Culture Watch: Night Stage
A psychosexual melodrama from Brazil.
Written and directed by filmmakers Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, Night Stage (Ato noturno) is a psychosexual melodrama set in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.
Porto Alegre was also the setting for the previous feature from Matzembacher and Reolon - 2018's Hard Paint - but this is a much more accomplished and stylish production from beginning to end.
The story centres around Matias and Rafael. Matias (Gabriel Faryas) is an actor on the cusp of his big breakthrough, Rafael (Cirillo Luna) is an ambitious politician. A one-off hook-up app encounter sparks an explosive connection between the two men - irresistibly drawn to each other at the risk of damaging their careers.
Matias and Rafael realise that they share a kink for public sex - an extra element of danger that further intensifies their desire for each other.
What the filmmakers are exploring are the compromises that gay men make in order to maintain a veneer of respectability and acceptability in a heteronormative world.
This is storytelling that is stylish and sexy. The use of theatre scenes - from the play in which Matias is performing - is particularly effective. The cast is also incredibly attractive - the sexual tension feels believable, the desire palpable. There is nothing I wouldn't do for Cirillo Luna.
Whether the ending is a dream or a fantasy or reality is possibly up for debate, but it's a fittingly over-the-top conclusion to a high stakes game of lust, ambition, and betrayal.
A film that's worth adding to your watch-list.
Night Stage is featured as part of Flare - London's LGBTQ film festival.
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