Mario, a tale of two up-andcoming young strikers who fall in love with one another, but instinctively keep their relationship secret. Protagonist Mario (Max Hubacher) seems fi ne with living a semi-closeted existence for the foreseeable future, but the more self-respecting Leon (Aaron Altaras) is outraged by the notion that he should have to conceal his identity. What saves this from being a run-of-the-mill coming-out drama is the strange specifi city of the situation. The players’ agents and managers are privately supportive - indeed, they seem terrifi ed of mishandling the situation. And yet they compel the youngsters to continue living a lie in order to appease potential sponsors. Mario is overlong and earnest, but it serves as an effective reminder that homophobia doesn’t need to be overt or violent to ruin lives.
Mario | Directed by Marcel Gisler (Switzerland 2018) with Max Hubacher, Aaron Altaras. Starting October 18.
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