Sublime – Mariano Biasin’s Argentinian coming-of-age gem is truly sublime

Sublime arrives on digital and DVD on February 6th 2023.

Most of us have fallen in love with a friend at some point. Sometimes these feelings creep up on us when we least expect them, and occasionally our hand of friendship is offered in the hope that love may blossom in time. For sixteen-year-old Manu (Martin Miller), love is about to creep up on him, and it’s his best friend since childhood Felipe (Teo Inama Chiabrando), who is about to consume his thoughts. But to make things even more complicated, Manu has a girlfriend, Azul (Azul Mazzeo), and Felipe is also his bandmate in their sublimely talented indie music group.

Sublime is another addition to a new breed of LGBTQIA+ coming-of-age films that don’t feel the need to simplistically label their characters. Director Mariano Biasin plays with similar themes to those found in recent pictures such as Giant Little Ones (2018) and Wildhood (2022) as we walk alongside Manu on a journey that is less about labels and more about navigating new feelings, emotions and choices in his emerging sexuality. In Sublime, the word ‘gay’ is all but irrelevant, and notions of threatened masculinity are a thing of the past. Here we have two boys who have always done everything together, from creating their band to discussing love, life and the meaning of it all. For Manu, the security Felipe has always offered is threatened by the new feelings he can’t control. But for both boys, these new feelings are ultimately less important than their need for each other, music and friendship.

Biasin captures a rare honesty in Sublime’s portrayal of teenage friendships; here, the inside jokes, the need for escape, adventure and laughter and the importance of creativity, music and art are tenderly explored. As I watched the conversations unfurl on screen, I found my own teenage memories flooding back; memories of just how close those friendships I held at sixteen were and how valuable it was to feel a part of a group that understood you. Here the chemistry between Martin Miller and Teo Inama Chiabrando is beautifully framed as they explore a teenage masculinity that is caring, loving, vulnerable and accepting.

With a banging soundtrack and scenes painted in a deep and rich palette of colours, Sublime is engaging, sweet and beautifully refreshing. By continuing the current cinematic trend of redefining and redrawing the ‘coming out’ experience, Mariano Biasin’s Argentinian coming-of-age gem is truly sublime.