Skip to main content

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...
Post a Comment

The Obituary Of Tunde Johnson

By Golu
Two big issues are dealt in this film: being a gay teen and police brutality against Black Americans. And then to put your point across, put things in a time loop and you come up with a film that may not be everyone's cup of tea. I understand that sometimes to make your point, you have to reiterate things again and again, but what it does sometimes is that loses people's interest, as it happened with me in this case. The film is important and relevant but somewhere loses it.

Tunde Johnson is a 18 year old black teenage, who is in a secret relationship with class hunk Soren. Interestingly his best friendMarley is also having an affair with him, which Tunde knows but can't do anything about. One night tuned comes out his rich parents, who are thankfully supportive of him. All this while a new report is talking about recent brutal black killings by police. In a joyous mood, he leaves to attend a party, but gets pulled over by two white cops who verbally harass him and eventually gun him down. Tunde wakes up with gasping breath and this scenario repeats multiple time with some variations and modifications and in all of them he gets killed by cops. Multiple scenarios are played out where his relationship with his boyfriend is challenged, he comes out to his girlfriend, he tells Soren's father, he drowns himself; but at no point does he try to change the course. He keeps dying every single time and the time loop repeats. The narrator keeps reading the obituary of Tunde Johnson, until in the end , he suspected that Tunde survived.

The film is a lot of things. Black gay teen, outsider, love triangle, coming out, police brutality. By repeating the scenarios at least 6-7 times, the film reaffirms  its intent to elevate the emotional, social and political situation of a young American born into struggle. But in the process by half time, it just gets too much overstuffed and too repetitive. There is notch character arc given to Soren, who in most scenarios is the reason for Tunde to eventually get killed. Was there a specific reason? The only good thing about the film is the lead actor's wonderful performance. You feel for him and connect with him. But I felt in the process, the film makers were not able to do justice to either the black queerness or the police brutality. Also, whey was Tunde popping so many pills? Was there some significance of it that I missed? The film goes from being a psychological thriller to magical realism to generic teen narrative, but I feel in the process forgets about the point that it is trying to make. (5/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tuxedo (Thai Series)

By Golu
When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all. Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to h...
25 comments
Read more

Heartstopper: Season 2 (Web Series) (UK)

By Golu
Heartstopper Season 1 was a universal hit. You could not have read one bad review or heard from anyone who has seen the show not liking it. It was the kind of series that is easy to love, with sweetness exploding out of every scene without overwhelming you. So naturally, when Netflix greenly Season 2, expectations were naturally high and the same happened with me. I didn't know what to expect, but I had high expectations of this very very sweet teenage love story. And with eagerness and being a little late to the game by a few days, here I am, pouring my t thoughts down having just finished one of the most anticipated shows of the year. The second season also has 10 episodes and has all of our loved ones from the original season. The show continues from where it had left off in Season 1. Charlie and Nick are a couple and only their very close circle of friends know about it. This includes Charlie's best friend Tao and his trans best friend Elle. The center of the show is still ...
19 comments
Read more

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Filipino Series) [Like In The Movies]

By Golu
Pinoy BL series seem to be catching up to the popularity of the Thai shows. And I must say that they are doing a pretty good job at it. Where Thai series started to get repetitive with so many shows based in a college setting with seemingly similar storylines, Pinoy series are offering the viewers with new and interesting stories and some really good sets and surroundings. This series was 8 episodes of about 25-20 minutes each. Karl, a 19-year old introvert architecture student is in the middle of an identity crisis. Prior to the start of the second semester in college and forced by his parents, he moves into his uncle's condominium unit so that he can learn to be financially independent. Karl takes on odd jobs online to do so. But when one of his major clients suddenly goes MIA, he is left short on funds and without a means to pay for his utilities. An opportunity presents itself when his cocky neighbor Vlad has to hide from his family and proposes to share Karl's space for th...
23 comments
Read more