Blue Citrus Hearts (2003) Reviews

• Aweome Independent Film Thank You

  filmingpro2005-01-11

  Blue Citrus Hearts is a compelling independent film. The filmmakers should be applauded for the film they have brought us all. The film follows real people and very real situations not actors with scripted lines. The performances were out standing as they were not contrived and very true to life today. This is one of the most incredible love stories I have ever seen. The film was obviously shot on a no budget digital film making process that really pays off. I love and adore this film, it has soul and love within its making. The music is incredible as well and fits very nicely with this piece. I was surprised to rent it at my video store not knowing what it was but loving every minute of it as it was shot in real time with real people climaxing to a very awakening of and ending. I hope there will be more of these type of films made in the future. This is not a studio film, this is a hard-core independent film venture and it should be applauded. Congrats to everyone who made this film happen, you shocked and surprised me and made me feel something real, wow. Peace and love back at you all. Keep it up.James Vallo USA

• This Movie..... This Movie.... Where to begin.... A W E S O M E

  devlin_vbc2005-02-24

  This Movie brought with it an experience and surprise I was not expecting when first sitting down to watch it, the title itself certainly gave no clue as to what was about to be experienced (at least by this viewer), just another yawn, gay themed, movie. W H O A - I have no idea now what it was I was expecting, but in no way was I expecting to view a piece of work which was to affect me with such an intensity of emotion as did "Blue Citrus Hearts' As mentioned in a couple of other comments, the use of style (Home Movie) and of non-Hollywood actors alone made this a unique viewing experience. As we progressed through the movie I became so involved with the realities of the characters, it was almost voyeuristic. This is the only movie I have ever seen which so closely portrays, almost exactly, the anguish, despair and emotional turmoil that I went through as a young teenage male growing up in the 60's in a small town (500 people) in Eastern Canada with no idea there were any others in the entire world who shared the terrible secret that was mine, not having any clue whatever that it was, in fact, totally normal. In my mind I was a terrible and sick person to have the thoughts I had, of wanting to get to know my male friends in the way I wanted, to dream of having the gorgeous boy down the street actually love me.......... No one in those days, to my knowledge, suspected "my horrible secret", so I was never subjected to the bullying and taunting that others have gone through. Looking back my Mother & Father, deprived of any knowledge of what was "wrong" with me, were as supportive as they could through this time frame, (Mother's always know), but The loneliness, isolation and anguish I went through..... Other Boys & Girls could share their thoughts and feeling about their attractions, dreams and wishes between themselves, with parents, siblings, I could not, I could barely come to terms with those things in me, myself... I had not one soul in whom I could confide to whom I could turn to ask advice......... I was so enthralled throughout this move with how this so closely resembled that time for me, that the ending sneaked up on me. I was totally unprepared for the intensity of emotion that swept over me as those two boys ..... that something was about to happen to me.... and I began to sob like I have not done since I was 13 to 18, so many lonely days, evenings, nights ago when I was growing up, a young "HOMO" in a small town. I would dearly love to be able to personally thank and congratulate all those who had a hand in making this marvelous experience possible. They deserve a mountain of credit and wish each and every one success as they move forward with their own lives. Love being hit this hard in the emotional basket :_)

• Intense film, not for all

  bkitchin-22005-04-29

  Whew, it took my breath away. First on the quality of production. It lacked something but for the most part did not interfere with what was presented. My main problem was the sound. Being somewhat hard of hearing, the poor sound quality did interfere some of the time. Seeing it on DVD, I had to back up a number of times which is not the best idea as it interrupts the flow which in this film is very important. Being straight, there is a lot of what the two main characters were feeling that I could not easily identify with. However, there were things that were amazingly clear. I felt that the film showed raw emotions better than most any other film I've ever seen. I could hear their agony. It was not done with a lot of words, dialog was minimal. It was done with facial expressions, body language and I don't know what. I do know about not being a part of the scene and not being accepted. Being thought odd. I think this is why the emotions struck me so strongly. I could feel the emotions flowing out of the screen. Some one remarked on the lack of professional status of the actors. I think they did a superb job better than many well rated screen actors. This is clearly not a film for everyone. The whole format is not going to be liked by many who prefer the traditional presentation. Some will be turned off by the subject matter. Some will be threatened because they do not allow such emotional levels touch them because they are afraid of it. That last is a bit judgmental. WIthout being judgmental I can safely say that if you are not prepared to watch a movie with poor quality video and muddled sound (I've heard worse) that communicates more with emotion than dialog (and I don't mean emotions like shouting and cursing, it is much more subtle and much stronger than that), if that is not for you neither is this movie.

• A familiar story but told with honesty

  dplante20022005-04-02

  One can't watch this film without the gut feeling that it's a story the writer had to tell. Absent any melodramatic flourishes and self-consciously arty touches or sub-plots, it tells a familiar story with such honesty and immediacy that it's as if you are living among Sam, Julien, their families, and friends. Through the poetry of their inarticulateness and the lack of any artifice both Sam and Julian are iconic: Sam, the popular high school kid who only appears to fit in with his crowd and Julian, the outsider who comes along to light up his life. The beauty of this film is its artistic economy. Unlike the long and embellished Hollywood novel, this is a poem in which every spare word and action communicates much more than pages of explanatory chat.

• AM I BLUE? oh yeah...

  NJMoon2005-09-05

  I've seen a lot of films in this genre (indie 'coming out' tales) but I'm sorry to say that this is one of the worst. Two middle America high school boys face their feelings for each other and their sexuality in general. Easy, right? Wrong. For starters, the script is abysmal. A granny having a heart-to-heart with her grandson uses the word 'connotes' in her heartfelt chat. {cringe} Most (if not all) of the script appears to be ad-libbed. That works fine for Woody Allen with six weeks of rehearsal and 30 years experience, but the actors here all stumble awkwardly over their words, hardly getting out a coherent thought. The pauses are horrific and the pacing is dreadful. Sadly, the acting is about as bad as the script. The two leading boys are wooden and unconvincing. Neither are photogenic. Everyone else is worse. The only exception is a natural turn by the actress playing Sam's mother. She is the only performer able to overcome the dismal script and direction. At one point a girl goes to light a cigarette and the lighter doesn't work. The actress decides to 'pretend' to smoke then decides after a few smokeless puffs to try again - and it is HERE the director chooses to cut! Her cigarette is mysteriously lit after the jump cut. The film seemingly longs to display it's indie roots by using color washed fades (sometimes distractingly so) and slow-to-focus fade ins. The camera work is horrible. Add to this bits of sophomoric poetry scribbled on the screen. These choices aren't interesting - in fact, they are headache inducing. The soundtrack is random and continual - as if the director just shared what was playing in his Walkman. The worst moment (of many) is when Julian's mom suggests a choice of DVDs for the boys to watch and one of them just happens to be the only other feature by these newbie film makers ('they're local', Mom shrugs). The boy wisely chooses the other film. I wish I had made the same choice. At film's ending (no spoiler here) more scrawled titles (is this Sam's notebook?) tell us 'who this film is for'. After many pretentious assertions that "This is for boys who love boys / girls who love girls / girls who love boys.." etc, they have the nerve to insist that it is for "everyone"! Uh... not quite.