Martin Bradley You know you are in for a sensitive, perhaps even hyper-sensitive, treatment of homosexuality from the start. A young boy of maybe 10 or so, Pim, dresses up as a beauty queen, naked all but for a sash, his mother's jewelry and perfume. His single mother, who likes men, maybe a bit too much, and to hang out in the local bar, Texas, doesn't scold him nor do the friendly neighbours he spends so much time with. It is clear they, like us, can see the man the boy will become.When we next see Pim he's just turned 15 and is infatuated with the neighbour's 18 year old son, Gino, and we know his future is already mapped out. The only thing is will director Bavo Defurne give us a picture of suicidal teenage angst or something more along the lines of "Beautiful Thing"? Well, let's just say there are plenty of bumps along the way in his film "North Sea, Texas".In this country, of course, such stories of gay teenage sexuality would be virtually taboo where almost any depiction of sex in which either of the parties involved is under the age of consent is considered child abuse but those pesky foreigners have always lead the way in matters of the flesh, (remember Louis Malle's "Les Amants"?). Here, we might describe this film as brave, even daring, but it's probably quite commonplace in its native Belgium.All the performances are good with Jelle Florizoone and Mathias Vergels as the teenage lovers, Pim and Gino respectively, slipping into their roles with remarkable ease while Nina Marie Kortekaas as Gino's younger sister, who has more than a crush on Pim, is also excellent. Only the most prurient of minds could take offence at this most bitter-sweet of teenage romances.

paul_3-960-896774 Pim, Gino, and Sabrina, are entering a period of sexual awakening and the movie is very much about finding love, first love, and heartbreaks. It's a bit of a strange movie with a very slow and dream-like pace. There seem to be a lot going on in Pim's mind but it doesn't always translate on screen. I am not criticizing the actor here because I think he did a great job, I'm just saying that some scenes could have used a little push to make them great.There are extremely long silences and yes, they are putting emphasis on those scenes and the fact that Pim lives in a dream world. But maybe there are too many of them. Pim cannot seem to catch a break in this film, when he's starting to get over Gino, here comes another heartbreak. In that aspect the movie is very realistic, it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. There're subtle changes throughout the movie showcasing that change is part of life, something that we have to deal with.North Sea, Texas has beautiful photography, great visuals and score that add an eerie feel to the movie. Speaking about eerie, Pim started off, sweet but slowly got creepy - in my opinion - with his obsessive hoarding of anything guys he liked owned. I also didn't understand the whole alphabet reciting thing but it sure added to his creepiness.Finally, for a film set in the 1970s with gay characters, it was refreshing to see that the whole shame, self-loathing and guilt of being gay was dismissed for a coming of age story. Treating Gino and Pim's story as the most natural thing.If you haven't seen the movie please watch it and if you want to talk about it tweet me @wornoutspines.

ufotds This film disappointed me because the language used is some very clean and un-natural "dixi-antwerps". As the film plays at the sea side, it makes the accent even more unrealistic.The movie is based on a novel and it feels like the dialogs have been taken literally which doesn't take into account how much more tolerant written language is compared to spoken.Further, it feels like the scenes chosen drop a bit out of context, with little introduction as to why the characters feel towards one another like they do.All in all, I found it mechanical and I didn't manage to feel with the characters.

I_solved_Rubikscube_in_one_min North Sea Texas is a beautiful, well-crafted and well-shot film. Wow, its been a while since I've seen such an amazing, unadulterated romantic journey. I'm not gay but regardless I fell in love with this film so much that I sat down to write a review here.So the premise goes like this... Its about a boy named Pim (I'm not familiar with Dutch/Flemish culture but having seen a few of their films I think a lot of guys are named Pim) who is kind of an introvert, a dreamer, doesn't talk much and spends a lot of his time drawing the things he loves. Young Pim meets a guy nearby, Gino who is three years older than him and eventually falls in love with him. There is also Gino's sister Sabrina, who is the same age as Pim and their mother.Pim's mother, Yvette, on the other hand is a feckless woman who spends most of her time drinking, singing and playing accordion at a local bar. Her entertaining skills have taken over her motherhood skills and clearly Pim doesn't like it. Then there is Etienne, a friend of her who pretty much escorts her and hangs out by the house all the time and Pim isn't a fan of him either. These troubles cause him to hang out at his best friend Gino's place all the time; and also at a local drinking hole called Texas, after which the movie's named. Gino's mother treats Pim like family and understands the fact that he is not lucky to have Yvette as his mother.If a write more I might just end up telling the entire story and BTW I didn't spoil anything for you. I just loved this film. The acting of everyone in the film was so immaculate that you can just feel the emotions of each of the characters. Sexual Frustration and coming-out is what this film is all about and its all so evident in all the actors' faces that you don't need to look at the subtitles below. The cinematography is breath-taking as it captures the lovely locales of the coast of North Sea in between scenes without taking our mind off the plot. A special mention to actor, Jelle Florizoone, who did a fabulous job playing Pim. He was actually one of about 200 teenage boys who auditioned for the part of Pim, and was the immediate choice for the filmmakers. This is his first film as an actor. The entire film rests on the character, Pim and his life and he just makes the character come alive. The maudlin displays of emotion, the cheekiness of teenage love, the heartrending feelings of his first heart-break... Oh he was great! Just because its a gay-themed film doesn't mean straight people shouldn't watch it. It is an excellent film or rather journey of Pim which mesmerises us to 'live' the characters in the film. Its a refreshing break over films where the characters indulge in a sleaze-fest all along and then, at the end, realise that love was here all along. Its a must watch for everyone who is tired of watching cheesy films, having the same story-line, over and over again...