Critique of the film Quelques mots d’amour (Lo que escribimos juntos in VO / What we wrote together for the international title) – A film full of tenderness and sweetness about a gay couple newly settled in the countryside
With Quelques mots d’amour, director Nicolás Teté (who directed Des secrets dans le placard) immerses us in the daily life of a loving gay couple who have left the city to try a more peaceful life in a house in the countryside.
Summary of the film Quelques mots d’amour
Argentina. Juan (Ezequiel Esteban Martinez) and Mariano (Santiago Magariños) have just moved into a house in the countryside. Far from the frenetic pace of the city, they enjoy the joys and calm of daily life in a rural environment. Space for themselves and for an adorable little dog, a garden, no noise. For Juan, who is a writer enjoying a bit of success, it is an opportunity to write while being well focused. And for Mariano, it is the opportunity to indulge his passion for plants and try to make a living from it. When one of their friends, Carla (Nazarena Rozas), comes to visit them for a few days, announcing both that she is pregnant and confessing that her couple life is not idyllic, she will, without realizing it, bring out some buried questions in this solid couple.
A gentle and contemplative staging
It is a somewhat special film that director Nicolás Teté delivers here. He avoids any major drama and plunges us into a kind of permanent calm. Like the two main characters, we change pace, we taste a certain calm and slowness. We share their daily life which is nothing extraordinary but which often captures by its beauty. Because on screen, love never stops circulating. That of two young men who have truly found each other, who have a lot of tenderness for each other and who aspire to a fairly simple happiness but which sometimes requires more effort than one might think.
A beautiful chemistry between the two main actors
The two main performers, Ezequiel Esteban Martinez and Santiago Magariños, are very beautiful and their chemistry on screen delights from start to finish. We melt in front of the very simple moments they share: meals, cuddles, evenings in front of a film snacking… and also all the physical intimacy. The film does not lack moments of very beautiful sensuality. Those who watch gay-themed films often tend to complain that the stories are too dramatic, too tragic. Here we get a huge dose of love with a rather naturalistic portrait of “the domestic life of a gay couple”. The staging is very gentle and the whole first part feels like a big comforting hug, materializing a bit the dream of a healthy and complicit relationship that many gay boys would dream of having.
Discreet but present tensions
However, a bit of tension and dramatic power is needed and this occurs when a friend of the couple arrives. The presence of a third person loosens tongues. Juan and Mariano are no longer just the two of them, they have someone who is there and who moreover is questioning her relationship. It is an opportunity to talk, to question themselves. And little doubts arise. Because even if you are very happy as a couple, do everything to make the other happy, cultivate daily life and intimacy, the human being is by essence fallible, imperfect. Juan, who is a writer, is used to being in his head, thinking, analyzing.
A realistic portrait of couple life
In small touches, Quelques mots d’amour materializes the challenge of the couple, the energy it takes to make the one you love happy while trying to be yourself in balance in your life and daily routine. There is something very beautiful in this little film assumed as such, which probes with infinite delicacy the life of a couple with its delightful highs and inevitable lows. We come out of it with the desire to love, telling ourselves that it is worth it and that when you are lucky enough to find your companion it is still one of the most beautiful things that can exist.
Technical sheet
- Film produced in 2024
- Where to watch it: available on DVD at Optimale / Streaming on Queerscreen / On VOD on dedicated platforms
I really appreciated how the film captures the quiet beauty of a countryside life, especially through Juan and Mariano’s simple routines. It seems like a gentle exploration of love and new beginnings that feels very real and heartfelt.