The Passion According to GHB

A hookup becomes a threesome; the threesome becomes an orgy. In this magical realist gay bedroom odyssey, Matias reminisces about his past encounters and considers his future, while speaking to a fictional figure from Brazilian literature.

Gustavo Vinagre and Vinicius Couto’s film unfolds within the four white walls of Matias’ Brazilian vacation spot. Chemsex – the use of psychoactive drugs to enhance sexual experiences – is a cornerstone of Matias’ post-Covid life. His intimate conversations with Grindr comrades soon lapse into sex acts. He recounts past encounters to his new lovers, manifesting the very situations he describes in real time. Matias also speaks to the apparition of G.H. – the fictional figure from Clarice Lispector’s 1964 novel The Passion According to G.H.

The film’s at times documentary-like portrait of gay chemsex subculture overflows: with yearning for connection and with sacrifices made in pursuit of pleasure. Open conversations are punctuated by touch, and simulated drugs give way to unsimulated intimacies. The men read, fuck, talk and listen – to each other and to the rain falling on São Paulo.

The Passion According to GHB is a conceptual deep-dive surfacing the risks and rewards of chasing perceptual and sexual expansion. The film’s gay strangers attempt to dissolve the boundaries between each other and within themselves.

– Georden West

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