This film has a very dated feel about it, it's almost as if it were made in a much more homophobic time rather than in 2007. Whilst it's set in 1989 it has that gay-equals-miserable-ending, gay-equals-death-aspect that curse so many state funded Continental European gay films. I mean come on, if films like "Maurice", and My Beautiful Laundrette" which were genuine 80s films, manage to portray a gay positive ending, why on earth can't this film?
Why do I say it's homophobic? Because if the hero had fallen in love with a second girl, as well as his girlfriend, would the film have ended as it does with the suicide attempt and the boy in a mental institution? Would the hero have acted that way towards his secret love at the party? - If the hero's secret love were a girl, what would the hero have shouted at her? "Oh, you bitch, you heterosexual bastard", "Do you think I'm straight?" No, no, the miserable ending was utterly homophobic and inexcusable. Totally inexcusable.
This film reminds me, for some reason, of a 70s US film called "A separate peace" in which the gay love interest has to die! But that film was from the 70s, and was written during the 1940s, when gay writers were riddled with internalised homophobia from the society in which they grew up.
The failure of the love affair was because of the writer's self-homophobia and inability to see the logic through to its end.
Now, if the ending had been happy that would have made for a much braver and much more interesting film. Can you imagine if the hero had fetched his lover from the mental institution and they'd walked out together and publicly and openly proclaimed their gay love to their former girlfriends and friends and school mates? That would have been a much better film.
There were good aspects to the film. I liked the fact that both boys were not that attractive, not muscular, were average boys. I liked the way the relationship with the mother and the father and the girlfriend were portrayed. But I was waiting all the way through for the happy ending, for the boys to declare their love for each other and for this reason I was so disappointed with this awful, miserable, ending.
OK, you may say, "Well that wasn't what the author was trying to say". Well, what was the author saying? What was the point of the film? Was it just to reinforce the horrid view that gay love always ends in suicide and death and mental illness??? And further, why would the Norwegian film board, or whoever put the money up for this, fund such a gay-negative film? Is the Norwegian film board homophobic? Were there really no gay positive films to fund?
Overall, a most disappointing film and yet it had the potential to have been so much better.
Why do I say it's homophobic? Because if the hero had fallen in love with a second girl, as well as his girlfriend, would the film have ended as it does with the suicide attempt and the boy in a mental institution? Would the hero have acted that way towards his secret love at the party? - If the hero's secret love were a girl, what would the hero have shouted at her? "Oh, you bitch, you heterosexual bastard", "Do you think I'm straight?" No, no, the miserable ending was utterly homophobic and inexcusable. Totally inexcusable.
This film reminds me, for some reason, of a 70s US film called "A separate peace" in which the gay love interest has to die! But that film was from the 70s, and was written during the 1940s, when gay writers were riddled with internalised homophobia from the society in which they grew up.
The failure of the love affair was because of the writer's self-homophobia and inability to see the logic through to its end.
Now, if the ending had been happy that would have made for a much braver and much more interesting film. Can you imagine if the hero had fetched his lover from the mental institution and they'd walked out together and publicly and openly proclaimed their gay love to their former girlfriends and friends and school mates? That would have been a much better film.
There were good aspects to the film. I liked the fact that both boys were not that attractive, not muscular, were average boys. I liked the way the relationship with the mother and the father and the girlfriend were portrayed. But I was waiting all the way through for the happy ending, for the boys to declare their love for each other and for this reason I was so disappointed with this awful, miserable, ending.
OK, you may say, "Well that wasn't what the author was trying to say". Well, what was the author saying? What was the point of the film? Was it just to reinforce the horrid view that gay love always ends in suicide and death and mental illness??? And further, why would the Norwegian film board, or whoever put the money up for this, fund such a gay-negative film? Is the Norwegian film board homophobic? Were there really no gay positive films to fund?
Overall, a most disappointing film and yet it had the potential to have been so much better.