Los Placeres Ocultos, (1977) aka Hidden Pleasure

Los Placeres Ocultos, (1977) aka Hidden Pleasure

Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Scenario: Eloy de la Iglesia, Rafael Sánchez Campoy
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Year: 1977
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 7.2/10

Subtitle: English ( hard codded)

Actors: Simón Andreu, Charo López, Tony Fuentes, Beatriz Rossat, Germán Cobos, Antonio Corencia, Ángel Pardo, Queta Claver, Antonio Iranzo, Antonio Gamero, Josele Román, Carmen Platero, Félix Rotaeta, Ana Farra, Pilar Vela

Nevjerovatno koliko se u Španiji mnogo piše i raspravlja o homoseksualizmu. Iz te zemlje potice mnogo filmova na tu temu. Zato sam malo prelistao internet da vidim ima li koji režiser osim naravno Pedra Almodovara da je ostavio svoj pečat na filmskom gay platnu.
Začetnik španske savremene gay kinematografije je po svemu sudeći bio Eloy de la Iglesia (1944-2006). Kod nas nedovoljno poznat iako je iz sebe ostavio preko 20 filmskih djela. Domacoj gay populaciji je poznat po izvanrednom filmu Bugarski ljubavnik, vec predstavljen na ovom blogu.

Eloy de la Iglesia, je svoj prvi film napravio 1966 sa filmom Fantasia, dakle u vrijeme Frankovog režima bio proganjnan, čak je postojala i nekakva deklaracija o suzbijanju homoseksualizma. Tako su se i neki Iglesiasovi filmovi našli pod udar cenzora, zamalo i on sam nije stradao. Da li zbog toga ili nečeg drugog, filmski kritičari se baš i nisu bavili njegovim ranim djelima, ocjenjujuci ih nasilnim ili seksualno uznemiravajucim! Svoj prvi zapaženiji uspjeh je doživio filmom La semana del asesino (The Week of the Murderer) 1972. godine koji ukljucuje homoseksualizam.
Nakon pada Frankovog režima, mnogi autori su počeli da otvorenije pričaju o homoseksualizmu! Tokom prvog tranzicionog perioda su prikazani mnogi filmovi koji su vidno izašli iz dotadašnjeg režimskog okvira. Tako su u tom periodu nastali i najpoznatiji Iglesijevi filmovi Los placeres ocultos (Hidden Pleasures, 1976) i El diputado (Confessions of a Congressman, 1978).

Hidden pleasure, je film o Eduardu, bankaru koji upoznaje siromašnog heteroseksualnog Miguela. Nakon neuspjelog pokušaja da ga emotivno pridobije na svoj pederski način, Eduardo stvara poseban prijateljsko zaštitnicki odnos sa njim i njegovom zaručnicom. Iako se čini da je u tome uspio , religiozno okruženje se na surov nacin obračunava sa takvim odnosom shvatajucu to kao mješanje homoseksualne "boleštine" u život "zdravih" ljudi. Na kraju filma, nama neko nepoznat zazvoni na vrata, što kod depresivnog Eduarda izaziva osmjeh na licu, ostavljajući na nama da sami kreiramo kraj ove priče!

English:

One of the earliest Spanish directors working within queer cinema is the Basque-born Eloy de la Iglesia.
Outspokenly gay, de la Iglesia has stated that his films are about "the world of which the majority of filmmakers do not care to speak, the marginal world." His films often feature gay, or otherwise marginalized, characters. De la Iglesia has explained that he is a director who "always wants to make the films that are not supposed to be made," on subjects that "everyone else has agreed not to talk about."
Despite censorship constraints and hostile reactions from Catholic leaders to many of his films, de la Iglesia has enjoyed commercial success as a director, especially in Spain.

De la Iglesia began his film career in 1966 with Fantasia . . . 3, a collection of three short films based on children's stories by Hans Christian Andersen, L. Frank Baum, and the Grimm brothers. His first commercial achievement in his native country was El techo de cristal (The Glass Ceiling, 1971); two years later saw de la Iglesia's first international success with the release of La semana del asesino (Week of the Killer/Cannibal Man, 1974), a violent account of a young man who goes on a killing spree. The film also includes a gay character who is presented in an open, non-stereotypical, manner.

The death of Francisco Franco in 1975 brought more latitude and a new openness for artists in Spain. As a result, de la Iglesia created Los placeres ocultos (Hidden Pleasures, 1977), the first gay film to be produced in Spain. The film concerns a closeted homosexual banker attracted to a poor, heterosexual young man. The banker brings the young man into his life, and although the attraction is one way, the youth is accepting of the situation and even brings his girlfriend into the arrangement.
Initially banned by the censors, is the story of a closeted banker attracted to a poor youth who is heterosexual. The banker attempts to create a new model of the family by spending time with the young man and his fiancée. He takes on a traditional paternal function by giving the youth a job in the bank and improving his education, but his true wish is for the two of them to be a couple.

Because of personal, social and economic tensions that arise, it appears that he may fail in both roles. The end of the film, however, has the banker smiling as he answers a doorbell rung by an unseen person, leading spectators to believe that he has at least the possibility of achieving happiness as part of a homosexual couple.