End of the Century

Is there someone out there with whom you imagine what life could have been like? Perhaps all that was shared was a fleeting romance, a couple of dates, or a tryst on a trip overseas. Lucio Castro’s End of the Century explores these burning questions in his latest erotic, time-bending queer romance story. The haunting Argentine romantic drama is set around two men who have a brief fling in Barcelona in 1999 only to reunite 20 years later.

The 84-minute feature opens with a photo album of stunning establishing shots of Barcelona, baroque palace gardens, laneways, and the beach. Ocho (Juan Berberini) is a poet from New York, sojourning in Barcelona, who spies a man (Ramon Pujol) donning a ‘Kiss’ tee shirt – later to be revealed as Javi – from his balcony. After a couple of stolen glances, Ocho invites Javi to his apartment to hook up and, sensing a connection between the two, Javi later invites him to spend the day traversing the city. After a delicious dalliance at the market to buy wine and goat’s cheese, the pair hang on a rooftop with a breath-taking view. With a backdrop of the twinkling lights of Barcelona, Javi makes a revelation: the two met in Barcelona, 20 years ago.

The crux of End of the Century is someone who wonders if the grass is really greener on the other side. Ocho is someone who ended a 20-year relationship because he wanted to be alone, to have complete freedom, to not care for anyone else. Javi, rightly, points out that everyone is alone to some degree. It is through their honest conversation on the rooftop where the dynamics of love, sex and intimacy intertwine and blur to create a commitment. Some short-lived, others spanning a lifetime.

A darling of the independent cinema circuit, the film succeeds in its portrayal of a contemporary and realistic relationship between two men. The dialogue felt genuine and understated as the characters discussed hook-up culture, Grindr and open relationships. A Flock of Seagull’s ‘Space Age Love Song’ was the perfect song to use in the scenes where Ocho and Javi first fall in love.

Now screening at Cinema Nova.

The End of the Century 
In cinemas now
cinemanova.com.au/films/end-of-the-century