Mario, written and directed by Marcel Gisler 8 out of 10

Mario, written and directed by Marcel Gisler
8 out of 10


Mario is the kind of independent, small budget film that we tend to find on Cinemax.
At least in our lands.

Whereas a few decades ago homosexuality was very rarely present on the screen, if at all in a positive context, nowadays the subject is explored from different angles.
We have had the famous Brokeback Mountain, Dallas Buyers Club and the more recent Call Me by Your Name, to name just a few examples.

Mario looks at the way athletes deal with their sexuality, when it is not of the 'usual' heterosexual type.
I have seen somewhere the assertion that threesomes are so last year.

These days, it may be that other types are the trend.
Homosexuality is so passé, deja vu, these millennials might and probably would say.

When I have seen the label pansexual, I had to look it up.
This Swiss film however is dealing with old fashioned, conservative gayness, if we look at it from the perspective of a few decades hence.

The situation of the two main characters is unusual nevertheless, for this moment in time.
Mario Luthi aka the very good Max Hubacher and Leon Saldo aka the other excellent actor, Aaron Altaras, are football players.

Both play forward, with Mario taking the shirt with 7 on the back and Leon the 9, for central forward.
Leon is a new arrival in the team, coming from Germany.

The club offers them the chance to occupy an apartment, which they share.
When their relationship becomes physical, Mario gets scared and after they had had sex leaves the flat.

He would leave a note saying that he is visiting his parents.
But when they meet again, in the team's bus, number 7 is distant and listens to music.

Mario seems to be more aware of the dangers posed by their sexual bond.
Meanwhile, Leon appears more emotional and involved in this affair.

When they are seen close together, a scandal is about to break up.
Colleagues start mocking them.

One dildo, or a plastic penis is left in the locker, at the place where Leon would change.
He is so aggravated as to declare he would leave the team...yes, he sucks it, but they are primitive simpletons...words to that effect.

Another player, a midfielder, blackmails the couple to give him more balls...
The chances of a gay player to make it on the payroll of a professional team seem to be zero.

The two lovers are still with the youth team, but promoting to the next level would be a challenge.
Perhaps impossible if they are gay and other team members reject that and worse, make life impossible for them.

A solution is found ...in a manner of speaking.
They deny the affair.

Plus, they will show that they like women.
Posing with an old friend, Jenny, seems to work for Mario.

Although, for how long and to what extent it would solve anything but the problem of the contract with a professional football team is not clear.

An interesting, if not overwhelming motion picture.