Santiago (Max Suen) is young, single and trying to find his way in Buenos Aires. He spends his days and nights addicted to hook-up apps, trawling for men to engineer encounters with. Obsessively checking the app, Santiago tracks down some of the men he’s interested in, hoping that it’ll turn into a sexual encounter. The only problem is that Santiago doesn’t have much experience in the gay dating world so he is too nervous to follow through with his intentions. As he progresses through the night, Santiago’s behaviour borders on stalking as the viewer tries to work out what his intentions are.
‘A Few Feet Away’ from film-maker Tadeo Pestaña Caro is a meditation on the hook-up culture that exists in the gay dating world. Real human connection and relationships have long since been thrown out of the window in favour of quick hook-ups. Following Santiago’s journey in this film will likely resonate for young gay man trying to find their way around the scene. The first half of the film is fairly meandering. We see Santiago meeting with a variety of men but his encounters don’t live up to expectation and he’s not sure he wants to follow through.
As the film goes on Santiago’s use of the hook-up app turns into casual stalking, with him using the location feature to literally track men down. It’s at this point that the thrill of the chase seems to be what Santiago is really after, rather than a sexual experience. Accompanied often by his best friend Karen (Jazmín Carballo), Santiago is always on the lookout for his next potential hook-up. This inevitably leads to a rather dark place as the horny youngster finds himself at an orgy, where his senses are overstimulated and he’s able to play out some of his fantasies.
Max Suen as Santiago struggles with the material. He’s not a particularly charismatic actor and he isn’t able to communicate Santiago’s thoughts and feelings. Suen is too young and slight to convince as a sex-mad youngster and at times he seems positively terrified of the situations his character finds himself in. That partly lies with the way the character is written but it’s also an issue with the direction he was likely given.
‘A Few Feet Away’ is too meandering and ponderous to really make an impact. We already know that gay hook-up culture is out of control, and the film doesn’t really add much to the conversation other than to support that assertion. Santiago isn’t a fully-fleshed out character so there’s no emotional connection to be had with him, as we watch him drift from one situation to the next. It’s hard to tell if the film is in favour of or critical of hook-up culture, but at under 90 minutes in length, it’s at least pleasingly short.
Cast: Max Suen, Jazmín Carballo, Esteban Kukuriczka, Martín Shanly Director: Tadeo Pestaña Caro Writer: Tadeo Pestaña Caro Certificate: Unrated Duration: 89 mins Released by: Cinephobia Releasing Release date: 9th December 2025
