Rating: 
Summary: Latin American machismo, deconstructed
Review: "Don't Tell Anyone," directed by Francisco J. Lombardi, tells the story of Joaquin (played by Santiago Magill), a young Peruvian man who is struggling with feelings of attraction towards other males. He is torn between the macho ethics of his racist, womanizing father and the bleeding-heart religiosity of his mother. But a series of relationships and experiences he has while attending college profoundly impact his life."Don't Tell" is an absolutely gripping and fascinating film. The film is mainly in Spanish with English subtitles. Woven into Joaquin's story are many issues: ethnic difference, class stratification, homophobia, parent-child relationships, etc. Particularly interesting is the film's treatment of recreational drug use--there are many shocking scenes of drug use (or abuse) throughout the film, and ultimately if there is a "message" about drug use that message is quite ambiguous. Magill is excellent in the lead role. His character really dominates the film, and Magill is by turns playful, passionate, tortured, explosive, and serene. The supporting cast is also quite impressive; Lucia Jiminez is particularly appealing as a female classmate who takes a liking to Joaquin. In the end, the filmmakers have perhaps bitten off more social issues than they can fully address, but overall the film has an effective symmetry and moves to an open-ended but satisfying conclusion. Gritty, sexy, and sweaty, "Don't Tell" is an enjoyable and thought-provoking film.
Rating: 
Summary: An honest movie about sexuality...
Review: "Don't tell Anyone," or "No Se Lo Digas a Nadie," is great, scrappy little Peruvian movie that was a big hit last year at the Latino Film Festival in Chicago. It don't think it was ever widely released here in the states but it's a movie that's definitely worth checking out. It's a coming-of-age story about a young man who is struggling with his sexual identity amidsts the often glitzy and decadent club scene of Lima, Peru. What really makes this movie special and sets it apart from most American "gay" movies is the fact that it is utterly honest, it never tries to oversimplify this man's relationships. Maybe what's really refreshing is that it's wise enough to know that the truth about human sexuality does not lie in extremes, that someone should be "gay" or "straight." It's a gay movie that is subversive for not dogmatically celebrating the gay lifestyle as the end all and be all of homosexuality.
Rating:
Summary: An honest movie about sexuality...
Review: "Don't tell Anyone," or "No Se Lo Digas a Nadie," is great, scrappy little Peruvian movie that was a big hit last year at the Latino Film Festival in Chicago. It don't think it was ever widely released here in the states but it's a movie that's definitely worth checking out. It's a coming-of-age story about a young man who is struggling with his sexual identity amidsts the often glitzy and decadent club scene of Lima, Peru. What really makes this movie special and sets it apart from most American "gay" movies is the fact that it is utterly honest, it never tries to oversimplify this man's relationships. Maybe what's really refreshing is that it's wise enough to know that the truth about human sexuality does not lie in extremes, that someone should be "gay" or "straight." It's a gay movie that is subversive for not dogmatically celebrating the gay lifestyle as the end all and be all of homosexuality.
Rating:
Summary: Impresionantes actuaciones
Review: Aunque casi llegando a la pornografÃa, las actuaciones de Santiago Magill y Christian Meier son magnificas y bastante creibles.
La adaptacion propiamente de la novela de Jaime Bayly es un poco exagerada, pero creo que conserva la esencia de la narración.
Esta pelÃcula muestra como la intolerencia y la ignorancia puede influir en una vida desordenada de homosexualidad, drogas y perversion.
Al final no deja ninguna leccion clara, pero en resumen es una pelicula muy entretenida.
Rating:
Summary: Impresionantes actuaciones
Review: Aunque casi llegando a la pornografía, las actuaciones de Santiago Magill y Christian Meier son magnificas y bastante creibles.
La adaptacion propiamente de la novela de Jaime Bayly es un poco exagerada, pero creo que conserva la esencia de la narración.
Esta película muestra como la intolerencia y la ignorancia puede influir en una vida desordenada de homosexualidad, drogas y perversion.
Al final no deja ninguna leccion clara, pero en resumen es una pelicula muy entretenida.
Rating: 
Summary: strangly enough, in a sense a bit homophobic
Review: DON'T TELL ANYONE [No se lo Digas a Nadie] (Peru/Spain 1998): An unhappy young Peruvian man (Santiago Magill) clashes with his affluent, god-fearing parents as he struggles to come to terms with his attraction to other men in a country steeped in hypocrisy and prejudice. An understanding of the macho culture which underpins Peruvian society is a prerequisite for viewers of Francisco J. Lombardi's DON'T TELL ANYONE, an apparently sanitized version of the bestselling book by chat show host Jaime Bayly. Hot young TV star Santiago Magill (The Most Beautiful Man In The World - official!) plays the central character as a deeply confused individual who wants to conform but is unable to deny his true sexuality, despite the attentions of a sympathetic girlfriend (Lucia Jimenez) who believes she can make him 'normal' again. Inevitably, Magill goes off the rails and forfeits his education before descending into coke-fuelled abandon and fleeing to Miami. Unable to escape his past, he's forced to compromise the very essence of his humanity... Lombardi's cheerless film shakes an angry fist at the influence of religious doctrine in Peru (revealed here as a sham) and the racism suffered by the country's native Indian population, an anger shared by the movie's principal character, who rails against the very same bigotry and oppression which stifles his freedom at every turn. His slide into rebellion makes for uncomfortable viewing (Magill gives a powerhouse performance as the delicate, pretty-boy waif who gravitates toward anarchy and emerges a strong - though embittered - survivor), but it's also faintly predictable, given the terrible circumstances under which he is forced to exist. Magill is pleasingly nude in a number of scenes, though gay viewers may be alarmed by the emphasis placed on his relationship with Jimenez, who thinks he's merely suffering a 'trauma' and can be cured by having sex with a woman (it's no surprise to learn that director Lombardi is straight), while his relationships with men are depicted as fragile and fleeting, primarily because his male partners are under the same societal pressures as himself. Unable to indulge his true sexuality, Magill's character seems doomed to a life of unhappiness and deceit, an approach which distinguishes the film from its feel-good American counterparts. Technical credits are polished, and the cast is exemplary, but it's hard to enjoy this bleak little movie, and even harder to dismiss it. The DVD from Picture This! is fair enough, though this is yet another gay movie whose theatrical Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack has been downmixed to 2.0 surround for its US disc release. Picture quality may suffer on larger monitors and colors are a little heavy (which may have been part of the film's original color scheme), but it's generally OK. A trailer for this film is included, along with previews for other gay-themed movies from Picture This! The 114 minute running time quoted on the packaging is a mistake. 108m 28s
1.85:1 / Letterboxed
DVD soundtrack: Stereo surround 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital
Spanish with optional English subtitles
All regions
Rating:
Summary: Cheerless film rails against bigotry and oppression
Review: DON'T TELL ANYONE [No se lo Digas a Nadie] (Peru/Spain 1998): An unhappy young Peruvian man (Santiago Magill) clashes with his affluent, god-fearing parents as he struggles to come to terms with his attraction to other men in a country steeped in hypocrisy and prejudice. An understanding of the macho culture which underpins Peruvian society is a prerequisite for viewers of Francisco J. Lombardi's DON'T TELL ANYONE, an apparently sanitized version of the bestselling book by chat show host Jaime Bayly. Hot young TV star Santiago Magill (The Most Beautiful Man In The World - official!) plays the central character as a deeply confused individual who wants to conform but is unable to deny his true sexuality, despite the attentions of a sympathetic girlfriend (Lucia Jimenez) who believes she can make him 'normal' again. Inevitably, Magill goes off the rails and forfeits his education before descending into coke-fuelled abandon and fleeing to Miami. Unable to escape his past, he's forced to compromise the very essence of his humanity... Lombardi's cheerless film shakes an angry fist at the influence of religious doctrine in Peru (revealed here as a sham) and the racism suffered by the country's native Indian population, an anger shared by the movie's principal character, who rails against the very same bigotry and oppression which stifles his freedom at every turn. His slide into rebellion makes for uncomfortable viewing (Magill gives a powerhouse performance as the delicate, pretty-boy waif who gravitates toward anarchy and emerges a strong - though embittered - survivor), but it's also faintly predictable, given the terrible circumstances under which he is forced to exist. Magill is pleasingly nude in a number of scenes, though gay viewers may be alarmed by the emphasis placed on his relationship with Jimenez, who thinks he's merely suffering a 'trauma' and can be cured by having sex with a woman (it's no surprise to learn that director Lombardi is straight), while his relationships with men are depicted as fragile and fleeting, primarily because his male partners are under the same societal pressures as himself. Unable to indulge his true sexuality, Magill's character seems doomed to a life of unhappiness and deceit, an approach which distinguishes the film from its feel-good American counterparts. Technical credits are polished, and the cast is exemplary, but it's hard to enjoy this bleak little movie, and even harder to dismiss it. The DVD from Picture This! is fair enough, though this is yet another gay movie whose theatrical Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack has been downmixed to 2.0 surround for its US disc release. Picture quality may suffer on larger monitors and colors are a little heavy (which may have been part of the film's original color scheme), but it's generally OK. A trailer for this film is included, along with previews for other gay-themed movies from Picture This! The 114 minute running time quoted on the packaging is a mistake. 108m 28s
1.85:1 / Letterboxed
DVD soundtrack: Stereo surround 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital
Spanish with optional English subtitles
All regions
Rating:
Summary: Very realistic movie
Review: First I read the book. Then I saw the movie. I was very pleased by the result of the movie. It shows how being gay in Latin American countries really is. It shows how society behaves when dealing with homosexuality issues. Being gay and from Mexico I felt really identified by this movie. I really liked it for being real. I didn't give it 5 stars, because I bought the DVD edition, and they don't take advantage of this technology, they don't add 'interviews' or 'comentaries of the director, produces or actors'. But the movie, it's very honest and real, and Santiago Magill -the main character- is really cute ;-) Ah! and the movie shows nudity.
Rating:
Summary: What the movie means to me.
Review: For much of the 1990's, there have been numerous attempts by Hollywood and MTV to capture the thoughts and feelings felt by a gay man without much avail. "Don't Tell Anyone" succeeded. As I skeptically watched the film, it not only made me feel "normal", but it also defined some of the comon trials and tribulations that the average homosexual male must overcome in the path called life. Where many movies have failed before, "Don't Tell Anyone" has succeeded. I strongly recommend the film and I hope the next person enjoys the feeling as I did.
Rating:
Summary: What the movie means to me.
Review: For much of the 1990's, there have been numerous attempts by Hollywood and MTV to capture the thoughts and feelings felt by a gay man without much avail. "Don't Tell Anyone" succeeded. As I skeptically watched the film, it not only made me feel "normal", but it also defined some of the comon trials and tribulations that the average homosexual male must overcome in the path called life. Where many movies have failed before, "Don't Tell Anyone" has succeeded. I strongly recommend the film and I hope the next person enjoys the feeling as I did.
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