The Strong Ones

There is a savor of Guédiguian surrounding the Teddy Award-winner Omar Zúñiga’s delicate, low-key and passionately hot coming-out film in a rural environment.

Southern Chile reminds you of Norway and Scotland with its fjords and mountains that plunge straight down into the Pacific Ocean. Lucas returns there to his hometown to meet his sister. He is visiting to say goodbye before he sets off on a longer stay in Canada and has an ambivalent relationship to the people in the village. What he least expects is to fall in love. The encounter with the photogenic fisher Antonio is at first nothing serious, but their sexual candor creates a forceful passion that they cannot resist. Zúñiga beautifully portrays honest love that does not ask for an excuse.

• Maja Kekonius