North Sea Texas

Calling 'North Sea Texas' a traditional coming-of-age gay film almost feels like it does it a bit of a disservice, but it does fall into that rather familiar genre. And indeed, gay film cliches are pretty plentiful from the outset; socially reclusive leading boy, dressing in his mother's clothes from a young age, cute older boy next door etc... But that certainly doesn't give the measure of the film, which deserves a whole heap more credit.

I wish I could pull that look off...

Set in sleepy, coastal Belgium, 'North Sea Texas' (or more accurately 'Noordzee, Texas' in Dutch, the language of the film) tells the story of Pim, the aforementioned sexually-naive boy loner and his relationship with the beautiful Gino, the older boy next door. The storyline will perhaps come as no surprise; secret lovers, one denying his sexuality while the other is keen to tell the world of their happiness, drift apart as they both come to terms with their sexuality in altogether different ways. Unoriginal, almost to the point of plagiaristic, and yet 'North Sea Texas' manages to keep such a tried and tested genre feeling really sweet, and ultimately quite touching. Of course, that doesn't do any favours for the film's predictability, but the acting is so tender and ultimately, of such strength, that you're happy to get drawn in.