A smart and nuanced portrait of gay love matched with suspenseful and unexpected turns, Marco Berger’s latest film continues his acclaimed run of dramas exploring queer male desire and romance.
A gripping look at the tragedies that surface precisely when desire isn’t allowed to express itself freely and publicly.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2020
Young Hunter 2020
El cazador
With his family on an extended holiday in Europe, 15-year-old Ezequiel (Juan Pablo Cestaro) has a pool in the backyard, a fridge of cold beer, a stack of porn and a raging teenage libido. He’s smart, cool and attractive, but neither his artfully casual seduction scenarios nor his carefully calibrated sleepovers with local boys from his wealthy Buenos Aires suburb deliver anything approaching reciprocity. A despondent trip to the skate park reverses Ezequiel’s fortunes however, where he’s quickly and effectively seduced by slightly older Mono (Lautaro Rodríguez), a skater boy whose origin from the other side of the tracks only adds to his allure.
Ezequiel’s newfound summer idyll is derailed with the unexpected return of his parents and younger sister. Mono’s older cousin has a weekend house in the country, and it’s there where this innocent teenage love story takes a much darker turn. Ezequiel is first hunted, and then must become the hunter himself, to escape an underworld where innocence and youth are the most highly prized commodities.
With his sixth feature, Marco Berger reaffirms his place among the leading talents of the New Argentine Cinema alongside Jazmín López (If I Were the Winter Itself) and Mateo Bendesky (Family Members) at this Festival. — Marten Rabarts
About the Filmmaker
Marco Berger is an Argentine director. His films are characterised by the theme of sexual tension between seemingly heterosexual men. His third feature, Absent (2011), won the Berlin International Film Festival’s Teddy Award for Best Queer Film. Selected filmography: Taekwondo (2016), Butterfly (2015), Hawaii (2013), Five (2010), Plan B (2009).