Nico and Dani
In America, two boys at the beach with no parental supervision leads to dumb, artificial sex comedies; in Europe, the same material can turn into something genuine and sweet. In a small seaside town near Barcelona, Nico comes to visit his best friend Dani, whose parents are away for the summer. They have the typical male teenager obsessions with masturbation and girls--but Dani is just beginning to realize that he's more interested in Nico than the local girls they've been flirting with. The setup isn't unusual, but what is remarkable about "Nico and Dani" is the unforced naturalism of the acting and the way the story unfolds. All the young actors give simple but nuanced performances, capturing in detail the charming awkwardness of adolescence, with frank sex scenes that are more clumsy and hopeful than erotic. Winner of the Prix de Jeunesse award at Cannes. "--Bret Fetzer"