Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Dreadfully Boring

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I began watching this little known film only because of its gay love story, not expecting it to be anything remarkable. It is not, but I was quite surprised to find a decently good story with a handful of talented young debuting actors that made a great impression on me and left me rooting for the two main characters. Being shot in a semi-documentary style and entirely on location, it gives the story a feel of authenticity, and the youngsters are so natural before the camera, so Spanish-teenage in the way they speak, joke, horseplay, swear, talk dirty and quarrel that it took me back to my own teenage years. The only fault that I find is that the two main characters are supposed to be 14-16 years old, but it is pretty obvious that the actors are at least 18-19 and that can't fool anyone, come on. The age of consent in Spain currently is 14 years both for straight and gay sex, but it looks like the filmmaker was afraid of stepping over the PC-crap line or something had he used actors of that age. There is no sex scenes at all in this film, only a few harmless kiss shots. In the 1964 French film "Les Amities Particulieres" (This Special Friendship), a 17-18 year-old boarding school senior pupil falls in love with a cherubic 12-year-old junior. And Didier Haudepin was only 13 when he made the film. We are moving backwards.

At first I'm gonna tell you how i found this movie. i am a EX- Muslim by the way. i have a friend who lives in Germany. i always hated Muslim refugees so he told me that i should watch this movie. so i watched it. i really loved this movie, you don't have to be a gay to watch this kind of movie, i know the meaning of true friendship. who cares if they are boy and loved each other. you can find friendship,love and emotion on this movie, and suffering. i don't know how should i write review about this movie. its so sad that Homophobea is a disease and spreading around the world like a cancer.But it was more than that. Once upon a time i was homophobic person. I hated gays and lesbians more than i hate imaginary gods. I after realized that homosexuals are humans to People, if you don't like this types of movies then don't watch. But stop saying nonsense about this. I'm from Bangladesh, a country with so much ignorance and hate. But i came to light, it's time for you to come out too. I've lost my best friend, and i miss him a lot...

I found Hidden Away on a list of LGBT movies from 2014. I guess it is that, technically and in the barest sense, but it's so much more.I didn't know what I expected going in but it certainly wasn't what I got coming out of it. I think I'm so used to these young/coming of age films being stereotyped to the hilt that I imagined this would be yet another one of those. Boy was I wrong. Even as I write this, I still don't really know what to say.Firstly, it's a lovely film about friendship. The friendship that blossoms between two unlikely characters. The friendship between two best friends going down separate paths. And the realization that just because you belong to the same social group, it doesn't mean that the people within that group represent you or your beliefs. For Rafa, and Ibra too to a lesser extent, it's a lesson that is learned throughout the film.It's interesting how their lives mirror each other in this respect yet for all that it's similar, it's also extremely different. Rafa has a nice, if tediously repetitive, life with school, a full social calendar and parents he either dislikes(father) or finds annoying(mother). Ibra, on the other hand, is a literal fish out of water. Not only is he alone, with no family or community for support, but he's in a land that rejects him for something that's beyond his control. He's forced to do things that compromise who he is in order to survive. And he says repeatedly in the film that he has no friends. Until, one day, he does. I have to say that my favourite friendship in the film is the one between Rafa and Guille. He was the only good one in the bunch, the only one Rafa acknowledges as a real friend. From the beginning to the end, Guille is always there keeping watch, sometimes literally over Rafa's shoulder.Secondly, the film brings light to the Xenophobic policies and attitudes of many countries. Ibra and others like him, who came to the country and have been there for many years, face deportation under the guise of repatriation: a sudden "discovery" of a distant family member that no one has ever seen or heard of. Except, miraculously, the government. The movie Xenia, another "gay" film, addresses the same issue, with a pair of brothers, one who happens to be gay, facing deportation despite being born in the country within which they reside. The overtly racist attitudes of the people, often violent, is exemplified by the multiple clashes between Rafa and Ibra's social groups. That and the suspicious nature of every clerk/store owner whenever Ibra or one of his "kind" walks into their business.Now, for the "love" story. Is there one? Certainly. But anyone expecting or hoping for passionate embraces, torrid make out sessions or any kind of nudity/sex is going to be sorely disappointed. But that's honestly what I love about it. What few moments of affection they share (that aren't disguised as roughhousing) are tentative and all the more sweet for it. Keep in mind that these characters are supposed to be kids still. Rafa's "friends" constantly pressure him to be with a particular girl who likes him, to have sex with her because that's what they're supposed to want to do at their age. The girl is willing and Rafa tries at one point but ultimately he ends up where he truly wants to be: with Ibra.There were far too many insurmountable obstacles so it's not really surprising that the movie had the ending that it did. I often moan about gay/gay-youth films having bad/unhappy endings but this one was truly unavoidable. For what it's worth, the ending was really touching, though. Sad but perfect.In conclusion, this film is for everyone. It's beautifully directed and acted (major props to the young actors, especially Rafa/German), it deals with important issues, thus it's also educational, and it has the ability to reach a variety of audiences. If you're looking for a gay-themed film and you're concerned that the lack of romance will make this a waste of time, trust me: you won't feel that way by the end.

Heartfelt tale dealing with two teens , regarding themes of immigration and race , but done through the eyes of youth . The picture concerns about an agreeable friendship , taking place issues about love , xenophobia and racism . It stars Rafa (German Alcarrazu) to be aware at the age of 14 the world around you changes at a dizzying speed , as he is beginning to realise that maybe his friends are jerks and racists , something that becomes especially acute when they start to pressure him to get with girls , which he isn't interested in . Along with Ibrahim Adil (Adil Koukouh) , being a Moroccan immigrant unhappily living by selling drugs or ¨Coste¨ . Both of whom are going to suffer these changes for themselves , experiencing first love in a way they never could have imagined . Rafa doesn't really care about the politics but finds himself trapped between love, basic humanity and an indoctrination of societal attitudes, in this case that 'Arabs' are wastrel, criminal scum . So that initially he thinks that the biggest problem with befriending Ibra will be the disapproval of his friends , peculiarly if they realise his intentions aren't purely platonic , but is then thrust into a situation where the stakes are far greater than he realised . It becomes clear the Spanish authorities want to deport him , despite the fact he's underage and has nobody to go back to . Meanwhile , some social attendants (Ana Wagener , Alex Angulo) attempt to help Ibrahim . And having to keep him Hidden away . Close drama with sensitive friendship , emotion , a moving romance and racist elements ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles were pretty well developed . As their touching love story becomes extremely affecting , partly because it's so innocent and partly because it's under threat of being ripped apart so cruelly . This thought-provoking and brooding flick concerning sweet and heartbreaking story of first love given extra power by dealing with a moving portrait of racism , social prejudice and illegal immigration from Africa ; however , the picture relies heavily on the lively relationship among two protagonists . This can be the story of many faceless and nameless immigrants in any country that live in ¨Pisos Patera¨ and face uphill challenges all the way through their illegal immigration . As most of them share small apartments with other African immigrants and have menial jobs or selling dope to survive . Indeed the most effective aspect of the movie is taking what is a relatively simple story , but moving us through two young boys , but in a relatively subtle way and always through the eyes of the main roles . It may be nothing new , indeed except for immigration/racism story has been told many times , but it is charming, sometimes moving and it works . As other films referring illegal immigration/racism result to be the followings : Bwana (1996) by Imanol Uribe with Andres Pajares , Maria Barranco , ¨Cartas a Alou¨ (1990) by Montxo Armendariz with Eulàlia Ramon , Mulie Jarju ; ¨Ilegal¨ (2003) by Ignacio Vilar with Lucía Jiménez and Chete Lera and ¨The suit¨or El Traje by Alberto Rodríguez with Eugenio Roca and Manuel Moron . Main actors and support players give splendid performances . Both German Alcarazu and Ramón Agirre as Rafa and Ibra put in extremely nice acting , which is key to ensuring Hidden Away works, as it is so based around their roles' experiences, particularly Alcarazu as a teenage boy on the verge of becoming a man , who is in virtually every scene . It may not totally get to the heart of some of the themes it raises , but it results in an exciting fresco with social fable , emotion , racism and by the end manages to be pretty touching . The motion picture was well directed by Mikel Rueda in his second one , his first was titled "Stars to Wish Upon" . Here he does a very good job of taking you into a world where what should be simple first love is threatened by a host of issues outside the lovers' control . It achieved Feroz Awards, 2015 Nominated Best Poster and Spanish Actors Union and 2015 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film : Performance in a Minor Role, Female , Ana Wagener . The film is dedicated to Alex Angulo with these words : ¨Estes Donde Estes , Gracias Por Tu Cariño¨. Alex Angulo who recently died by car accident was a veteran actor , Alex De La Iglesia's usual , who starred a lot of films such as ¨Action Mutante¨, ¨El Dia De La Bestia¨, ¨Muertos De Risa¨, ¨Live Flesh¨ , ¨El Gran Vazquez¨ and ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ .