Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Such a frustrating disappointment

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

There may seem to be vacancies in the story but on thought they will be filled in and much thought must be given to those vacancies . . . who was the father, did he sexually abuse his children, why did Elder's father kill his friend?The ending is unusual, one may ask why, but our protagonist's lover was no romantic.This movie is based on a story by Guillermo Arriaga who also wrote Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros.

This is a beautiful and complex film that explores ideas of masculinity, love, family, dependence, while at the same time portraying a disturbing picture of a society in which privilege and money can buy anything. The manipulative Armando has at some point obviously been a victim himself, but his cultivation and ultimate betrayal of the teenager Elder is, in the end, disturbing and gives the film a bleakness that is totally unexpected. It's a very powerful portrayal of two characters who you initially might think you understand, but the director manages to completely change your sympathies and turn everything on its head. The sparse dialogue helps create an emotional tension that's at the heart of this movie. Intriguing and compelling.

I am not going to describe the plot of the film as you have read that in other reviews and in the film synopsis. This film was recently shown in London and I really wonder who writes the reviews for such movies or even worse who are the bodies who give them prices in some festivals...It was a disaster, the audience was packed and in the first 40 minutes within the movie I noticed people leaving the auditorium. I was feeling the same but I was in a middle place so I decided to endure. They did have a good plot for a film but there was no script, all monosyllabic interventions and the worst of silence in movies is NO MUSIC. How important to have some back music to enhance a silence. But silence, no dialogues and no music all the time, becomes soporific. Literally at times it felt that I was watching a security camera recording. There was no acting, apart from the face expressions of the main characters in certain scenes, well difficult to act if you have nothing to say most of the time...The message in that movie could have been better portrayed: a sad middle age gay man confused and frustrated with his own life and the way he dealt with his sexual desires, together with young men desperate to make a living in a horrid "machista" society with no hopes for a better financial future. From a technical point of view the camera angles and the focus did not work as intended, you can sense that if you are familiar with the technicalities of movie making. Whoever was in charge of the camera did a LOUSY job. I would not recommend it, but is a clear example of a BAD MOVIE, which will only be remembered, if, for the punishment caused to viewers.

'Desde Allá' (From Afar) slowly and carefully brings you into the world of Armando, a wealthy loner who spends his free time coercing Caracas street gang youths to go back to his apartment so he can enjoy their company while pleasuring himself. He finds Elder, another street youth, who he runs into trouble with at first, but eventually end up bonding to the point that their relationship becomes physical.In terms of both Armando and Elder's chemistry, it's nothing to rave on about. Because they are such opposites, it's easy to see how they clash, but that's as far as it goes. It's more of a strange encounter because they are such different people, especially Elder, who starts off the film as being vehemently homophobic but oddly changes after some time with a very limited showing of affection and care.The film, which recently won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, goes about its storytelling by long tracking shots or stationary frames that have a lot happening inside of them. Very little dialogue is exchanged, but looks and actions speak louder than words in this picture. While it keeps the suspense a bit on the up, others might want consistent dialogue, which this film doesn't have.The film should be praised for several things: talking about a taboo subject in a country like Venezuela, and showing the issues that are happening in the country, which includes the long lineups for basic necessities and consistent criminal activity.Without writing spoilers, what really makes this film is the ending. It's fairly open- ended, and it's a bit shocking to say the least. During the TIFF Q&A, Directory Lorenzo Vigas was rather inquisitive of the audience, trying to find out what they thought the ending was about. Not all films should provide the necessary answers for the viewer, but good films allow for interaction and further interpretation.On a further note, this film was NOT selected by Venezuela as its Best Foreign Film selection for the upcoming Academy Awards. I'm not sure if this has to do with the topic. I haven't seen the actual selection 'Gone with the River' (Lo que lleva el río), so I can't comment. However, it seems odd that this film, which is showing at several world film festivals, and was in competition for the Golden Lion — and won — was NOT Venezuela's official selection.