By 
THE WAY HE LOOKS ****
Who hasn’t ever dreamt of living a great love story, full of surprises and with a splash of drama? Who hasn’t experienced the incomparable feeling of first love, the first kiss, the first contact that feels like a heart pounding shock? Who hasn’t lived the inevitable conflicts of desire, rejection and co-dependence? As Daniel Ribeiro’s delicate and vivacious triple coming-of-age story opens, friends Giovanna (Tess Amorim) and blind Leo (Ghilherme Lobo) enjoy moments of their school vacation on the pool, and expressing their boredom, they long for some confusion and some passionate lovers to shake up their vacation. That will change with the arrival of a new student, angel-face Gabriel (Fabio Audi), a young boy with curly hair, whom everyone seems to admire. As the newest student develops a friendship with them, mixed feelings start to arise in between, as if his presence, his involvement on their lives would bring them to an opportunity of conquering a real first love. The work made here by director Ribeiro is impressive and sort of a unique case among Brazilian filmmaking. While other projects focus on poverty and violence, Ribeiro captures the essence of early emotions and maintains his lenses observing their relationship develop and how these three teenagers are trying to understand themselves. Of course, the center of this love triangle is Leo, the blind character majestically performed by Lobo, who longs for a first kiss and is determined to travel outside the country in search of new perspectives. Lobo, who is only 19 years-old and who’ll appear as one of the main characters in a major coming up TV project in Brazil, is completely taken by his character. He blows away the audience with his charismatic and intense performance, captivating with his techniques to play the disabled kid: not even once he shows weakness commanding the important key of how his eyes perform accordingly to the character’s impairment. His perfect work makes him a promising actor to be watched. Meanwhile, the two actors surrounding him, give terrific and honest performances, as the film journeys into their growing and changing emotions for each other. The fact that Leo demonstrates his love interest for Gabriel doesn’t make the main subject in the film. It punctuates the narrative as a revealing element, but Ribeiro goes further, exploring social issues, such as the reaction of society towards a blind young man trying to have the same rights as everyone else, which includes finding his other half. The shapes of loyalty and integrity on a friendship, the mutual respect, family and humanitarian values are also discussed throughout the story. He also makes a smart move, depicting a modern teenager story interested in their real interactions and how these players react to their feelings, aspirations and the neighborhood around them, instead of making them mere technology-addicts. This exhilarating and sensitive look on the anxiety for maturity and the unforgettable adventures of first love is Brazil’s submission for the next Oscars. It has got a lot of potential due to its narrative skills, and the important issues it observes. Fingers crossed! (Opens Nov 7th at Village East Cinemas, 189 2nd Avenue, NYC)
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