The French coming-of-age gay TV-movie Hidden Kisses serves up a complex tale about fathers and sons, while also touching on the ways that homophobia—whether on an individual or institutional level—causes real harm. Nathan (Bérenger Anceaux) is a new student at an unfamiliar high school following a move made by his cop father, Stéphane (Patrick Timsit). Caught on camera surreptitiously kissing Louis (Jules Houplain), Nathan becomes a target at school for humiliation and bullying, while Stéphane—who has just learned of his son's sexuality through this incident—is left reeling. Meanwhile, Louis, who is under pressure from the expectations of his macho father (Bruno Putzulu), overcompensates for being attracted to Nathan by acting like a jerk. Director Didier Bivel turns what might have been another soapy, gay teen narrative into something more vital, exploring the high emotional stakes raised in the relationships between homosexual young men and their straight fathers. Fine support work comes from Barbara Schulz as Louis's browbeaten mother, Nicolas Carpentier as a sympathetic teacher, and Catherine Jacob as a closeted lesbian teacher who sees echoes of her painful adolescence in Nathan's misery. Recommended (T. Keogh)
Hidden Kisses
Breaking Glass, 87 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99, Dec. 5 Volume 33, Issue 2
Hidden Kisses
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