Sunday, May 15, 2011
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Today's film was Mehdi Ben Attia's
Architect Malik comes home to Tunisia to rejoin his family. Religious, familial, and class customs collide and restrict him. He is strung up. Nice use of a visual metaphor here. A bit of magical realism that fits right in.
The string is broken when he meets Bilal, a young man who works for Malik's mother.
Their relationship has the effect of cutting the string(s) but in helping bridge gaps between family members and friends.
This is not a film about Islam and gay life. It isn't really about coming out. It is just a realistic melange of family and tradition and getting the changes to fit.
This is a really good hearted film and nothing bad happens. Spoiler, too late. It is all good. Nice even.
The gay men are beautiful and the wonderful Claudia Cardinale, in old age now, is the mother who knows but doesn't want to know her son is gay. Until she does.
This all plays out in Tunisia, not a backward country as we recently know. I enjoyed this film very much and will see it again.
I will give it a 5 out of a Netflix5.
Labels: films
