North Sea Texas

Although this Belgian film handles its weighty theme of adolescent homosexuality with ample sensitivity, the storyline here features some of the same quotidian coming-of-age clichés found in heterosexual teen romance movies. Living in the colorless seaside town of Ostend in Belgium (the title is taken from a local bar-restaurant), Pim (Jelle Floorizone) is a typical introverted ‘tween who enjoys solitary activities—including dressing up in his mother's clothing—until he meets good-looking neighborhood kid Gino (Mathias Vergels). Gino seems to be the typical manipulator/user—obviously in a phase of bisexual experimentation—while Pim is deadly earnest in his commitment to a homosexual relationship with Gino. Pim has “victim” written all over his face: the next thing you know, Gino has taken off with some anonymous girl, much to Pim's confused adolescent consternation. While Pim's inward-turning, inarticulate rage is skillfully expressed by Floorizone, director Bavo Defurne's minimalist aesthetic focuses too much attention on formal detail and not enough on character. Optional. (M. Sandlin)