Xprner

Journey to Italy Part 1…. American college graduate Derek Cameron (more strikingly handsome than I’ve ever seen him) travels to Italy for a summer of cultural delights. Feeling lonely, he strikes up a friendship at one of the country’s countless museums with a boy named Matteo (the exquisite Dario D’Alba, star of Kazan’s HOTEL ITALIA) who invites him for a visit to his native village. On the brink of adulthood, Derek feels a bit confused about his attraction to other men (try not to howl with laughter as his all too nelly voice-over solemnly claims “I never thought of myself as gay” though !) but decides to take him up on his offer anyway. Prowling the stunning countryside, he spies on several same sex encounters in which he eventually partakes, gaining acceptance of his sexual identity, paving the way for true romance with Matteo. The simple yet appealing storyline provides a framework for the film’s fantastic fornication fantasies. Okay, that’s enough with the alliteration, but Mamma Mia, what superlatively scalding sex scenes (oops !) they are ! Contrary to Bjorn, most of the action takes place indoors with only the bookend sequences shot al fresco but you sure won’t miss the scenery once the boys start taking off their clothes and get stuck in. An early highlight comes courtesy of the delectable D’Alba seeking shelter from the storm in a cabin in the woods with his buddies Eric Kovak (a former Bel Ami performer and you know what that means in terms of physical beauty) and Wolff, the German leather guy who made a splash in US fare like Chi Chi La Rue’s BOOT BLACK and Durk Dehner’s homage to Tom of Finland THE WILD ONES. Three different nationalities preclude the possibility of communicating through anything but the universal language, something all of them are fortunately fluent in, with their contrasting body types adding to the excitement. Derek’s first night at the hostel yields another gem when he has to share a bed with breathtakingly gorgeous Marco Balestra, who spies on him while (he thinks) he’s asleep, leading to a bout of self-pleasuring that will have you gasping for air. The very next morning, Cameron finally takes the plunge in an explosive kitchen encounter with Kovak and bald muscle man Mirko, releasing a lot more than just the American starlet’s pent-up passions.