Stories of Our Lives is an anthology of five short films with LGBT themes from the East African republic of Kenya. It was made by the Nairobi-based art and activist group The Nest Collective, many of whose members prefer to conceal their identities to avoid possible persecution under Kenya’s notoriously draconian anti-gay laws. The film is still banned in it some country. The five dramas are mostly personal and domestic inspired by true incidents. ASK ME NICELY Kate, a rebellious young high school girl, meets first-love Faith, a fellow student. They begin a secret relationship, until the school principal takes action to separate the two by suspending Kate from the school. Back at home, Kate impulsively has a sexual encounter with a boy in her neighborhood. Two weeks later, Kate and Faith have an awkward reunion leading to their separation. RUN After negotiating a business deal, Patrick stumbles upon a local gay bar with his homophobic best friend, Kama. Patrick later returns to the clu...
Simone and Paolo are a gay couple who are on the verge of celebrating their 20th anniversary. Their teenage son Leone born through surrogacy with help of their friend Tully is making a documentary of their family as part of his school project. The trio is one big happy family, until on the night of the celebration it is revealed that Simone has been having an affair with someone for past two years. The incident comes as a huge shock to everyone involved, but none more so than to Leone, who suddenly finds his world turned upside down, as his fathers go their own ways. We also see Leon being attracted to a new French girl in school, who also becomes close to him. Leone is forced to accept that his “beautiful family” isn’t quite as perfect as it seems. The war between the couple intensifies and they both secretly decide to do DNA test to know who's the biological father. But neither them or the audience is prepared for the ultimate twist that comes up, eventually forcing the trip to rethink of their familial unit.
This is such a heartfelt movie and is something that I hav been yearning for a while. A gay family drama with all the right ingredients. The makers have chosen to tackle this complex social theme with humour and comedic tones to probe the modern-day meaning of “family”. Even though we may feel that many issues are being over simplified, but this doesn’t detract from the film’s ability to convey a very important message that eventually family is about love, irrespective of blood ties. The dashes of humor ensures that watching this movie is far from a depressing experience despite the premise being a touchy subject and something that could get very heavy to watch. This film had me captivated from beginning to end, and I found the whole thing to be a real treat. Despite an affair being a significant plot point in this film, the film wants to showcase a story in which a family can be strengthened off the back of hardship, and this becomes a key factor in the narrative.
The film is not about one single person but of the trio as a unit and this is what makes the film so very special. They come as a tightly-knit package, and the film goes to great lengths to show that everyone matters in this relationship and this whole story is about their shared experience. And this would not have been possible without the amazing amazing acting by all three leading men and the wonderfully though through story and incredible direction. As mentioned, its keeping a light touch while addressing the issues that helps making it a dark drama. Life has ups and downs with its little secrets but a family always comes out of it stronger. All-in-all, with its bittersweet moments, romantic nuances and a balanced view from both parents and the child perspective, there really is a lot to like in this movie. It captures so much, with so little, and delivers an enjoyable and touching journey. The ending scene is beautiful where Leone finds himself thinking about the “invisible thread” which binds him to his two dads and to all those who brought him into the world. Another gem from this year and strongly recommended and thankfully its available on Netflix. (8.5/10)
Comments
The only thing that really bugged us was the whole drama about who is the biological dad. I think it was absolutely ridiculous. Not to say really really wrong. It made sense from a juridical point of you and they should have stayed at that, not make it into none of them were fathers anymore. That was extremely shoking.
Aside from that we loved it completely. I also scared us a bit. We're only 3years away from the 20years anniversary, now we know we'll be thinking of this movie when that happens haha.
I need a few more of these good new films. (I think I am just avoiding to watch the older crappy films that I still watching and reviewing)
Watching these teenage shows keep us young at heart :)