‘Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’ Official Trailer
by Alex Billington
June 29, 2023
Source: YouTube
“If you can’t stick by me, it would kill me…” Freestyle Digital Media has unveiled the official trailer for an indie film titled Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, arriving in theaters to watch this September. This first premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival last year, and it also played at the Palm Springs & Miami Film Festivals earlier this year. Based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s YA novel of the same name, the film centres on the friendship between two young Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso, TX who explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery. At a swimming pool, two outcast teens – the handsome, troubled Ari and the cultured, confident Dante – become instant friends. But when Dante wants friendship to turn into romance, everything changes. The film stars Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Veronica Falcón, and Kevin Alejandro. Fests say this “beautiful, multilayered exploration of first love & self-acceptance casts a beguiling spell.” Looks quite good.
Trailer for Aitch Alberto’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, from YouTube:
Resentful at the world, 15-year-old Aristotle Mendoza wants to blend in and be left alone, but the summer he meets free spirit Dante Quintana at the local swimming pool, everything changes. Dante is everything Ari isn’t, and his wanderlust for life and artistic spirit shake something loose in Ari; finally, he has a friend. A near magical being, Dante disrupts Aristotle’s world, introducing him to music, poetry, lessons about the sky. Dante gives Aristotle permission to live in an ever expansive universe, making it harder and harder for him to maintain the façade of isolation that protected him all along. Their summer of adventure comes to an abrupt halt when the boys are torn apart. Armed with a new perspective, Aristotle uses Dante’s absence to understand who he wants to be in the world. Ari must decide if he is going to live in the world of infinite possibilities that Dante represents. At first fear holds Aristotle hostage and he retreats into his lonely existence. But Ari soon realizes he can’t unsee the world through Dante’s eyes. If only he would let go of the secrets he didn’t even know he was keeping and embrace the wonders of the universe.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is both written and directed by trans filmmaker Aitch Alberto, making her second feature after directing Hara Kiri previously, plus a few other shorts. It’s adapted from the novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. It’s produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Valerie Stadler, Dylan Sellers, Chris Parker, Ben Odell, and Eugenio Derbez. This initially premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival last year. Freestyle Digital Media will debut Alberto’s Aristotle & Dante film in select US theaters starting on September 8th, 2023 coming soon. Who’s interested in watching this one?
