Sunday, September 14, 2014
All wound up
A gay man is also a Momma's boy.
But until he unwinds himself, he cannot be free to have his own life or for his Mom to have hers.
This is a kind of stereotypical picture of the gay man/mom story and it often true enough to border on the cliché.
But this wonderful and surprising film avoids the clichés and shows that love can survive all the pressures of social and parental judgment. To say nothing of maintaining a good relationship between the parent and the boy.
I didn't have a lot of luck with this myself but the people in this film manage it. They dodge the expected and together continue their adventurous lives together.
Claudia Cardinale stars as the mother in this French North African (Arab) family comedy/drama.
I really like this movie. I have seen it several times and know how it will turn out and what happens along the way. None of this compromises the sweet emotions that come from watching the proceedings.
It helps that the gay couple who have to endure tradition are handsome and the women who just happen to be lesbian with the same "marriage problem" are funny and wonderful.
It is all very good natured once Mom gets out of the way.
I am not so sure it always happens this way but it is nice to think that it can. It did for me. More or less. One mother ended up happy about it all while the other gritted her teeth.
Guess who we had a better time with and enjoyed being with to the end.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
