Wikipedia

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (film)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a 2022 coming-of-age romantic drama film written and directed by Aitch Alberto. It is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. It follows two Mexican-American teenage boys who find an instant connection in 1987 El Paso, Texas, and stars Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as the title characters. Verónica Falcón, Kevin Alejandro, Eva Longoria and Eugenio Derbez complete the rest of the cast.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAitch Alberto
Screenplay byAitch Alberto
Based onAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAkis Konstantakopoulos
Edited by
Music byIsabella Summers
Production
companies
Distributed byBlue Fox Entertainment
Release dates
  • September 9, 2022 (2022-09-09) (TIFF)
  • September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
Box office$407,838[1][2]

Aristotle and Dante had its premiere at the 47th International Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022. It was theatrically released in the United States on September 8, 2023, by Blue Fox Entertainment.

Plot

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In 1987 El Paso, Aristotle "Ari" Mendoza is a surly teenager frustrated by his parents' refusal to tell him about his incarcerated brother Bernardo. At a public pool, Ari meets unconventional fellow Mexican-American Dante Quintana, who teaches him how to swim. The two boys become fast friends despite their differences. Dante's well-off parents invite Ari on a camping trip, where both he and Dante appreciate the vastness of the night sky. During a rainy evening near the end of the summer, Dante tells Ari that the Quintanas will be moving to Chicago for the following school year due to his father's professor job. Dante gets distracted by a baby bird and is nearly hit by a car; Ari gets injured pushing him out of the way.

In the year that follows, Ari adopts a dog, is gifted a truck by his parents, and slowly begins to fit in at school. He begins fooling around with a female classmate, Elena. Meanwhile, Dante's letters speak of burgeoning homosexuality. Ari finally learns what caused Bernardo's imprisonment – he had killed a trans prostitute as a teenager.

The Quintanas return at the beginning of the next summer. Ari and Dante drive out to the desert, where Dante asks Ari to kiss him. The kiss makes Ari uncomfortable and he insults Dante. Ari's Tia Ophelia also passes away, and he learns that she had been disavowed by most of the extended family for living with a female partner.

Dante is hospitalized after some homophobic boys attacked him in an alley after seeing him with his boyfriend Daniel. A furious Ari tracks down Daniel, then one of the perpetrators, and brutally attacks the latter. A discussion with his parents causes Ari to realize that he is in love with Dante. The two boys drive out to the desert, where Ari confesses his feelings. The film ends with them lying in the back of Ari's truck, holding hands.

Cast

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Production

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In early 2017, it was revealed that Aitch Alberto was in the process of developing a screenplay based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz's novel.[3] In 2016, she had flown to Texas to pitch her idea to Sáenz and discuss the rights to adapt his novel; she first read the book in 2014 and had written a spec script. At the beginning of 2018, she contacted Lin-Manuel Miranda, who had narrated the audiobook for the novel, inviting him to board the pop project as a producer.[4][5] Kyra Sedgwick's newly launched Big Swing Productions joined the project in 2018.[6]

Xolo Maridueña and Reese Gonzales, the latter of whom would go on to reprise his role in the film, performed a live reading of Alberto's screenplay at the 2018 Outfest. Also on the live reading were Norma Maldonado, José Zúñiga, Liz Torres, Ana Ortiz, Madison De La Garza, Martin Morales, Norio Chalico, and Matt Pascua.[7]

It was announced in October 2021 that Max Pelayo and Gonzales would respectively star as the titular characters in the film adaptation with Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Verónica Falcón, Isabella Gomez, Luna Blaise, and Kevin Alejandro rounding out the cast. Derbez would also produce the film for 3Pas Studios alongside Valerie Stadler, Ben Odell, Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker for Limelight. David Boies and Zack Schiller of Boies Schiller Entertainment would executive produce the film and CJ Barbato would co-produce.[8]

Principal photography began in early October 2021,[9] and was confirmed by director Aitch Alberto to have wrapped on November 2, 2021.[10]

Sarah J. Coleman, who illustrated the book cover, was brought on board to design the film's main title and credits. Alberto has also stated that a film adaptation of the book's 2021 sequel is being considered.[4]

Release

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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe had its world premiere at the 47th International Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022, with additional screenings on September 11 and 15.[11] It was theatrically released in the United States on September 8, 2023, by Blue Fox Entertainment.[12]

In August 2022, the film was first announced to be premiering at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival's "Discovery" section,[13] and following its premiere, the film was reported to be seeking distribution.[14] In April 2023, it was announced that Blue Fox Entertainment had acquired the North American distribution rights to the film, with a wide theatrical release planned for summer 2023.[15]

In December 2022, it was announced as a selection for the 34th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in the "New Voices New Visions" Category,[16] with screenings on January 8, 9, and 15, 2023.[17] On January 31, it was announced as a selection for Miami Film Festival,[18] with a screening planned for March 10, 2023.[19] The film had been offered a prominent slot at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, but Alberto opted to hold off until the autumn festivals to allow more time for "fine-tuning". She was included in Variety's prestigious "10 Directors to Watch" in January 2022 for her work on the film.[20]

The film was released for digital platforms on November 14, 2023.[21]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 49 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A sweet, well-rounded coming-of-age story, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe adapts its source material with tenderness and care."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 6, 2023. 
  2. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Wentz, Brook (February 15, 2017). "Is there an 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' movie in the works?". Hypable. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (September 8, 2022). "Director Aitch Alberto, Producer Lin-Manuel Miranda on Making a New Kind of Queer Coming-of-Age Film With 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Lang, Brent (January 10, 2022). "Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2022". Variety. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (December 13, 2018). "Kyra Sedgwick Launches Big Swing Prods., Company Unveils Film & TV Slate". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Outfest Live Read: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". City of West Hollywood. March 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 11, 2021). "Eugenio Derbez And Eva Longoria Lead Cast Of 'Aristotle and Dante' Film Adaptation; Aitch Alberto To Write And Direct". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  9. ^ Robledo, Jordan (October 16, 2021). "Aitch Alberto to direct film adaptation of queer YA novel Aristotle and Dante". Gay Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Alberto, Aitch [@aitchalberto] (November 2, 2021). "this lady @valerie.stadler has been holding my hand since the beginning, years ago. so it's only appropriate that i post this here, today. it's a officially a wrap on principal photography for #AriandDanteMovie. the journey continues…can't wait for you all to see the abundance of love that went into this film from every single person in front and behind the camera - enterally grateful. thank you. with love your friend, aitch. 🧚🏻". Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ Kleinmann, James (September 9, 2022). "TIFF 2022 Film Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe ★★★★". The Queer Review. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Shrishty (April 29, 2023). "'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' in First Trailer". Collider. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 4, 2022). "Toronto Unveils Discovery & Wavelengths Sections; Midnight Madness Opening Includes Roku's 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  14. ^ Brunner, Raven (September 12, 2022). "TIFF 2022: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Review". GameRant. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (April 18, 2023). "'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' Sells to Blue Fox Entertainment for U.S. Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 6, 2022). "Palm Springs Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup; '80 For Brady' To Open Fest, With 'The Lost King' Closing It Out". Deadline. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  17. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". Palm Springs Film Festival. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Alberto, Aitch [@aitchalberto] (January 31, 2023). "excited to invite you all to our #arianddantemovie miami premiere at @miamifilm in march. full circle and surreal to bring the film to my hometown. hope to see you all there" – via Instagram.
  19. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". Miami Film Festival 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  20. ^ Lang, Brent (January 10, 2022). "Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2022". Variety. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' VOD Release Date Revealed". www.maxblizz.com. October 26, 2023. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  22. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 9, 2023.  
  23. ^ "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
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