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Don't Accept Dreams from Strangers

Country: Italy, Language: Italian, 70 mins

Original Title

Non Accettare I Sogni Dagli Sconosciuti ...aka: Water Boys
  • Director: Roberto Cuzzillo
  • Writer: Roberto Cuzzillo
  • Producer: Roberto Cuzzillo

CGiii Comment

First...the days of overly-long, dreary opening credits are - well and truly - over.

Second...when a film is only 69 minutes long...especially when very little happens in the first 15 minutes...you kind of start to feel a little cheated.

Third...stupid gimmicks...the archival/silent film footage is a gimmick and a nonsense. They add absolutely nothing to the story...and, are too numerous and go on for far too long.

Oooh and there's too much not-very-good underwater photography...

Voice-overs rarely work...but, when the quality of the voice-over is shit...it's usually indicative of the film. Spouting dime-store philosophy is not the way to go...

Then, there's the sanctimonious preaching...galling.

And, just when you think that this can't get any worse...it does. Vladimir starts singing...for no apparent reason...with an acoustic guitar. F**K, that hideous, howling lesbian trademark has infiltrated the gay (read as male) drama.

Look...large swathes of this film could have been cut (approximately 60 minutes), the result would have been a not-as-bad short...An infuriating and - ultimately - immature piece of work.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

This poetic, haunting story sneaks up on the viewer. We first meet Massimo on the picture-postcard perfect Italian shores where his goal is to remain submerged for as long as possible. "Water is my world," the young swimmer tells us. But Massimo is longing for something - perhaps something lost or something to come.

During a swimming competition in faraway Saint Petersburg, Russia, he meets Vladimir, a translator. Though the two quickly fall for each other, Vladimir's conservative opinions, born amid the homophobia of Vladimir Putin's Russia, contrast starkly with Massimo's more easy-going attitudes.

Cast & Characters

Daniel de Rossi as Vladimir;
Giuseppe Claudio Insalaco as Massimo