Why a bar in the middle of the Belgian countryside is named Texas, we aren’t given an explanation. But North Sea Texas has a bit of the Southern small town charm that marked plenty of old American indies, with its retro neighborhood, lovers next door, and a more grounded approach to romance compared to its European neighbors of the time. The surrounding drama is a bit convoluted and, well, melodramatic, with a love triangle involving Pim’s mom, as well as a funeral, but there's a sweet simplicity to the way Pim and Gino’s romance unfolds. North Sea Texas doesn't reinvent the genre, but it's just a nice coming-of-age story that refreshingly doesn't have to deal with discrimination.
Synopsis
Pim lives in a run-down house in a dead-end street somewhere on the Flanders coast, together with his mother Yvette Bulteel. Life here smells of cold French fries, cheap cigarettes, vermouth and stale beer. As a kid, Pim dreams of a better life, imagining princesses and beauty queens. But when Pim turns sixteen, he begins dreaming of Gino, the handsome boy next door, instead.
Storyline
After his alcoholic mom divorces his father, Pim moves to a run-down house in the Belgian countryside, dreaming of a better life as a princess or a beauty queen. However, the countryside is not without its charms, as Pim meets a handsome boy next door named Gino, who eventually becomes his best friend.
TLDR
It’s not actually set in Texas, though.
What stands out
The scene where Gino’s mom reaches out to both of them, to have them holding hands… So cute.
