Ian Lore | La parte de su vida que quiere mostrarme (The Part of His Life He Wants to Show Me) / 2022

voyeur and exhibitionist

by Douglas Messerli

 

Odette Dolinski, Ian Oren, and Alejandro Santos (screenplay), Ian Lore (director) La parte de su vida que quiere mostrarme (The Part of His Life He Wants to Show Me) / 2022 [14 minutes]

 

This is a short film about one of gay men’s most common experience, voyeurism. If you live in a

highrise city, it is nearly impossible at one time or another not to view a male showering or masturbating, or just displaying, intentionally or even unintentionally, his body. Joan (Carlos Ramirez) is totally in love with a nearby neighbor, Carlos (Carlos Izquierdo) who after he arises at 9:00, regularly displays his extremely muscular body in the shower, first carefully drying off before he reveals himself in full nakedness.

     It has become an obsession for Joan, who every day sets his alarm clock to ring at 9:00, makes coffee, and peers out his window at the display, gradually getting to know almost every muscle and mole of the beautiful neighbor’s body.

     Obviously, he would like to take it further, or become, as he metaphorically describes it, the mirror to Carlos’ body, and fantasizes ways in which he might encounter the beautiful neighbor. Yet one day, while involved in his usual voyeuristic activities, he realizes that Carlos has actually caught him looking; he pulls away, terrified at being caught in the act which might end all such entertainment which provides him with such a masturbatory delight. When he looks back, however, the voyeur seems to have become a ready exhibitionist, smiling in the delight of having displayed his body.

   But Joan is still terrified, and cannot bring himself to look back into the face of recognition. He still dreams of his imaginary lover, however, and almost knocks on his door to ask for some salt in preparation for dinner. He dreams of the opposite, Carlos knocking at his door for the same substance, embracing him, kissing him and enveloping him in sex.

     Later in the day, he hears music in Carlos’ apartment, and through the window observes the now clearly exhibitionist having sex with a woman. The realization that his beloved mystery man is heterosexual obviously disappoints our window-voyeur, but doesn’t totally quell his desire or his endless hours of waiting and watching the man he can never sexually possess.

    Ian Lore’s Spanish-language short film is a sexy and despairing account of wanting, like a child, the candy that remains just out of our reach.  

Los Angeles, December 25, 2024

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (December 2024).