Absent (Spanish: Ausente) is a 2011 Spanish-languagedrama film directed by Argentine director Marco Berger. The film tackles the notion of sexual abuse of students, but director Marco Berger flips the dynamic. In this film, a young man wants to lure his teacher into a sexual relationship, rather than the other way round (i.e. where an older individual in a position of authority or trust becomes infatuated with a minor and lures the minor into a sexual relationship).
The story is told by Sebastián (Carlos Echevarría), the sports coach who becomes the object of a student's affection. Martín (Javier De Pietro) is a 16-year-old student who is attracted to his coach, Sebastián. Sebastián tries to keep Martín at a distance, but at the same time tries to be kind and nurturing. Martín goes to great lengths in his attempt to get close to his teacher. When Martín hurts his eye during his swimming class, Sebastián initially takes him to the hospital. After treatment, Sebastián offers Martín a ride home. However, Martín was supposed to spend the night at a friend's house, so no one is expecting him to come home that night. Martín spends the night at Sebastián's house. Things come to a head when Sebastián realizes that he was being lied to and punches Martín in the face. He is not angry from disgust for being the object of Martín's desire, rather because Martín's dishonesty could potentially cost the coach his job. Offended, Martín taunts Sebastián, telling him to call the police and suggesting it would cause greater problems for Sebastián. Later, Martín accidentally falls off a roof after retrieving a neighbor's soccer ball, and Sebastián finds himself filled with remorse.
Styleedit
The director is vague on certain plot points. In the last images, for example, there is a shot of Sebastián gently kissing Martín on the lips. It is not clear whether this actually happened or only occurred in Sebastián's imagination. It is also unclear whether Martín accidentally fell to his death, or whether it was suicide, driven by Sebastián's rejection. The viewer is kept contemplating if a romantic relationship had occurred, and if it did, if it is immoral in itself regardless of consent.
Receptionedit
When the film won the "Teddy Award for Best Feature" by the Teddy Award Independent Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), the judging committee praised it as a film with "an original screenplay, an innovative aesthetic and a sophisticated approach, which creates dynamism. A unique combination of homoerotic desire, suspense and dramatic tension."[1]
During the Berlinale, The Hollywood Reporter published a review stating: "Despite its original twist on the tired pedophilia topic, Absent skirts the fringes of dull and would be commercially dismissable, were it not for the edgy mixing job and hyped-up soundtrack that together create a sense of artificial excitement. (...) The small cast is well-chosen and de Pietro, in his first film role, is a real discovery who opens up his character of Martin in ever surprising ways."[2]
absent, 2011, film, absent, spanish, ausente, 2011, spanish, language, drama, film, directed, argentine, director, marco, berger, film, tackles, notion, sexual, abuse, students, director, marco, berger, flips, dynamic, this, film, young, wants, lure, teacher, . Absent Spanish Ausente is a 2011 Spanish language drama film directed by Argentine director Marco Berger The film tackles the notion of sexual abuse of students but director Marco Berger flips the dynamic In this film a young man wants to lure his teacher into a sexual relationship rather than the other way round i e where an older individual in a position of authority or trust becomes infatuated with a minor and lures the minor into a sexual relationship AbsentTheatrical release posterSpanishAusenteDirected byMarco BergerWritten byMarco BergerProduced byMarco Berger Mariana Contreras amp Pablo Ingercher Casas executive producers StarringCarlos Echevarria Javier De PietroCinematographyTomas Perez SilvaEdited byMarco BergerMusic byPedro IrustaRelease datesFebruary 13 2011 2011 02 13 Berlinale August 11 2011 2011 08 11 Argentina Running time90 minutesCountryArgentinaLanguageSpanish Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Style 3 Reception 4 Cast 5 Awards and nominations 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksSynopsis editThe story is told by Sebastian Carlos Echevarria the sports coach who becomes the object of a student s affection Martin Javier De Pietro is a 16 year old student who is attracted to his coach Sebastian Sebastian tries to keep Martin at a distance but at the same time tries to be kind and nurturing Martin goes to great lengths in his attempt to get close to his teacher When Martin hurts his eye during his swimming class Sebastian initially takes him to the hospital After treatment Sebastian offers Martin a ride home However Martin was supposed to spend the night at a friend s house so no one is expecting him to come home that night Martin spends the night at Sebastian s house Things come to a head when Sebastian realizes that he was being lied to and punches Martin in the face He is not angry from disgust for being the object of Martin s desire rather because Martin s dishonesty could potentially cost the coach his job Offended Martin taunts Sebastian telling him to call the police and suggesting it would cause greater problems for Sebastian Later Martin accidentally falls off a roof after retrieving a neighbor s soccer ball and Sebastian finds himself filled with remorse Style editThe director is vague on certain plot points In the last images for example there is a shot of Sebastian gently kissing Martin on the lips It is not clear whether this actually happened or only occurred in Sebastian s imagination It is also unclear whether Martin accidentally fell to his death or whether it was suicide driven by Sebastian s rejection The viewer is kept contemplating if a romantic relationship had occurred and if it did if it is immoral in itself regardless of consent Reception editWhen the film won the Teddy Award for Best Feature by the Teddy Award Independent Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale the judging committee praised it as a film with an original screenplay an innovative aesthetic and a sophisticated approach which creates dynamism A unique combination of homoerotic desire suspense and dramatic tension 1 During the Berlinale The Hollywood Reporter published a review stating Despite its original twist on the tired pedophilia topic Absentskirts the fringes of dull and would be commercially dismissable were it not for the edgy mixing job and hyped up soundtrack that together create a sense of artificial excitement The small cast is well chosen and de Pietro in his first film role is a real discovery who opens up his character of Martin in ever surprising ways 2 Cast editCarlos Echevarria as Sebastian Javier De Pietro as Martin Antonella Costa as Mariana Rocio Pavon as Analia Alejandro Barbero as Juan PabloAwards and nominations edit2011 The film won the Teddy Awards for Best feature film at the Berlin International Film Festival 2011 The actor Javier De Pietro was nominated for Best New Actor for his role Martin in the film during the Argentine Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences AwardsSee also editHawaii 2013 film Plan B 2009 film References edit Queerblog Italy Cine gay Teddy Award all argentino Ausente di Marco Berger Archived 2017 10 14 at the Wayback Machine in Italian Absent Berlin Review The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved 2017 02 25 External links editAusente at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Absent 2011 film amp oldid 1167911103, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
