Patagonia

Yuri is 19. He's the family urchin, and nobody, even his little nephews don't take him seriously. His aunt treats him kindly, but ever like a little child.

Agostino is a wandering children's entertainer. His charm to his audience leans more towards certain charisma and subtle manipulation rather than harmless humour and slapstick. Consciously or not, he instantly knows, from Yuri's eyes full of nervous fascination to him, that he can easily have Yuri under his control. Whenever Yuri seems to slip away, Agostino tightens his grip - when Yuri gets close to another guy Morgan, Agostino masturbates Yuri, and whispers, "Does Morgan do this for you too?" in the secure knowledge only he could do that to Yuri.

In a lot of regards, 'Patagonia' reminds me of Fellini's La Strada... except it's somewhat more intense and stickier. Yuri is not entirely pure and passive as Gelsomina. He has his needs, he has his wants, he gradually starts to think for himself. When Yuri finally stands up for himself, we see Agostino is not entirely a cold manipulator. After all he is just as lonely and lost figure, who, if in a very twisted way, needs somebody next to him too.

My biggest compliment goes to Fuorto who portrayed Yuri so convincingly. Right from the first scene, we see the close up shot of his eyes, and his eyes capture Yuri's constantly fleeting nervousness, desire, confusion and pain. Russi's Agostino is by nature not quite as detailed, but his charismatic performance balances Fuorto's Yuri very well.

It is not an entirely comfortable watch considering how exploiting their relationship is. But if you put the moral judgement aside, and just focus on the character's emotional journey, I'm sure you'll find something to appreciate from this work.