Fábio Audi and Ghilherme Lobo in "The Way He Looks" at the Figge Art Museum -- June 23.
Sunday, June 23, 4 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Presented as the third of four Pride Month events in the Figge Art Museum's Free Film at the Figge series, writer/director Daniel Ribeiro's 2014 coming-of-age romance The Way He Looks enjoys a June 23 screening in the Davenport venue's John Deere Auditorium, the Brazilian release currently enjoying a 93-percent appropval rating on Rotten Tomaoes, where the critical consensus reads: "Compassionate, emotionally detailed, and populated with resonant characters, The Way He Looks leaves a warmth that lingers."
The winner of two citations at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival -- the FIPRESCI Prize for best feature film in the Panorama section and the Teddy Award for best LGBT-themed feature -- The Way He Looks finds Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) a blind teenager dealing with an overprotective mother while trying to live a more independent life. To the disappointment of his best friend Giovana (Tess Amorim), he plans to go on an exchange program abroad. But when Gabriel (Fábio Audi), a new student in town, arrives in their classroom, new feelings blossom in Leonardo that make him question his plans. Ribeiro's feature was based on his 2010 short film I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho), and found Lobo, Audi, and Amorim all reprising their roles from the short.
In its first week of release in Brazil, The Way He Looks debuted on 33 screens, and was the fifth-most-watched film of the week, with an audience of 30,209 people. Overall, the movie grossed R$415,000 between Thursday and Sunday in competition with the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was released on 1,107 screens Along with the limited premiere sessions that happened in the previous week to the national release, the film was watched by a total of 31,209 people. When the film ultimately arrived in the United States, it was showered with critical praise. Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter stated that "Ribeiro has impressively fleshed out the material into a full narrative, with not only added conflict and a convincing gallery of supporting characters, but also an entirely new focus on the quest for independence of the blind lead." Jay Weissber of Variety, meanwhile, raved, "Daniel Ribeiro's gay coming-of-age debut has an undeniable appeal ... this is a gay story done with tenderness and capturing the hesitancy of expressing affection when rejection can have ugly consequences."
The Way He Looks will be screened at the Davenport venue on June 23, admission to the 4 p.m. showing is free, and audiences are invited to discuss the film afterward over a complimentary glass of wine. For more information on June's Free Film at the Figge series, call (563)326-7804 and visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
