This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
In 1977, the same year that the first liberation march paraded through Stockholm, three pivotal queer films began production: Bögjävlar/Damned Queers, Kvinnan i ditt liv är du/The woman in your life is you and Eva & Maria. For the first time, open lesbians and gay men were granted state funding for depicting their own realities, stories about finding love and community and confronting society’s rampant homophobia and traditional gender roles. In this documentary, rich archive is brought to life and recharged with urgency in dialogue with newly shot documentary scenes and interviews with the film activists of the 1970s, capturing the strength and magic in creating another world and living one’s own life. By reclaiming the image of themselves, the fearless queer filmmakers of the 1970s took revolutionary steps out of invisibility and stigma. These vital and empowering moving images are crucial testimonies of a history of activism and resistance in dire need of becoming part of our cultural memory today as we face the new threats of right-wing extremism.
It’s a beautiful and fascinating piece of history, and is recent enough to have most of the main players still around. Ryberg reunites them and has them reminiscing, which they do with gusto. Several lived together in radical communes, and even had schedules on the refrigerator on who would sleep with whom that night. After a couple of decades in oblivion, these films are now being seen again, by an appreciative new generation. Sweden became the first country in the world to remove homosexuality as an “illness”. Just around the corner, HIV would cause a great deal of damage, and still today, homophobia is very present in many places. Our radical heroes worry, but they also look both back and forward with positivity. It's a reaffirmation that nothing should be taken for granted. I feel the idea behind the documentary was quite interesting to see these film makers and how their life turned out between the 70s and current times and them reminiscing old days. But from an entertainment perspective, it leaves a lot to be desired. I do understand that documentaries are not always supposed to be seen from fun angle but from knowledge, but I have a feeling maybe Swedes may appreciate the film more or the folks who have a better idea of the three films it talks about. (4/10)
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