Writer/director Alexis Dos Santos sets his distinctive coming-of-age comedy/drama in the small town of Patagonia, Argentina where 15-year-old Lucas (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) and his best friend Nacho (Nahuel Viale) create Violent Femmes-inspired music for their band. Lucas and Nacho share an ambivalent crush on Andrea (Ines Efron), a bespectacled girl with similar lustful thoughts as the boys. Dos Santos intercuts reverie sequences shot on Super 8 to give internal meaning to his teen characters’ awkward sexual confusion that veers between polarities of gender. "Glue" is an inspired artistic effort at capturing the sense of urgency, freedom and alienation of a group of teenagers growing up in a cultural vacuum that ironically gives them space to experiment and explore. As part of the New Argentine Cinema, "Glue" is a bold and tasteful film that wears its warts well.
In Spanish with English subtitles. (Picture-This Home Video) (B-)
