November 11, 2025
FILM: 300 LETTERS
DIRECTED BY: LUCAS SANTA ANA
STARRING: CRISTIAN MARIANI, GASTON FRIAS, BRUNO GIGANTI
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Tom and Jero are a gay couple who have become well-known on Instagram. On what would be their first anniversary, Jero comes home to find that Tom has left him. The only item left behind is a pink box with 300 letters that Tom wrote on each day they were together. Jero is blindsided by this and begins reading them from the beginning. Flashbacks take us to the early days of their relationship. We don’t really see Tom writing the letters in the past but he does seem to document the ups and downs of that year. 300 Letters bears some resemblance in structure to the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Zooey Deschanel 2009 film (500) Days of Summer. However, this Argentinian film doesn’t jump around as much and offers a bit of a twist by the end that helps us confirm our growing dislike of Tom while also confirming our empathy for Jero.
Tom does make it clear in his letters right from the start that he and Jero are very different and likely incompatible. Tom sees Jero as “superficial” and labels himself a hard-working teacher and poet. This allows us to consider that maybe Tom had a good reason to leave Jero. Maybe we’ll look at him in the way Tom describes him and less as a rejected victim. Providing some background on the relationship, early flashbacks focus on the couple’s heated sex life. They seem like a lot of guys who hook up but that surprisingly decide to take the relationship to another level by moving in together. Things change for them though as a threesome is suggested and one goes off to spend Christmas with his family instead of his partner. We know they break up, but the letters and flashbacks give us a reason to understand why. Eventually we learn more about Tom’s overall intentions with Jero, suggesting that Tom may not have been as truly committed to the relationship as Jero was.
This is a very well-produced, directed, and acted film by accomplished writer/director Lucas Santa Ana. We’re only given information when it works well for the story. Cristian Mariani is very good as the attractive and now lost Jero. The film’s success rests on being able to relate to and feel for him and Mariani delivers. It doesn’t hurt that he walks around for more than half the film without a shirt on. His lean, muscular, hairy young body is constantly on display. Most of the guys featured here have similar body types and facial hair. It’s not hard to see why they’d be attracted to each other. As mentioned, the early scenes, in particular, are filled with a lot of sex but most of them are earned and not overly indulgent.
The supporting cast is equally good, including Bruno Giganti as Jero’s best friend Esteban. What I really like about the way his character is written is that he always remains just that, a friend. A lot of gay-themed films might find him harboring a secret love for Jero but Esteban is his own self-assured, strong man. Jorge Thefs plays Q, a character that wears traditionally female clothing but supports a beard like the other guys. Q is also assertive and doesn’t take gruff from anyone.
If anything is missing from the film it would be additional details as to exactly how successful the “Tom and Jero Show” had become on Instagram and how this break-up will affect their social profile. Also, because we never see Tom writing those daily letters, on pink paper which should have been noticeable to Jero, it’s hard to buy that this writing went on as long as it did. The letters also look typed which is a bit suspect as no typewriters seem to be present in this very contemporary story.
Still, what I like about the film is what it suggests about certain writers or poets who find themselves to be more superior than everyone else. Instead of telling Jero what he is thinking, Tom’s only way to communicate his feelings is by creating this “project” about Jero which comes across as extremely self-serving and insensitive to Jero. Tom calls Jero “superficial” but it’s really Tom that is lacking a spine.
300 Letters arrives on VOD and digital platforms today.
FILM: 300 LETTERS
DIRECTED BY: LUCAS SANTA ANA
STARRING: CRISTIAN MARIANI, GASTON FRIAS, BRUNO GIGANTI
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Tom and Jero are a gay couple who have become well-known on Instagram. On what would be their first anniversary, Jero comes home to find that Tom has left him. The only item left behind is a pink box with 300 letters that Tom wrote on each day they were together. Jero is blindsided by this and begins reading them from the beginning. Flashbacks take us to the early days of their relationship. We don’t really see Tom writing the letters in the past but he does seem to document the ups and downs of that year. 300 Letters bears some resemblance in structure to the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Zooey Deschanel 2009 film (500) Days of Summer. However, this Argentinian film doesn’t jump around as much and offers a bit of a twist by the end that helps us confirm our growing dislike of Tom while also confirming our empathy for Jero.
Tom does make it clear in his letters right from the start that he and Jero are very different and likely incompatible. Tom sees Jero as “superficial” and labels himself a hard-working teacher and poet. This allows us to consider that maybe Tom had a good reason to leave Jero. Maybe we’ll look at him in the way Tom describes him and less as a rejected victim. Providing some background on the relationship, early flashbacks focus on the couple’s heated sex life. They seem like a lot of guys who hook up but that surprisingly decide to take the relationship to another level by moving in together. Things change for them though as a threesome is suggested and one goes off to spend Christmas with his family instead of his partner. We know they break up, but the letters and flashbacks give us a reason to understand why. Eventually we learn more about Tom’s overall intentions with Jero, suggesting that Tom may not have been as truly committed to the relationship as Jero was.
This is a very well-produced, directed, and acted film by accomplished writer/director Lucas Santa Ana. We’re only given information when it works well for the story. Cristian Mariani is very good as the attractive and now lost Jero. The film’s success rests on being able to relate to and feel for him and Mariani delivers. It doesn’t hurt that he walks around for more than half the film without a shirt on. His lean, muscular, hairy young body is constantly on display. Most of the guys featured here have similar body types and facial hair. It’s not hard to see why they’d be attracted to each other. As mentioned, the early scenes, in particular, are filled with a lot of sex but most of them are earned and not overly indulgent.
The supporting cast is equally good, including Bruno Giganti as Jero’s best friend Esteban. What I really like about the way his character is written is that he always remains just that, a friend. A lot of gay-themed films might find him harboring a secret love for Jero but Esteban is his own self-assured, strong man. Jorge Thefs plays Q, a character that wears traditionally female clothing but supports a beard like the other guys. Q is also assertive and doesn’t take gruff from anyone.
If anything is missing from the film it would be additional details as to exactly how successful the “Tom and Jero Show” had become on Instagram and how this break-up will affect their social profile. Also, because we never see Tom writing those daily letters, on pink paper which should have been noticeable to Jero, it’s hard to buy that this writing went on as long as it did. The letters also look typed which is a bit suspect as no typewriters seem to be present in this very contemporary story.
Still, what I like about the film is what it suggests about certain writers or poets who find themselves to be more superior than everyone else. Instead of telling Jero what he is thinking, Tom’s only way to communicate his feelings is by creating this “project” about Jero which comes across as extremely self-serving and insensitive to Jero. Tom calls Jero “superficial” but it’s really Tom that is lacking a spine.
300 Letters arrives on VOD and digital platforms today.