a psychological one (this movie, in a sense, contains both), the journey is more important than the goal. Its value lies in what one sees along the way. What holds one's attention throughout this film is, first, the clarity, and beauty, of the director's eye. He does not flinch from staring. He does not mind being still or moving slowly. He looks carefully at color, at the design of what (seemingly) is there. Though there are touches of magic realism in the film, the magic of the film lies in the reality of what is seen, its strange, almost uncanny naturalism. Yet it is a naturalism always delayed, suspended: the naturalism of desire.Marco and Pablo are in many ways opposites, in looks, class, demeanor, manners, attitude. Yet that is only half true. They are both alone. They are both almost wildly (if silently) uncertain of who they are. This is a two character film. Save for a couple of instances (the number depends upon on how one reads an image and words on a computer), there is no one else on screen. They talk about their family, their pasts, though Marco tells Pablo more than Pablo says to Marco. But how much of what they say is true? Marco may or may not be lying much or at least some of the time. They play child-like games, alone or with one another, like keep-away. They taunt each other, though, again, Marco does more of the mocking than Pablo. But this is more than games. Through it all both are being changed in more than just a psychological sense, whatever that phrase might mean.In the film, place, bleak in some senses, in others brilliant, in many ways stunning and beautiful, is transformative. For Pablo, in particular, the world into which he rides, walks, runs is an elsewhere, a world outside the confines of his room and his own, in some way, still childhood-bound imagination. The strangeness of the world to him is what expands him. Because, at least as Marco tells the story, that world is his own past, it is not so strange to him; it is a world to which he is returning. Yet sometimes what is new and what is repetition are not that dissimilar when the world, this town, this landscape, pushes back against who you would claim to be. Both are made more strange to themselves because of where they find themselves.Do either of them actually ingest peyote? There is no evidence of it. Yet there is the experience of it nonetheless. This, too, is part of the doubling of visions in the film, the unreached goal nonetheless experienced. Do they make love? The scene in which they kiss, the long, slow delay of it, the gradual movements of their lips toward one another, is one of the most sensual moments I have ever seen in a movie. But the fuller realization of their love making is shown only later, when they are apart, in memory, the past and the present enfolded and perhaps, therefore, necessarily imagined, though not (and this is equally important) only imagined.When Marco shows Pablo where his, Marco's father wanted to have his store, filming it with Pablo's filched camera, is the shot evidence that the story he told to Pablo earlier is true? Is the image meant to ascertain its reality? Or does it just add to the fib? I am not sure such more or less commonplace post-modern reflections (in that word's several senses) are much to Sarabia's point. Rather, it would seem to be more about how such images themselves are the source of desire, the love between them which, by film's end, seems almost heightened, made more passionate, by their separation.This is a beautiful film to look at, especially the desert and the old town to which they go. But both of those places are far more than picturesque. The two young men, in a nearly archetypal way, travel back and out, stripped down to what changes them. Both hurt themselves and each other, both bleed, both lie and love. Through it all, it is a complex visual imagination which watches, filming with an acute sense of detail, clarity, and complexity, nearly always seeing with more than just one pair of eyes. The young men film each other and are filmed. In this interplay, together and apart, they come to themselves and back again to each other, at least as far as memory, and imagination, can take them.

The spontaneity of the relationship between Pablo and Marcos took me back to a very similar experience I had with a total stranger in Tijuana, Mexico, back when I was a young man in the US Navy. We met while I was eating tacos at a local stand. As I walked away and headed back to my bus, he caught up to me because I had dropped my keys on the floor. A total innocent and friendly encounter, shrouded in intrigue and danger turned out to be a summer romance between two men experimenting with their sexuality.PEYOTE brought me back, so to me their chance meeting up and carrying on did not seem impossible at all. Sharing their bouts of loneliness – Pablo has just lost his father, and Marco has a distant relationship with his parents who have gone on vacation to a beach resort without him – the two adventure into one another. There is so much intensity in their relationship, subtle but poignant at every twist of this plot.This film goes as far as it needs to go, for the time being. Again, my own experience ended similarly – both my friend and I returned to our own realities, as do Pablo and Marcos.

The film was very simplistic in it's way of telling a story, yet very complex in demonstrating subtext from the characters. Even though the possibility of two characters meeting each other out of no where and then heading on a road trip right after is slim in real life, the narrative flowed nicely nevertheless. I like Pablo's innocence and explorative view on life, and I like Marco's jokester take on everything even though he's hurting inside. They both also had great chemistry. My only note is that I could not tell if they took the Peyote. And if they did, it should have been a more central theme to the film (as it is THE title). Otherwise, I liked the the film and could foresee a sequel.

The more I watched of this film, the more it grew on me. The scenery and setting were beautiful. The acting was quite good. The story took a little while to reveal itself, but by the end, it had a certain charm. I was also glad the film-makers didn't get too gratuitous with sexual scenes, as it would have served no particular purpose in this film. Some reviewers seemed to imply that any sort of gay-themed film must somehow include explicit sexual scenes. Please. A nice little film. I plan to watch it again.

Peyote is a charming story about two Mexican youths from different backgrounds and experiences who go on a road trip and discover much about each other. It is beautifully acted, and photographed with interspersed almost surrealistic visions now and then. Their developing love and even respect for each is told with humor and pathos, and one of the most erotic "should we kiss or not kiss?" scenes ever. It's a worthwile journey for us to take with them.

An enigmatic, peculiarly resonate and appealing movie. Of course it would have been lovely if the characters had been more developed, but nevertheless I thought the actors were quite good, and their tumultuous relationship believable. One must remember that one of the characters is only 17. As another reviewer noted, a sequel would be welcome. I would love to see more from this filmmaker.

It is a decent movie. Acting is acceptable. The story line is relatively good. Photography could be better; however, the work in this production is good.The language is local (Mexican slang) that could reduce the ease to see the movie without subtitles for some other Spanish speakers. Acting could improve to make it more "natural". It's acceptable however, it is somehow "obvious" that "it is an acted" character in a movie.No male nudity. A big plus for the erotica

Wenn man wie ich sich sehr viele Gayspielfilme anschaut und wenn man berücksichtigt das dieser Film mit sehr geringen finanziellen Mitteln produziert wurde, also ein nicht gerade kommerziell Produzierter Streifen ist, so hat er umbedingt 4 Sterne verdient.Die beiden Darsteller verkörpern ihre Rollen sehr überzeugend. Der eine grob und eher Proll Typ - der ander schüchtern und noch nicht ganz im reinen mit sich und seiner Sexuellen Orientierung, mit gutem Benehmen und Anstand, könnten die zwei nicht Gegensätzlicher sein.Spontan treten diese komplett verschiedenen Typen eine Reise in das Outback an und kommen sich dabei näher, was sich aber nicht so einfach gestaltet. Dieses nicht einfach Gestaltet wird sehr gut dargestellt, gute Bilder und Dialoge - einfach und direkt wie es im Leben ist.Mir hat das, neben wunderschönen Aufnahmen der Landschaft und wie alles kombiniert wurde, gut gefallen.Diesen Film kann ich empfehlen und er berührt jedem der etwas gefühle hat, einem auf jeden Fall.

Recomiendo este filme como una visión sana sobre las preferenhcias sexuales, dejando de lado muchos de los estereotipos y lugares comunes de películas pasadas que, si bien reflejaron el momento de su filmación muy apropiadamente, hoy no la hacen. Juventud, liberación, masculinidad y hartazgo de las reglas sociales son buenos ingredientes.

Inetersante pelicula. Es una pena que no se subtitulen más de este tipo por no entrar en circuitos comerciales. Todo cine es cultura.

not bad

wont play on our T V or computer