Being trapped in Ohio, feel like I'm missing out on so much good gay drama. This movie is a prime example. Loved the two masculine, normal acting gay characters. Both characters seemed real and was glad to see they didn't hop in bed at first sight. The Italian character was simply lovable...and his "missing a dick" comment was hilarious, despite being said in a serious context. Of course, wasn't everyone hoping they'd finally take an interest in each other. At the end, in the airport, there was a glimmer of hope that the Italian would be asked to stay for a few more weeks....but that didn't happen. Still, there was a strong possibility they would see each other again. Acting was good...pace sometimes too slow...but loved the whole concept.

What an amazing trick director Tan pulled off with obvious student-project Ciao: turning a 13-minute short into an hour and a half.In what felt like a first draft, Tan needed to go back and edit some more. There were far too many "mood" scenes with utter silence, like the overlong "typing" only sound intro, or close-ups and faraway shots. Too many, in fact, we saw a lot of the backs of the actor's heads for periods of time. But, heck, we all learn.If that were all the movie was, surely (not Shirley, as in Airplane! – I know, that was lame, but I have to amuse myself while writing about this mediocre film) this would've received one star. The actors, namely the Italian, Andrea (Calza), had their heart invested. And it was deeply emotional.Furthermore, this has happened to me one more than one occasion. No I won't name names, but I guess I should give the synopsis to clarify.Before the 13-minute movie turned 87 minutes begins, the off-screen (for the most part) character Mark (Blaum) dies, unexpectedly and it's up to best friend/roommate, Jeff (Smith) to snoop around in order to inform those close to Mark of the incident. Andrea's on his way from Italy in order to meet (or is that meat) Mark, but is intercepted by Jeff and they spend a good couple of days reminiscing about the late Mark.Now, when I say this has occurred in my life, I'm not referring to the snooping or someone died. I've just had people in my life that I loved and they were "just a friend." In fact, as much as I tried to cover it up – ha ha, fruitless – everyone, including my friend knew of this love. But, he didn't feel the same way, though wanted to stay friends. This movie captured these feelings, emotions and scenarios perfectly and personally. So, naturally, I rate this higher for the personal aspects.Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be watching this movie again anytime soon. Every scene dragged on 1-2 minutes too long, too many objects/props were off the screen, yet talked about a lot and 80% of the acting was just wrong.That said, I would recommend for those in the mood for a slow-moving, emotion-driven gay themed movie night. I loved the guitar scene and I was pleased with the finale. I can't spoil, and I'm referring to the "bed" scene, but I kept dreading them going to the obvious, but kept true to what would really happen.

It's so rare in life that we get beyond what we originally wanted but watching this film was one of those golden moments. I stumbled upon this movie not knowing any sort of advance word or description, merely hoping for some temporary diversion, but was instead rewarded with an amazing piece of understated artistry. Such universal appeal within the underlying honestly of the story & characters yet also showing a very personal understanding of the particular friendship, intimacy possible between gay men. So well crafted, there were pleasures to be found wherever one turned: subtle but haunting soundtrack, the clean, quiet strokes of the cinematography and the remarkably sincere performances of the cast. This is one of those films that echoes into the audience's subconscious for days and days afterwards. But being addicted to all things Robert Altman, my final judgement always comes down to the actual words and the behavior which surrounds them - that's what really determines the level of a film's impact. The conversations between the main characters, Jeff and Andreas, hit a level of realness we hardly ever see in American movies, never mind gay cinema. Even beyond that, there is a penultimate scene of intimacy between them which accomplishes a mesmerizing display of soulful quietness unlike almost anything else to be found in movies today. Hardly any directors get it right when it comes to sex, making it more about choreography or titillation rather than the underlying foundation of it all: honesty. Nothing more naked than that in this world nor anything more artistically misunderstood. But this director, Yen Tan, tore my heart out to the floor with that scene alone. There was just so much being said by the characters' faces and intertwining limbs, so much of what life is really like but that we don't realize we have in common till a filmmaker like himself finally speaks up. To my grateful surprise, I wandered upon something worth remembering and can't wait to see what comes next from Tan.

This movie had such great potential - handsome leads and storyline that could have been engaging. The two actors playing the leads deserved a script that was considerably less wooden. Lingering (as in "when will something happen") shots with no point permeated this movie. Tours of the Dallas freeway system at dawn seemed to be the director's way of getting this film to something that would qualify for feature-length status. It even has a home movie within this home movie that is a musical rendering of worst kind. This is a movie that doesn't deserve community support - even in its DVD form. If you watched this film on You Tube, there would be long stretches when you think your computer has locked up because nothing is happening until you realized that the crawl bar is actually moving.