User reviews

There is something truly special about this film. It's sweet, it's cute, it pulls at your heartstrings, it ALMOST made my eyes water, and I loved every second of it! Max Pelayo (Aristotle) took this role and tan away with it. He did a remarkable job and I was genuinely impressed. His acting career going forward looks very promising and I'm excited to see what's next for him. Reese Gonzales was also good, but there are a few moments here and there where it felt like the acting was overdone. I picked up that Dante was meant to be this fun, charming, outgoing, quirky individual, but some scenes just seemed unnatural. That's me being very knick-picky though; he's still a young actor. It's definitely one to watch!

I wanted to watch this movie for so long and just didn't know where to see it. As a fan of the books I think I expected a lot from the movies and I won't say it was bad, I was just disappointed. The film has no flow and it's like they took chapters from the book independent of each other and just made scenes from it without considering how everything merges together. The dialogue was okay I guess but the chemistry was so off and the acting was so novice like this was a YouTube made film. Another issue I had was the 'experiment', the movie portrayal of the experiment was completely different from the book. What I love about Ari was he was nvr homophobic to Dante, although he was going through his own internalized crisis, he never said or did those things to Dante. Dante's portrayal also seemed so different from what I had in my head but they captured Ari perfectly. The pace of the movie was so quick, 3 scenes in and we were already at the middle of the book. Bless the costume designers for putting Dante in the gayest outfits ever.

Three Hundred Seventy-Five Pages and the job is to reduce it to One Hour Thirty-Seven Minutes on film and keep it honest and authentic. The original source material by author Benjamin Alite Sáenz is named TIME Magazine's "Best YA Book of All Time" (2021)" and selected as a "Printz Honor Book" who describes it as a "tender, honest exploration of identity." Publishers Weekly adds that "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" distills lyrical truths about family and friendship. That's some undertaking by Aitch Alberto, who serves this film masterfully as its screenwriter, producer and director. The ability to pluck the essence of the book's major emotional beats speaks of a complete immersion into the characters created by Mr Sáenz's and who continue their journey in the follow up book "Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World." The casting of Max Pelayo as Aristotle was brilliant, as was Reese Gonzalez as Dante.

Rarely does a movie come about that lingers with the viewer sufficiently so that they will be motivated to keep them alive in their hearts by reading the book. With the follow up book already available, that adds additional motivation to read them both.

With your imagination aided by Max and Reese's portrayal, it'll be easy going for even the most finicky readers.

There's bed a few similar entries like the film Red, White and Royal Blue and TV series like Young Royals and Heartstopper that deals in young adult first love. This movie tops them all in character development and likability. Done well, as it is done here is a treat to watch.

My 8 rating would be 8.5 if decimals were available. It misses a 9 by just a bit, maybe fifteen more minutes would have been helpful, as the story moves a bit too quickly in the middle.

I am so grateful I got the chance to watch this film through TIFF's digital screening. I have followed this movie's journey since 2018 and it was surreal to sit and finally enjoy this story, made so beautifully and with so much love.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is tender and real. It doesn't only show the characters, it sees them. It is gorgeously constructed with dreamy cinematography by Akis Konstantakopoulos, and a beautiful soundtrack to match. Max and Reese truly understood their characters. They captured the quirks, the deadpan jokes, and the mannerisms of teenage boys figuring themselves out. They are awkward, they are silly, they are young. They don't know who they are and they piece it together on screen, in small stumbles and in leaps. They are the perfect representations of Aristotle and Dante.

It is written with love, it is filmed with love, it is directed with love. After watching for the second time in one night, with a headache from crying, I felt like love had been given back to me, too. When a story is so beautiful, it demands to be seen over and over, and this is one of those. It feels like a huge, crushing, beautiful hug. Both fans of the book and those who have never picked it up will love this adaptation; it holds something for everyone.

It's been a while since I've seen such a gentle wholesome film. I wish such a film existed when I was a teen. Superb performances from the cast, but major kudos to the young leads. The film hinges on their believability, likability, and chemistry - and they definitely rose to the challenge. I hope to see both of them in more projects.

I love the subtlety and naturalism of the film. Proof that lgbtq themed stories do not need to be pushy or preachy. Instead it felt relatable and real.

The cinematography is beautiful and naturalistic. The editing is mostly efficient and practical but there are moments with a dreamlike quality.

It should be required viewing for anyone lgbtq - but especially young people who need to see positive representation. Like I said, I wish a movie like this would have existed when I was a kid.

I had the privilege of seeing Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe twice at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2023. As a fan of the novel it's based on, it was wonderful to see this beautiful story come to life.

The screenplay and direction by Aitch Alberto was clearly created with such love for the story that it translated beautifully onto the screen. With any adaptation, parts of the story have to change, but I actually found myself wishing that two new scenes from the movie had actually been in the book because they added so much depth to the story.

Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as Aristotle and Dante were perfect in these roles. You'd never know this was either of their first feature films. The acting was nuanced and they knew those characters so well.

And the parents! One of the things I loved in the book was that Ari and Dante's parents were fully-fledged people (not just side characters tossed in) who loved their sons so fully. In the film, the love from their parents and the differences in their family dynamics and how they love, was the centerpiece as well.

Love in many forms is a central theme to this film and I look forward to watching it over and over when it has a full release.

This was one of the best, if not outright the best book to movie adaptations I have ever seen. It had been a couple of years since I read the book so I really only remember major parts of the plot. However, after seeing this movie and immediately thinking it was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, I decided to reread the book. This movie reorders some of the events but in a way that helps with pacing. There's really only one major plot change from the book that I won't go into detail but I feel works well for movie in a way the book dealt with it. I would recommend this movie to all my friends and look forward to owning it to watch on repeat.

As someone who had read this book. I have so much to say!!! The movie adaptation was absolutely amazing everything about it. The cinematography, the acting the lines EVERYTHING. It meant so much to me to see the representation come to life onto the big screen. So incredible. I fell in love with the scenary too because the way the book described it word for word was exactly how it felt to see come to life. I do have to say the actors for dante and ari and everyone else was right on. The director also did such an amazing job in the way each and every scene was executed. I can really feel the emotion.

Sweet, moving, gentle, honest, beautifully shot. Aitch alberto is a clearly talented filmmaker and reese gonzales is perfect in his role as dante. Eugenio derbez is also great in this. It's clear that the people involved genuinely care about the book and making an accurate adaptation. If it had slowed down and allowed more time for background and character development, this would have probably been a 10/10. It just felt rushed. We needed to spend more time with the characters to understand their nuance. Nevertheless, as a huge fan of the book, i enjoyed this a lot. I have notes but i will probably rewatch.

Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe emerges in this convoluted cinema era of super heroes and special effects offering a refreshing story. Everything from the storyline, to the cinematography and indie film style is right up my alley.

The story begins in 1987 with a boy named Aristotle (Max Pelayo) who keeps to himself. He goes to the local swimming pool in hopes of learning to swim and meets Dante (Reese Gonzales). The two instantly click as they realize they have a lot in common and start hanging out every day. Dante moves away for a year but the two boys exchange letters and remain in contact. Both Dante and Aristotle have a long road of self-discovery ahead, but that doesn't interfere with the strong connection between them.

I love how this film deals with so many different themes all at once -- family dilemmas, sexuality, self-growth, and ethnic identity. I always relate to seeing Latino representation in films; Aristotle is Mexican and I love that this film has a lot to do with his heritage. The cinematography is delicate and bright as is the overall aesthetic of the film. My favorite scene is when Aristotle and Dante tie their Converse shoes together and hang them on a light post at night. The lighting and simple concept of tying their shoes together is so beautiful; especially in the way that scene is shot. It is so powerful and meaningful. The acting is also impressive. Max Pelayo's portrayal of Aristotle is terrific - despite Aristotle having lots of inner conflicts, Max portrays him in such a beautiful way. I love Reese Gonzales as Dante as well; Dante is a very awkward person but in the cutest way and Reese captures that dichotomy and plays into that tricky kind of feel. I'm a huge fan of Eugenio Derbez, who plays Jamie Mendoza, Aristotle's dad. He's such an incredible actor. Eva Longoria, as Dante's mom, and Veronica Falcon, as Aristotle's mom, both really caught my attention. I love how both moms are so different and both love their kids infinitely. Veronica is the perfect example of a Mexican mom. I wish Eva had more screen time but nevertheless she is great. This film is based on a novel with the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and is produced by Eugenio Derbez and Lin-Manuel Miranda who narrates the audio book.

The film's message is that true love always prevails, but takes time. Please note that it contains some strong violence, strong language, sexual material, teen drug and alcohol use and smoking.

I give Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It releases in theaters, HBO and Netflix September 8, 2023. By Zoe C., KIDS FIRST!

This is a beuatiful adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz's book. There will be those who quibble with some of the choices, but considering the sheer challenge of transferring such a successful book, especially an emotional one like this one, onto the screen, this is an excellent take on the novel. It's a slow burn for Max Pelayo to truly come into his own as Ari: this is due to the character's own evolution, all repressed feelings and anger that slowly surface, along with the realization of who he is. It's a joy watching the actor rise to the occasion. Reese Gonzales immediately captures Dante, partially because of the insightful casting but also because Dante is well-defined from the start in the book. The two actors play off each other with great ease.

The director, Aitch Alberto, brings a careful hand to everything in this film, and you feel it. One choice that worked well was making Ari's aunt Ophelia more present. In the novel, she's almost like an idea, but here she's a presence onscreen and a reflection of Ari's own repressed self. That was a wise choice, along with keeping Dante's attack "off-stage" to avoid the sensationalism.

This is a film about two young men who are loners, in extremely different ways, and who simply love each other--almost immediately. By the time Ari comes to terms with himself and what he is feeling, the viewer, like the character, can finally exhale.

I was so happy to see that this was being made in to a movie. I don't go to theaters, so have to wait for any movies I want to see to stream. It saw A&D on Hoopla this morning, and pretty much dropped everything to watch. I read the book about a year ago, but as soon as I started watching, it all came back to me. The movie was true to the book, and the acting was superb. Like the book, I can relate to the movie, as, although I was in my 20s in the 1980s, it was the same struggle for me then - shame, fear, acceptance. Brought all the emotions back.

Hoping to see the sequel, "A&D Dive into the Waters of the World"......that too was a wonderful read, and could be as good as or better than this movie.

Highly recommended!

I cannot explain how grateful I am with this movie. Thanks to Aitch Alberto and Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzalez for their work. Loved the hole movie.

This movie made me cry but in the good way. I'm looking forward to rewatching this movie again and of course invite some friends with me.

I'm a huge fan of the books and always wanted the movie adaptation. And now that I've watched it I 5hink I can't be more satisfied and more happy. Its literally like how I imagined it was going to be and even tho its kind of sort and they had to cut some things I think it is incredibly amazing. O really could watch a hole 10 hours movie of them and never get bored.

I'll admit, I wasn't all that compelled to see this, at first. I wasn't sold on it being anything more than just another gay teen movie. However, it didn't take very long, at all, for this one to grab me by the heartstrings, and reel me in.

It's a very adorable and charming gay teen romance. It offers some really nice elements of beneficial friendship. The companionship between the two youths is very compelling.

I felt the whole thing to be extremely believable and relatable. Especially, considering it deals with what it's like being a Latino American gay youth, I felt like I could totally understand and relate with that experience, because it's presented in a very approachable way.

I like how the relationship between the two boys develops over time. How everything they go through brings them closer, not only with each other, but with their own personal feelings.

It's a movie which not only teaches us about overcoming bullying and homophobia, but also what finding true love and courage is all about.

It's a nice, positive and heartwarming little movie. I absolutely loved it, and highly recommend it.

Edit: I waited until after I wrote my review to read the others, and hadn't realized this was based on a book! Well, I guess that explains why it's so well-written. I don't often read fiction, but would seriously consider reading this book. As always, the people who have insist that the book is better. Well, I had no idea of that, and was still a little blown away by this movie. In fact, so blown away that I've actually re-watched it several times, which something I rarely do. So, that speaks very highly of how good this movie is.

As an aside, one of the parts in this movie I simply can't get over was when Aristotle tells Dante his name. I have to admit, that is one of the cutest scenes I've ever witnessed in my whole life, and I can't get how he said that to quit echoing through the back of my mind. It's almost as unforgettably charming as that time we witnessed a young Milo Ventimiglia proclaim "Nothiiiin'!" at the end of the short film, Must Be The Music. Wink twice, if you feel where I'm coming from.

In fact, now that I think of it, I'm going to add one more star, because I can't get over how charming this movie is. It actually reminds me of why I'm so proud to be alive, and what's so beautiful about life as a gay guy. It's not a perfect movie, but I think it deserves to be watched.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Number 1 Fan review

This film made me feel the importance of acceptance and the role of family in helping getting it. I really hope that all queer humans have the same family as Quintana's and Mendoza's. I envy Ari and Dante.

This film gave me the same emotions just like when I read the book. Thank you so much to the cast that they were able to portray all the characters so well and so precise. I hope the film will be shown worldwide because the world deserves to know Aristotle Mendoza sooo damn much! This film would teach acceptance surely! Please, let this out to the world sooooooon.

This is an incredible piece of film work This is definitely from mature audiences. I would say n c sixteen I would say this is for older teenagers and young adults It has altered states of of being It explores the l g p t q question of the early nineteen eighties a time in which being gay would severely get you ha time that I lived through If you have teenagers in the house who are questioning whether they are gay or straight this is the film for them that will help them explore that But do not show this to anyone under fifteen I cannot stress that enough I would say to producers and the director And the producer were absolute geniuses.