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Purely Joyful Movie!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This is a very sympathetic movie, it pictures very realistically the insecurities and fears of two young teenagers who are attracted to another but don't know how to deal with these feelings. The one (Damien) understands his own feelings but doesn't know how to approach the object of his infatuation; the other (Thomas) is afraid of his feelings and copes with them with anger and rejection. It takes a lot of time and various dramatic circumstances before they finally find each other. I was especially impressed by the natural way of acting of all the actors (the boys, the mother) as if the director only handed out the story and let the actors spontaneously come-up with the right dialogues. The beautiful surroundings in the wintery mountains, at times very bleak and harsh, were a perfect background. There were a few flaws too. The movie is a bit overlong, maybe the whole section with the father dying could have been left out, it didn't seem to have a substantial impact on the story of the two boys, it more effected the mother. And when the boys at last have a sexual encounter, it seemed a bit wild and maturely performed, I wonder if two totally unexperienced teenagers in their first night together really would have had sex in this way. But it is very sensitively staged and filmed. Otherwise: a very good movie, I can imagine that watching this really could make a difference for young people who are still insecure by their sexuality.

All the cliches aside, yes this movie was completely predictable, i knew the father was going to die. You never saw the son struggling with his fathers death, you only saw the mother shed a few tears. it wasn't very believable how very calm it seemed to have the father die, nobody suffered greatly. maybe because the father character wasn't developed much and they wanted to spend more time on the love story aspect. the very end was super cheesy, it was sweet but could have ended it in a more thought provoking way instead of a cheesy kiss. aside from all that, the acting was pretty well done.

This movie lasts for almost two hours. Yet, major developments in the story occur out of the blue or are hard to believe.It starts with the premise: Damien's Mother Marianne may have a heart of gold – but are we really to believe that she would insist on lodging the guy that bullies her son? What mother would welcome a classmate to her house that her son tells her is a jerk and pain-in-the-ass? Later in the movie, Damien and Thomas still hate each other; at that stage, it is unclear whether Thomas is gay – but Damien asks Thomas to drive him to an appointment with a guy that turns out to be a gay farmer. One would expect that Damien comes up with some kind of explanation what he is doing at this guy's place – but we don't hear a word. It would also make sense for Damien to tell Thomas to drive back home and pick him up later. But no – he tells him to wait. Sounds as polite as romantic – intending to screw while his "buddy" is waiting.The scene ends with the farmer not being interested in Damien – but Thomas, who hasn't been introduced to the guy yet, asks him for a tour of his farm. And – wouldn't you know – the guy who drove his potential date gets a detailed tour.On the way back home, more than halfway through the film, Damien states for the first time that he thinks he's in love with Thomas. No reaction from Thomas – no "P**s off, fruit", no "I love you, too" - this is the year 2016!Somewhere in the middle of the film, the guys walk to a place in the mountains to kick the crap out of each other. A thunderstorm stops their fight – and while it's raining, they are nice as pie to each other. That's what you'd do, too – right?In the – happy – end, boy meets boy – and the only explanation we hear from Thomas why he rejected Damien throughout the entire movie is "You talk too much." Makes sense… Lots of things the protagonists do (or don't do) throughout the movie remain unexplained – at the same time, we see scenes that do not contribute to the story at all. Thomas and his stepfather try to fix the TV roof antenna during a storm, Thomas' tour to the farm – all that takes minutes and does not further the story.Still, the movie is worth seeing – but someone should have worked on the script before Techine started shooting – or do a better editing job.

In 'Being Seventeen' we meet Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein), who is surprised when his mother Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain) calmly accepts his declaration of sexual attraction to a classmate. But why would she be surprised? Damien's candy-coloured rhinestone earring hardly shouts 'macho man'. But it is fair to say he is not the stereotypical film closeted homosexual: he enthusiastically takes boxing lessons from a friend of his army pilot father; and he is not even sure whether it is men generally he is attracted to, or just that particular classmate: Thomas (played by male model Corentin Fila).The trouble with Damien's attraction to Thomas is that the latter bullies the former. But when Marianne, the local doctor in the Pyrenean community, hospitalises Thomas' weak, pregnant mother, she invites him to stay with her and Damien, and so the two boys are thrown together...There are occasions when this film loses the way: Damien and Thomas are plainly the centre of the story, so sequences focusing exclusively on Marianne seem pointless and add little to the main story. But Kiberlain certainly provides a decent performance as the friendly mother who chats happily to the boys while serving them a glass of after-school wine (did I mention this is a French film?), before a personal tragedy means she must pull her life back together. Fila and Klein are given likable characters to play - Thomas concerned by his mother's condition; Damien the bully's victim - and also turn in good performances.But the best aspect for me is the scenery: director André Téchiné gets the best of filming in the Pyrénées, with the endless snow-covered mountains (most of the filming seems to have taken place during the depths of winter) gradually giving way to deep, verdant valleys as the film and seasons progress. But it is not just a travelogue - this film is well worth seeing for its take on awakening sexuality.