Directed by Yen Tan
Now playing at Landmark Sunshine

The acting is wooden, the camera remains stubbornly static, and nothing much happens in Ciao, but the overall effect remains with you for days afterward. Any American gay movie that eschews perfect bodies and steamy sex for a character-driven talkfest is worth a look.

The opening sequence certainly doesn't inspire much faith in what's to come. Two men named Andrea (Alessandro Calza) and Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) are exchanging emails, silently shown being typed in real time on a black screen. It seems that Andrea has been emailing gay Texan Mark for months from his home in Italy, and has planned a trip to visit. And although Mark has died and Jeff gets the e-mail, he invites Andrea to use his already booked plane ticket to come anyway. Of course, Jeff later summarizes all of this to his stepsister Lauren (Ethel Lung), rendering the whole tedious montage moot. By this time, your eyes will be rolling.

But what follows is a frequently touching, frustrating, and lovely story. Jeff and Andrea bond over Mark and his quirks while wandering around Dallas and sharing stories and secrets. That's it. There's no sex, and only one lingering kiss in the dark, but Ciao manages to hold our attention without resorting to naked, sweating bodies. With American gay films increasingly turning to fluff and self-conscious straight romances transplanted to the gay world, Ciao comes as something of a relief: A dreamlike, melancholy movie about two lonely gay men sharing a connection. That's almost enough to forgive writer-director Tan's amateur flourishes.

Photo courtesy of Regent Releasing