@kimonTwo young men cross paths by chance in Sicily. That's how Gianni and Nino start, and before long they're a couple, spending their nights lighting fireworks for the village festivals. What the film keeps circling is how little room there is for them in a place where tradition has teeth and masculinity is a cage. Once people find out, the fallout is brutal, and the movie doesn't flinch from it. Stranizza d'amuri (2023) is working from the 1980 Giarre case, where two young men were found dead with their hands still joined. That loss did more than devastate the families involved, it fed into the early push for gay rights in Italy and eventually helped bring Arcigay into being. On top of the story, the photography is gorgeous and the performances carry real weight, which is what makes the themes of love, prejudice and self-expression land so hard. A quiet, powerful, heartbreaking watch that hangs around in your head 🍿

@kimonTwo young men cross paths by chance in Sicily. That's how Gianni and Nino start, and before long they're a couple, spending their nights lighting fireworks for the village festivals. What the film keeps circling is how little room there is for them in a place where tradition has teeth and masculinity is a cage. Once people find out, the fallout is brutal, and the movie doesn't flinch from it. Stranizza d'amuri (2023) is working from the 1980 Giarre case, where two young men were found dead with their hands still joined. That loss did more than devastate the families involved, it fed into the early push for gay rights in Italy and eventually helped bring Arcigay into being. On top of the story, the photography is gorgeous and the performances carry real weight, which is what makes the themes of love, prejudice and self-expression land so hard. A quiet, powerful, heartbreaking watch that hangs around in your head 🍿