For his first outing, director Steve Cadro is going to get a lot of comparisons to brilliant filmmaker Kristen Bjorn. True, Bjorn financed this picture, approved locations and models, but he was not present during the shooting or the editing. Now, I can think of worse people to be compared to, but in Cadro's case, he doesn't need the comparisons. He does pretty well on his own. In fact, he kicks ass! In many ways, he "borrows" from Bjorn's technique, i.e. no-handed cum shots that are a Bjorn trademark and multiple cum shots per scene (35 cum shots in all). But that is where the comparisons should stop.
Cadro infuses his film with stunning locations, breathtaking visuals and beautiful men. All have terrific bodies and a savage desire to please each other. These men appear more "real," though, more approachable if you ever ran across them in a bar or on the street.
This film has a different texture than a Bjorn film as well, a rougher edge. It is more political, has more of a bite to it.
But the sex is just as raw.
It is split up into four vignettes. The first story, "Escape From Bosnia," begins with gunfire crosscut with prayers. The gunshots eventually drown out the praying, and we find four men, dressed in fatigues, fleeing the city. They seek refuge in a watery cave. Soon their camaraderie turns to desperation as the frightened men begin to comfort each other in the dark in ways they would never dare in the light. This scene has some fantastic images: Zsolt Kopasz, a beautiful brunet, has an underwater cum shot that moves like a dance; as the foursome fuck on a staircase in an abandoned house they discover, the fire they have lit flickers just beneath them, symbolizing the heat that burns not only in their groins but in their hearts as well. The water and fire imagery that Cadro mixes together flows like a fine ballet. The men eventually escape, but Cadro cuts back to Bosnia and focuses on a small child sitting under barbed wire, indicating that there are many still trapped.
The second vignette is entitled "East Side Story" and follows a gorgeous, innocent-looking Layos Bognar as he steps off the train into the city. He wanders the streets, passes hustlers in alleys and eventually ends up at a garage, where he finds work. His co-worker, Ivan Toth, is a mechanic and eventually begins working on Bognar. Baby-faced Adam Szendi mysteriously appears and helps out, offering his ass to Toth as well. Soon, all the men have fucked one another before the manager enters and they flee. They end up at a patio, where they continue their lovemaking. The men fill the screen with sexual chemistry hot enough to ignite a volcano and, ultimately, explode like one. It turns out that Bognar is sleeping and awakens to find that he was dreaming about the two passengers sitting across from him.
My only qualm with this scene is at the end, as Szendi fucks both Toth and Bognar, he alternates between the two yet never changes his condom.
The third scene involves bread and horses and is called "Hungarian Rhapsody." It features three of the most incredible men I have ever laid eyes on: Andras Garotni, a pretty brunet with a devilish grin and a come-hither charm; Gabor Szabo, another beauty with rich, full lips; and Tamas Konya, yet another gorgeous stud with a fantastic ass. Garotni begins by making bread and stops to give himself a sponge bath (Oh, to be that sponge!). He is spied upon by Szabo, who joins him and removes his tunic to towel him off. They sensually feed bread to one another before Szabo lays back so that Garotni can knead his fine hole with his own rolling pin. Konya, who has been tending to the horses, appears and spies, jacking himself until they grab him and bring him in. Again, all three men are versatile and devour each other.
The final piece is entitled "The Magician" and brings back the incredible Kopasz as the magician who helps three broke and hungry soldiers - but not before they pay the price. So much happens in this scene, it is virtually impossible to describe everything. The cum shots are magnificent. Several times the men cum just by watching what's happening - one scene has a soldier watching another just wiggle his ass and lets loose a fine ribbon of goo. A baby-faced cadet impales himself on the Mmagician's assistant's huge, uncut cock and rides off in gooey ecstasy. There are some terrific shots of tongues exploring and penetrating pink holes. A truly magnificent sequence.
(The only thing I have to whine about is that I could never really tell who the models were because they are only listed by name at the end.)
Francois Girard's music, as usual, is excellent. Mark Woolfe's videography is sumptuous, and Cadro's direction is impeccable. The performers give everything they've got, and then they give a little bit more. Bognar is an adorable discovery, and Kopasz stands out as a voracious bottom, but they are just the tips of the uncut stud iceberg. (If I knew more of the names, I would point them out - particularly the magician's assistant and his riding partner in the final orgy scene. There is a pairing that will melt VCR's.)
Cadro has created a visual painting. He is a true protégé. He has taken everything he has learned from Master Bjorn and has thrown his own style into it, added his own flavor. It is his creation that you see on the screen. It is his vision.
I, for one, want more of his visions.
- Jeremy Spencer