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On The Sea (UK)

By Golu
This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
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Nånting måste gå sönder (Swedish) [Something Must Break]

By Golu
They say 'Misery Loves company'. When people are "different" or "broken" they get attracted to people with similar issues. This film shows us a bit about that. I am not sure how I feel about the film. I wanted to like it and feel the characters but I just didn't. Almost nothing is happening for almost half the film and as I have said plenty of times that you need a certain mindset to watch such films. Sadly, this film didn't do for me on the scale that it has vowed critics all over.

Sebastian is a shy young transgender(?). The sexuality is never made obvious. She has taken the name of Ellie, at least on her own, but has not yet told anyone. Instead she lives and works as Sebastian, taking on the world with a bitter resignation and an androgynous wardrobe. She visits seedy places for sex. On one such occasion she meets Andres, a young handsome man who saves her from getting beaten on one such sexcapade. Sebastian is looking fo love and its only at their second meeting, she dare make a move. Andres is apparently not gay. There’s plenty of tension leading up to the first sexual experience. Even after that there is miscommunication, shame and embarrassment. It seems as if these two will never feel the same way about each other at the same time. They have some chemistry; sexual, emotional or something else. Andres can't be with Sebastian but also misses her very much. Andres struggles to accept Sebastian when she decides to rename herself to Ellie. In the end, Sebastian is more important, as is her journey to a more comfortable and confident presentation of Ellie to the world.

This is a very different style of film making. The characters are often simply naked in front of camera. They are beautiful and grotesque, typically at the same time. Young love is always full of fears, doubts and sexual tensions but on top of it you add the complexity of gender and sexuality, it makes it more interesting (at least on paper). Sadly we don't now much about Andres or his background. He says he is not gay but clearly can't hush away the strong attraction he feels for Sebastian. What is there about Sebastian that draws him in and takes hold of his desires? Sebastian/Elli, on the other hand is so desperate for love that she is willing to do anything for anyone to love her, which I found was super uncool. The whole shaky camera style of film making just doesn't do it for me and also the whole artistic tone. The saving grace of the film is the wonderful casting. Both the actors do total justice to their roles, but inly if they were defined even better. (4.5/10)
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