Arcadio Bolanos Cam Archer's "Wild Tigers I have known" is a story about Logan, an unpopular, awkward and insecure kid that gets bullied every now and then. He takes it all in and he lives in a world of his own, in some sort of ill-induced stupor state. Until one day he meets an older boy named Rodeo. He is rebellious, rough-edged and scruffy. Of course Logan falls in love with him. They're both marginal figures at moments but for different motives. Rodeo decides to ditch his girlfriend to spend more time with his younger friend, while Logan has no choice but to be rejected by everybody except Rodeo.Despite the initial happiness rush, Logan starts fantasizing about death. Neglected by his mother, the only true conversation she has with her is about ghosts and reincarnation. He wants to know if she would hug him if he were a ghost.There are instances in which Logan doesn't seem to be aware of his body. The only way in which he can inscribe himself into the world is by marking his chest and stomach. Writing, thus, creates the object. Writing creates or recreates him. But it's only symptomatic to witness Logan's fascination with women's clothes, lipsticks and long, blonde wigs. He's constantly dressing up as a girl or pretending to be a girl in order to obtain the love of a boy. It would be interesting, then, to contrast Hélène Cixous views on women writing that breaks the linear logic of male counterparts. Certainly, the entire film seems to defy this linear logic either from a cinematographic or a narrative perspective. In writing his own body with a red lipstick Logan makes us think of Ann Rosalind Jones "Writing the Body: Toward an Understanding of l'Ecriture feminine" because, ultimately, there is an unresolved sexual charge in Cam Archer's characters.From the very beginning of the story Logan is interested in mountain lions. These felines are beautifully designed animals, almost as gorgeous as the tangle-lined tiger. Logan's high school is constantly threatened by these animals that the principal considers very dangerous. Students are told to run as soon as they see a mountain lion. Logan, nonetheless, feels compelled to approach them. He goes into the woods with Rodeo trying to find them to no avail. Only unaccompanied will he be able to fulfill this wish. The mountain lion is beauty, it's beauty in an Apollonian way as Nietzsche would understand it. It's the beauty of light, of appearance, that covers the horror within. Fear of death can only be overcome by Apollonian beauty. But it's also through this beauty that Logan summons death. He will put his life at risk partly obeying Freud's Thanatos urge, and partly because the only way to face live is to uncover the horror of existence. Because facing life is also accepting one's own mortality. And by reaching out to this wild animal Logan is only unveiling what lies beneath.

fillweb I agree with almost all the reviews I have read about this movie here om IMDb; those who gave it a 1 and those who gave it a 10. I just watched it on NetFlix and there were several times when I was about to abandon it. But I stayed until the end. It was self-indulgent and boring beyond belief at times. It seemed to have no recognizable time period except for the outdated phones. I thought Mr Stumpf and Mr. White gave credible performances. I would have liked to seen more air time for Ms. Balk as Logan's mother. Kim Dickens portrayal as the counselor was very good. But the movie was just too disjointed to truly be appreciated. But I still gave it a 7 anyway. A bit higher than I intended but I liked the courage that went into the making of this flick and I look forward, perhaps, to seeing other material from this director. Perhaps his new one, S**t Year.

tonymurphylee I'm kind of on the fence with this film. While I found the visuals to be interesting, the actor, Malcolm Stumpf, to be really good, and the concept pretty interesting, I found the film to be pretty hollow. The film is pretty much about this kid who basically is going through that awkward stage in which he isn't totally sure who he is and what he feels and, as a result, makes some mistakes. This concept can be effective when done right. Look at WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE or L.I.E. This film, WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN, in a way, works. It works in it's awkward staging of events and works in creating an isolated world in which this kid doesn't really seem to have anybody that he can personally relate to. However, the film is also extremely lifeless. There isn't any kind of energy to the scenes and the tone, not even sad energy. The whole film has plenty of opportunities to explore these little events in an interesting way and only halfheartedly does. The kid may or may not be gay, but he never really seems to care either way. Maybe if the film had allowed him to show some sort of feelings toward his own-self then it would have been a more interesting film to watch. I applaud the filmmakers for crafting this together, considering the subject matter. I understand that teenage sexuality is a difficult topic to explore and craft a film out of. However, the film just doesn't seem to try to even explore the idea in any way. Sure, one could say that WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN is honest, but that's only because it doesn't take any chances trying something new. It's so weird because the character of Logan reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age, but I was unable to relate to him. He struck me as boring, as a matter of fact, which is more than I could say about myself at the time. Perhaps I'm just trying to find things wrong with the film, and in all honesty it isn't a bad film by any means. It just seems like a missed opportunity to me. I know that it's possible to make something out of this concept. I just feel that twice as much effort would have helped it a lot more.

whlrguy My fear in seeing this movie is that it would evoke a feeling of exploitation of a child and make for a very uncomfortable viewing, or a similar feeling of sickness I felt while watching Mysterious Skin, a painful film to watch yet an excellent film. However, I was surprised, this is a visual wonder into the mind of an outcast and his sexual awakening. In fact I found myself relating and remembering my awkwardness towards sex at that age and the gray emotions of trying to understand what I was feeling, emotions and confusion not limited to sexual preference or even gender, just the desire for another and not knowing how to correctly move forward or interpret. The director does a brilliant job and the cinematography creates the mood with music, natural images and hallucinatory visions into this teenagers mind. The young actor, Malcom Stumpf, gives a perfect performance as the outcast, who does not mind that he is not liked by others or uncomfortable with who he is becoming, I hope to see more rewarding work from him in the future. Fairuza Balk turns in a great performance as his frustrated mother trying to relate and get through to her son. At times it feels as if she harbors resentment towards him, but she truly loves him as we see in a very real moment as they lay in the grass. This film was a pleasant surprise and I am glad that I did not pass it by as planned.