Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
I think there are very few gay themed films that have come from Greece. After initial expectations, it just started sliding down and by the end of the film it was nothing but a disappointment. I think the intentions were fine but the execution not so great.The fifties. A widow is raising her three children but has a soft spot for her only son Giorgos. The first signs of the son’s ‘peculiarity’ appear early on. The father does not like the behavior of the son but dies soon. His passion for dancing leads him to Paris to work as a dancer in some cheap gay club and his passions to bisexual relationships which involve a so called marriage to some girl whom he pays some money. His relationship to the girl is not very clear because he sleeps with her and also with other men at the same time. Time moves on and we are in eighties. Giorgos has failed big time as an artist and is earning nothing. He moves back with his mother, doesn't do any work, expects his mother to take care of him and his random partners that he keeps bringing home. His sisters try to talk him out of this but to no avail. They all fight like cats and dogs. Further deterioration of his relationship with his mother lead him to extreme decisions: streetwalking on Syngrou Avenue, working as a dancer in a transvestite club, prison, a sex change operation. His mother has a hard time keeping up with the changes in his life. The happiness he dreams of does not come. The end is tragically liberating.
Like I mentioned earlier, it was a loud and a very odd film. The performances were good in parts and very over the top at other times. The relationship between the family members is also very odd. But culturally I can understand why a mother will do all what she does for her son even though she knows that his action are literally eating her up.
The film was dark and not my come up of tea. But then there are sides of every coin. (3/10)
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