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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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Ekaj

By Golu
The story of a lonely, confused, adrift teenager trying to survive in the big bad world of New York streets is what this film is about. Sadly, even though the premise is interesting, there is no real story to speak of. Its just a sequence of events that take the narrative forward that show the numerous dangers and negotiations one has to do on a day basis to survive.

Ekaj, a sixteen year, gender fluid person has an abusive boyfriend who just uses him and Ekaj somehow can't see it. Things change when he meets Mecca who takes him under his care. Mecca has AIDS and multiple problems of his own. He is high all day, stays occasionally with his cousin but still manages to be the only voice of reason in Ekaj’s hopeless world. They cruise the city together looking for money and places to stay, which includes meeting prospective clients where Ekaj gets forced into prostitution and sometimes rape. Their relationship develops into true love and care for each other. With passing time as Mecca gets sicker, Ekaj starts to become less vulnerable and stronger.

A film like this laced in realism with no professional actors is a gamble, which didn't pay off in my opinion. Mecca was good in his portrayal , but the innocence and grit and confusion needed was somehow missing in Ekaj's performance. The presentation of a marginalized community of people who have bene probably thrown out o house , belong to LGBTQIA community and need to survive, is a topic that's never easy. It shows reality and not entertainment and this is what this film does as well. Not just another portrait of life on the mean streets, it is also a study of sexuality that rings extremely true in todays shifting cultural climate, where the LGBTQ community continues to evolve, now, more than ever, within a media saturated aesthetic. This is independent cinema with low budget trying their best to make a point, except it just did not work for me. Had the film known that it is going somewhere, with something concrete to say, I would have connected more with it. (3.5/10)
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