Review of the film 13 SENTIMENTS (aka Perfect Endings aka 13 sentimentos) by Daniel Ribeiro – a gay romantic comedy set against the backdrop of dating
Daniel Ribeiro made an impression with his super cute and endearing film At First Sight, undoubtedly one of the finest gay coming-out films of recent decades. Here, he returns with a more independent film, clearly made with very limited means.
A new beginning for gay single João
13 SENTIMENTS (13 sentimentos) is the story of João (the very handsome Artur Volpi), who has just broken up with his boyfriend after being in a relationship with him for 10 years. The couple went through the separation gently while travelling, wanting to end their romance at the right time, without drama, like the perfect ending to a story. It comes as no surprise to João, who sees much of his life as a film or TV series and intends to draw inspiration from it for his next fiction work as a director. However, his film project is stalling, and João has little time to churn out a new screenplay. To make a living, he works as an editor for corporate videos.
Hardly has he broken up when João is eager to discover single life and once again experience the thrill of encounters and new passions. He quickly falls for Vitor (Michel Joelsas), a smiling, muscular, handsome hunk who seems quite naughty. But not everything will go as easily as hoped. Over the course of a few weeks, João will discover the ups and downs of dating, supported by his best friends Alice (Juliana Gerais) and Chico (Marcos Oli)…
A gay rom-com that tastes like candy
The quintessential dating film, this unpretentious new project by Daniel Ribeiro may bring to mind the delightful Italian rom-com Mascarpone. As in that film, the main character learns to live single again while throwing himself into many relationships at the same time. A cast of handsome, sexy males, humour, romantic dilemmas… While Daniel Ribeiro clearly suffers here from a certain lack of resources, he does not lack ideas to make up for it and offer us a pleasant film to watch, as sweet as candy. 13 SENTIMENTS is very colourful and utterly cute.
A self-centred but endearing main character
The difference with Mascarpone is that the main character here is a director, and he may be more divisive because of his self-centred side. João is indeed quite a brat, tending to enjoy the sound of his own voice, sometimes behaving like an immature jerk with boys, and liking to whine a little about his lot. He is a rather self-absorbed artist who is very lucky to have found such patient best friends. This is easier to take because Artur Volpi portrays the character and his ambivalences with great gentleness and charm, and João remains very easy to identify with (who has never experienced the ordeal of dating while single and the bad choices that go with it?)
Between feelings and sensuality
Little by little, João (re)discovers himself, learns from his mistakes, and takes directions he would not necessarily have imagined. This is especially true in his professional life, where, through a surprising turn of events, he will gradually become a director of adult videos.
The whole thing is light and charming, tailored for lovers of films about feelings. It is a “good vibes” gay film with very beautiful sensuality (the final part in particular offers us a radiant scene of intimacy).
Film produced in 2024
Available on DVD, VOD and on
Other films and series about gay dating:
- Mascarpone
- E-cupid
- Smiley
- Uncoupled
- Coffee House Chronicles
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