I'll tell you why so serious

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Most people in the West know that being gay in Eastern Europe isn't easy. However, the most difficult aspect of being a gay Eastern European - like yours truly - isn't the danger of the situation, or severing the ties to your family, or finding an opportunity to work in a Western country. No, the most difficult thing is that, once one is there, one is constantly confronted with the stereotypes pictured in this film and many others.Here, we have a well-off man in his 40s cruising a hustler in a station, foolishly giving him his address because he isn't free that day. It's not just the hustler who shows up for the date, but also his peers. They clear the man's apartment, which he stoically endures. To make up for it, the hustler returns later for the promised sex and keeps coming back. The man falls in love with him but the boy's motives remain unclear.The way the story plays out gives very good testimony to older Western gays' fantasies of very young manipulative (or manipulable) Eastern rent-boys. In their media, they ignore that rent-boys of Eastern origin are usually straight, in reality it's actually very important to them, as they consider paying for sex with other gays unnecessary. They dream of a 'love story' in which they wield all material and emotional power, and that their partner is a much younger willful tool. Since this is (fortunately) unlikely with the more liberated gay generation of today, they project this fantasy on poor refugees.If 'Eastern Boys' can be interesting for straight audiences, then because it shows how superficial gay men can be, and that stereotypes in our community can be just as pervasive and mean as those women are often subjected to. If you want to get a taste of what the situation of rent-boys is really like, there are a number of documentaries which deal with the issue, such as 'Rent Boys' AKA 'Die Jungs vom Bahnhof Zoo' by Rosa von Praunheim (Germany) or 'Not Angels but Angels' by Wiktor Grodecki (Czech Republic).'Eastern Boys', on the contrary, is a disrespectful charade. Western gays advocate their rights emphatically. They should respect that such a cliché depiction is highly offensive to Eastern gays - and enforces stereotypes faced at home, namely that being gay is a sign of Western decadence, weakness and psychological disorder. We are people, not your objects of desire.

Illegal immigrants from the former Soviet Union come to major European cities where they eke out an existence as grifters. In this compelling drama from former editor turned director Robin Campillo (The Returned, etc), a group of young former Russian youths linger around the main Paris railway station, looking for potential victims. In particular, they prey on middle aged gay men, using good looking youths to lure the men into a trap. One such victim is Muller (Olivier Rabourdin, from Taken 2, etc), a well dressed businessman who catches the eye of the handsome youth Marek (Kirill Emelyanov). He invites Marek back to his lavishly furnished apartment, but is surprised when a gang of thugs turn up, who party hard while systematically looting the place. And of course Muller can't go to the police, which is what the gang count on. Shortly afterwards, Marek turns up alone, and a relationship begins between the two. Marek tries to keep the relationship a secret from his gang. Eventually Muller develops a more paternal concern for Marek and convinces him to leave the gang and start a new life. Which is when the situation grows more intense and dangerous. An exploration of gay male sexuality, xenophobia, and the immigration problems plaguing Europe in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eastern Boys begins slowly and undergoes a number of tonal shifts. There is an extraordinary sequence in which the gang strips Muller's apartment while throbbing disco music pounds on the soundtrack. But Campillo ratchets up the tension and suspense as the film moves towards its climax, which is quite gripping and claustrophobic. The moderately explicit sex scenes are handled delicately. Campillo uses long takes to develop the narrative tension. The two central performances are also solid. Rabourdin looks like a Gallic Kevin Spacey with his perpetually downbeat and gloomy expression, while Emelyanov is sympathetic as the naive and vulnerable Marek. There is a wonderful chemistry between the pair and the audience cares about their relationship. And Danil Vorobyev is quite menacing and chilling as the gang's psychopathic leader, simply addressed as "boss".

I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival 2014. The film is engrossing, funny, moving and often very intense. The story concerns an older man, Daniel, who picks up a young male prostitute from Eastern Europe at a train station in France. The young male prostitute, Marek, is there illegally; living with a gang of other illegal Eastern Europeans, mainly young men, who survive through criminal activities, particularly stealing. They of course steal from Daniel at his home, when he gives Marek his address to hook up. The opening half hour that introduces us to the characters at the train station and the scene where Daniel has his property stolen while he is in the house is mesmerizing. As the film progresses, Daniel develops, extraordinarily, a relationship with the young Marek. Through this relationship we develop an understanding of Marek's background and the problems faced with illegal migrants; particularly in regard to being manipulated and susceptible to criminal activity in order to survive, as seen through Marek's relationship with his gang of young men. The performances are very good, particularly from Daniil Vorobyov, who plays 'Boss', the leader of the gang - he makes you believe the magnetism he holds over this group of young men. Recommended.

I had heard some things about the film before I went to see it, otherwise I had no idea what to expect. From the synopsis, there is a minor spoiler. So if you don't think about the synopsis too much, then you will enjoy the first 20 minutes of the film even more. Just an FYI, there are no subtitles when the characters are not speaking French. I don't understand why they did that, but it doesn't harm the movie. A caution to any people interested, the movie does begin slow for the first 10 minutes. Following that is a slow, tense build though, which works well.What makes this movie excellent is the twists and turns the story takes. You think it's going in one direction, then suddenly it does a 360 without any warning. I know that can be bad at times, but for this movie it's actually executed very well. The acting is great, particularly the main character, the leader of the gang and the female hotel manager (she is very important to the film). One of the most interesting parts of the story is its take on love and trust.The only issues I have are the technical aspects, such as dark lighting and some odd cinematography.Overall, I would recommend this film. I'm sorry I can't say a lot about the film because saying one thing would spoil something important about the film.