As rain falls in São Paulo, in an unassuming apartment building a random Grindr hookup is multiplying into a frenzied orgy. Over the course of a day and into the night, Matias and his new lovers connect over fucking, a cornucopia of drugs, and classic literature. Matias confides in his companions about his life — his HIV status, his old lovers, his relationship with drugs — while he ponders what the future holds in a fast-changing, post-pandemic world. In his heightened state, Matias is visited by the apparition of G.H., the titular figure from Clarice Lispector‘s landmark novel The Passion According to G.H.

The Passion According to G.H.B. delves head-first into the thorny subculture of chemsex, exploring the rewards and possible consequences of searching for elevated sexual connection. Self-described as a “magical realist gay bedroom odyssey,” the largely vérité-style approach of directors Gustavo Vinagre (Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter, Frameline46) and Vinícius Couto (who also portrays Matias) gives the film a wonderful raw intensity, bolstered by the committed performances of the cast. The result is an uncompromising but ultimately hopeful look at our own struggle for meaning in an increasingly mad world.