Monday, February 27, 2012
REALM OF THE SENSES
Today's gay film was one we had enjoyed before.
Bagno Turko Hamam / Steam (1998)
An Italian designer inherits his grandmother's hamam in Istanbul. A turkish bathhouse, now closed and in need of a lot of repair.
Up tight and in an unhappy marriage he finds in Istanbul the atmosphere to unwind. Complications in the sale of the hamam delay his plans and, slowly, he succumbs to the family which lives in the residence, his grandmother's "family" and to the idea of the bath as a place of refuge. He takes it on as a rehab but clearly he is the one being rehabbed.
There are other complications and an ending which is upsetting but he becomes happy and at peace.
This is not strictly a gay film. More bi. I am OK with that.
This sounds as though it might be a cheap R-rated vehicle for some steamy sex but it is anything but that.
I liked it when I saw it before and put it in the queue so I could like it again and I did.
I probably won't take another look. For one thing the transfer is not very good. Murky. With a film that has a lot of scenes in the dark anyway. Sound is also a bit muddy. The techies have not treated the film well.
I am glad that I saw it again and I will probably not return. A 3 out of Netflix5.
