A Revry original, Unconventional is a really well-liked queer dramedy that feels totally different from the usual stuff. The heart of the story is about two pretty eccentric queer siblings and their partners trying to build a family that doesn't follow the traditional rules. It takes a super raw and unfiltered look at queer life, diving deep into things like mental health, addiction, and how complicated identity and relationships can get. It’s not afraid to get messy or show people at their most vulnerable, and it really pushes boundaries while showing a lot of different queer experiences. The first season has nine episodes, and each one is about a half-hour long. The story centers on Noah, a grad student who’s been struggling for years to wrap up his PhD. He’s been with his husband, Dan, for nine years, and they’ve recently gotten married and moved to Palm Springs. While they're trying to figure out how to start a family and have a baby, they decide to shake things up by in...
Filmed over 5 years, we meet Samuel who is in a stable relationship with his boyfriend Alex. But while we ar introduced to them, the scenes of a man being brutally beaten to death are juxtaposed on our screen. This guy was Samuel's friend and we immediately know that this is a brave step for these boys to bring their story to life. Samuel has grown in a small Kenyan village and has slash struggled with his sexuality, until he moved to Nairobi and finds friends and people like him. But family is still important to him. He visits his village to his parents who love him but also want him to get married and have a family. Even though they have met Alex as a friend, they chose to ignore. This dynamic Changs when Samuel officially comes out to his family and the father stops talking to him for a few years. Until his mother again reaches out to him asking to visit. The two boys are met with love and welcome, but probably still as friends. I can't imagine parents suddenly accepting someone like this. But we do see a hopeful ending when Samuel tells us that every prayer in their family starts with recalling all names of family members and now Alex is part of that list.
The documentary is a decent watch. Rather than sensationalizing the whole aspect of beinggay in Africa, the focus here is on queer solidarity and Samuel's life. It tries to show us how gay men possibly live in Nairobi or rural Kenya. We see Samuel and Alex surrounded by supportive queer friends, celebrating their anniversaries and generally just being happy and themselves. It would have been nice to see what's Alex's version as well and how easy or hard it was for him and his family to accept their son too. But nevertheless, it was very interesting to see the love Samuel's parents give him. This documentary is a timely story of perseverance, acceptance, teaching, mundanity, destiny, faith and simple humanity. Its not preachy or educational, but a story that educates you and shows you the humane side of things. It is the kind of African story that shelves being brave in favor of being seen as human by those closest to you and many families need it. (6/10)
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