Pretty Boy (1993) User Reviews

In Search of a Father

[gradyharp · 6/10 · 27 October 2005]

'Smukke dreng' ('Pretty Boy') is a 1993 Danish film that is only now being released on DVD - and in a version that has eliminated the original degree of nudity. Though it is being marketed as a gay film and though the story deals with male prostitution, there is little gay sexual activity and a lot of heterosexual activity. Makes one wonder about the international editing...the story could use the original setting! Nick (Christian Tafdrup) is 13 years old, fatherless, and weary of living with a mother whose active casual sex life takes precedence over her role as a mother. He longs for the sense of belonging (especially for a father) but is made to feel 'in the way' for this mother's lifestyle. He flees to Copenhagen where he observes a gang of young men abusing an older voyeuristic man in a public restroom. He manages to obtain the man's emptied wallet and appears on his doorstep. The man, Ralph (Stig Hoffmeyer), is a professor of astronomy and when Nick appears the two find mutual ties in the stars. Nick moves in and a romance incurs. But when Ralph's girlfriend returns to town, Ralph throws Nick out and returns to his heterosexual life. Nick is hurt, as he had found in Ralph the father figure and love he so needed and he continues to stalk him.

On his own, Nick falls in with the gang he first encountered in the restroom. They are all hustlers his age and older who also steal valuables and broker them with an older man Max (Rami Nathan Sverdlin), a friend to the kids but not gay. Though Nick at first lives in the commune with the gang (one of whom is a girl Rene - Benedicte W. Madsen or 'Dicte' as she is known in the pop music field - with whom he bonds. But Max invites Nick to live with him in return for Nick's assistance with his business, a role Nick quickly masters. The gang returns to Max's store and tries to pawn some hot merchandise, which Max refuses, and this act results in Max being arrested for selling stolen goods (the gang informed on him in retribution).

Now Nick has nowhere to go except return to the rather sick atmosphere of the commune run by older Mortenson (Niels Jørgensen) who dresses in drag and enjoys abusive behavior from the gang. Nick and Rene discover each other sexually and begin the first love affair of Nick's life. But eventually Ralph calls repeatedly to try to get Nick back after his girlfriend has gone, and though Nick still feels strongly for Ralph, Rene is jealous and sets up a situation that ends tragically.

Not knowing how the original film worked without the cuts made for international distribution, one can only evaluate this DVD (which is sadly lacking in any further features to illuminate the story). The script is weak and the direction is jittery. The abusive scenes are difficult to watch and the love scenes between Nick and Rene are fairly bland. Christian Tafdrup is impressive as Nick with a face and expressions the camera loves. The remainder of the cast is adequate if not particularly appealing or vivid. In the end this is a film about the paternal needs of a child from a broken home and the ends to which he will go to seek love. Not a joyous film! Grady Harp

Truth in Advertising: Pretty Dane

[NJMoon · 6/10 · 3 October 2005]

The main reason to see PRETTY BOY is for the performance of Christian Tafdrup as Nick. This doe-eyed young Dane turns in a remarkable honest and watchable performance amid a messy script and mediocre direction. When the script fails to enlighten, Tafdrup's acting choices enrich the scene. Although only 15 years old when the film was made, he manages to establish the character's knowing maturity without sacrificing his youthful idealism.

The film's reality is tested by having an obviously feminine actress playing a hustler Rene everyone believes to be a boy. Having Nick suddenly fall for Rene in the film's last third further stretches credulity. While there is nothing inherently wrong in Nick exploring his sexuality, it clouds the relationship Ralph. The film is also never clear enough about Nick's adoration of astrologer Ralph. Had the script been a bit more pointed, the ending might have been poignant rather than a stop-frame solution.

Daring and harsh film about stranded teens

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 12 September 2013]

This presumably realistic film deals with daily life of minor boys providing sexual services for men on the streets and in their apartments, and often stealing from them or plundering them as well. The protagonist, 13-years-old Nick (splendidly performed by then 15-years- old Christian Tafdrup) is one of the youngest, and tries not to get so deeply involved as the others; he is more looking for a firm place to stay and a father figure, which he temporarily does, but as those men have their own private issues, the outcome is not positive. Life on the streets is rough, and most of boys have no homely back-up, thus felonies are easy to arise... As for the ending, I would have preferred more sophisticated one.

Well, there are some pleasant moments, but Smukke Dreng is generally a sad story of choices somebody - or destiny - makes for you, when only youthful looks is the thing you are appreciated for... Could be a kind of a warning film, but I am not sure many parents would like their young children to see this.

Not too pretty boy

[EdgarST · 4/10 · 9 January 2023]

There are interesting elements in this story that would have given the final script more originality, such as the search of the fifteen-year-old Nick, the "pretty boy" of the title, for an affective anchor, or his initial denial of prostitution and criminal activity on the streets of Copenhagen.

These elements just needed greater dimension and space. It was not necessary to explain the reasons for his gerontophilia, his mother's promiscuity or the girl Renee's decision to dress as a man, but it would not have been superfluous a little more information either. It would have been enough with a better distribution of thematic contents in the script, instead of giving sudden turns of options and affections towards the end.

As it is, it results in a routine and unconvincing melodrama with solutions taken from the sleeve (like the ending) and bad performances, especially when the central romance "emerges", in which there is zero chemistry between Nick and Renee, played by two actors who did not even try to convince themselves.

terrible

[Idefix-7 · 2/10 · 17 November 2002]

Basics of bad European gay cinema:

1) mediocre directorial abilities. 2) mediocre performances by a good looking cast. 3) horrible cinematography and tasteless framing. 4) anodyne art direction. 5) formulaic scripts that also attempt to be sordid and insightful. An unhappy contemplative ending is required.

I could go on but it doesn't deserve it. This film is a piece of trash. If you want to experience its big brother try Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho. The Danish behind Pretty Boy obviously admires it.

A sordid tale of male prostitution and betrayal

[elduende · 8/10 · 29 May 2000]

This is the somewhat gritty and arresting tale of Nick, a 13 year-old runaway who misses out on several opportunities to have a better life. He falls in with a gang of thieves and hustlers led by René, a girl posing as a boy (played by Danish singing star Dicte). The viewer sees not only the sordid world of male prostitution and anonymous gay sex but also the betrayal of trust that Nick suffers from those to whom he turns for love and help.