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Moment in the Reeds (A)
Original Title
Tämä hetki kaislikossa- Director: Mikko Makela
- Writer: Mikko Makela
- Producer: William R. Carter; Stuart Malcolm Honey
CGiii Comment
Whoever called this the 'new' Brokeback Mountain is an idiot!
Those who compare this to/with God's Own Country do not know their arse from their elbow - did they actually watch God's Own Country? So, now, having angered many [deserving] people...you know who you are...we shall continue...
Apart from the [utterly] lousy camera-work, the abysmal [so dark, non-existent] lighting and the dismal [coma-inducing and mind-numbing] dialogue...A Moment in the Reeds is a resplendent example of the emperor's new clothes...just because it's gay...doesn't mean it's any good!
Basically, it's a three-hander between a stern [expressionless] father, his closeted son-who-needs-to-grow-a-pair and a sexually exploited Syrian immigrant...the small cast reflects the amount of acting talent on-screen...minimal!
After, what seems an eternity, 45 minutes in...the two men [quite literally] spring into action...sexually speaking! However, their [numerous] sexual shenanigans are punctuated by the reappearances of the boy-with-no-balls' father - who doesn't speak a word of English until he comes back from a business trip...and, lo and behold, he can...well, almost!
An example of the moronic writing...
The Syrian man complains...that Finland is too white, for having little to no diversity...as if Syria is the ultimate pick-and-mix cocktail of diasporic cultures! Mikko Makela shows little flair as a director and even less as a writer...the monologue about the Syrian exodus is a strident insult to the [horrendous] plight of those [people] affected.
Nothing short of a disgrace.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Mikko Makela’s stunning debut explores the relationship between two men, set against an idyllic Finnish summer. Whilst visiting his estranged father, Leevi meets Tareq, a handsome Syrian immigrant employed to restore the family lake house. Leevi’s father departs for the city, leaving the two men alone in the beautiful remote countryside and enabling them to act on their impulses and the chemistry that clearly exists between them. Far removed from their everyday lives, the only immediate threat to the men’s relationship is the eventual return of Leevi’s father. But there’s also Tareq’s complex relationship with his family back in Syria. Makela sensitively explores the perspectives of both men, who long for some human connection, acceptance and a place to call home. Locating marginalised characters at the forefront of the story, Makela’s film is a very welcome and refreshingly frank portrait of contemporary Finnish society.
Isabel Moir
Cast & Characters
Janne Puustinen as Leevi;
Boodi Kabbani as Tareq;
Mika Melender as Jouko;
Virpi Rautsiala as Pirjo