People are voting emotionally.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I read about this movie, somebody said it was an under-appreciated masterpiece, so I gave it a try. What? What was that? Awfully made movie with a lame plot, nonsensical jumps in narrative, poor acting, and above all, dull plot, or no plot at all. I am sorry, but who, in their sane mind, would watch 90 minutes of totally naked teen boys frolicking on a beach, if not some sick pervert? They say, it is innocence and purity. Nay, it is a shame and porn, male porn and pedophile feast. Do not watch this movie if you want to save you some time, ad mark my word - there is NOthing sane or decent here. Yeah, right, and such a soft core porn could have been made only in the 70's with their terrible music score, bad lighting and shaky pace. Forget, do not tempt and do not watch

This a kind of Roman beach holiday for boys, with philosophical overtones. In a kind of reality play acted without a script, a group of boys discover freedom on an Italian beach and analyse the conventions that they otherwise obey. Religion is ever present by a character who first advertises for actors in a play and then appears in many guises throughout the film. In their freedom the boys (early teens) frolic on the beach and carry out their 'roles' in a naturist fashion - i.e. without clothes. But the boys are relaxed with their nudity and not at all embarrassed. It is evident that these boys are not professional actors and this, combined the nudity should not be misread as gay movie. The countryside is beautiful and the beach cliffs, dramatic. It's an unusual film and the type that would be considered an art-house film. But if you end up confused and disgusted, then you're watching in the wrong way. This is a film that does have a message, but one that we frequently obscure.

I bought this movie off of Amazon.com and threw it out after I watched it. I wanted to see it because it looked like a good boylove movie, and its been listed as one of the films with the most boy nudity (who wanted watch it, right? hehe) Well the stories of everyone saying how there's no plot is absolutely true. The actors don't even talk that much. One of the boys (which you don't even know who) tells the story in the background only during certain parts of the film, and hes not even telling a story. More like just rambling on about "hate is bad, so why does a person hate?" and stuff like that. More than half the movie there's no one talking and there's just background music playing while the kids run around on the beach. Oh, and if you watch the movie for the nudity, you don't even get that good of a shot of the "good parts". Most of the shots are from behind the boys, so all you pretty much see is their butt. I would not recommend this film to anyone.

Its amazing that a movie like this was ever made in prudish America, although one has to exclude the 60's and 70's from that label. The boys in the movies (ages 10-16) are completely nude for many scenes, and make no attempt to hide any frontal nudity. While it is unusual for boys of this age to show any nudity in American films, European films regularly show situational nudity of all ages. It would be nice to see American film-makers, and the general public relax with nudity in films (and in general), which somehow always gets related to sex (thanks to religious paranoia). There are no sexual innuendos in this film at all, and it is basically no different than watching a European nudist film, albeit there is at least an attempt at a plot here. Hard to find film, but still available through some distributors. The "leader" in the film (Peter Glawson) starred in another film (Peter & the Desert Riders) around the same time, but that film is almost non-existent.