Customer Reviews

Dear Boys (Lieve Jongens)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I normally love European films. and this one was pretty good. Camera work excellent. The story was a bit confusing. The acting was was far above average (or as much as I can tell watching a movie in another language). Not one of the greatest, but if you like a movie that displays a semi realistic situation, you'll like it.

I viewed this film "cold," having no idea what to expect---hadn't even read a synopsis of the plot. And when it was over, I found I was just staring at the television screen, thinking "What the heck was THAT all about?"

I'm not kidding, I thought this was terrible. The story is supposedly about an alcoholic, unstable writer and his relationship with two younger men. I say "supposedly," because for all practical purposes there is no plot---these relationships are never explored in any depth at all. What we see is the writer acting like a complete jerk at all times (really, I've seldom seen such an unlikeable character), interspersed with random fantasy sequences that he conjures up (being a writer and all, he has quite an imagination), as he tries to seduce one of the other men. Holy cow, this was awful.

There's plenty of casual nudity, and I'll admit the men are attractive in their own separate ways. But even if that is your thing, this film isn't worth watching for it. Try something else---anything else.

The picture quality of the DVD is abysmal---looks like it was transferred from an old VHS copy, which in turn was taken from a damaged print. (I'm talking about dirt on the film, splices in the print resulting in missing frames, the works.) The only "special feature" is a still gallery---which is just a handful of random frame grabs from the print itself.

Avoid if at all possible.

"Dear Boys" was what I expected from the reviews I read prior to purchase but I was disappointed that overall the story line wasn't very cohesive. I was hoping for a film that had the substance of "For Lost Soldier" rather than one that was only a step above soft core.

Not at all what I expected. Subtitles made no sense to the images viewed and just generally NOT a good purchase. Very pleased with the method and timeliness of the delivery, though.

I was most disappointed with the quality of this DVD - it seems nothing more than a poor copy from an even poorer Video which is such a shame as I had eagerly awaited the transfer to DVD. The film is excellent but spoied by the poor quality of the DVD

the DVD/Film quality was terrible, really not worth the money spent! The film was a bit strange; though there were a lot of nice naked bodies to gander at, competent acting performances and a fine cinematic craftsmanship, the subtitles were at speed reading quickness and at times really didn't seem to fit the scene. All and all a cinematically competent film with a "foreign strangeness" about it.

Outrageously graphic even by liberal Dutch standards, this homoerotic tale explores the relationships of an aging writer and his young male lovers. Extensive nudity and mature sexual situations.