15 Years (Hebrew)

While this isn’t your usual romantic queer offering, 15 Years does an impressive job of showing what long-running relationships go through when there’s talk about wanting to change things up. The change could be anything from opening up the relationship, to bringing in a third to even starting a family. It also shows an aspect of mid life crisis that our lead goes through.

Our primary character is Yoav, a 40 something architect. He has been with his lover Dan for 15 years who is a lawyer completely in love with Yoav. Alma is a mixed race Israeli who has been friends with Yoav since she was 13. At an art opening Alma announces that she is pregnant. For some reason Yoav is completely against the idea of kids, but Alma's announcement ignites Dan's desire for fatherhood. Yoav is so dead against the idea that he even lashes out at his friends and Alma on their 15th anniversary celebrations. It seems Yoav has some really bad childhood memories from his father who is dying. We never hear the details. This is where Yoav's downward spiral begins. His tight grasp on his life begins to come apart, leading him to self-destructive behavior that threatens to destroy his life with Dan & unravel his friendship with Alma. He leaves Dan, starts living on his own, completely shutting off even Alma. He spends time cruising, hooks up with a teenager and essentially just go on. Time passes. Alma becomes mother and Dan has started seeing another guy. Alma pays him a visit questioning his reason to shut everyone off despite the fact that everyone loves him so much. No one can understand Yoav at this point. Yoav then visits Dan, they remember old times,. sleep together and eventually Yoav leaves. He cannot be with Dan anymore.

This film is acted and directed really beautifully. You see the couple falling apart and all you want to do is shake them up and ask them to sit and talk. And Maybe thats what is tried to be shown that communication in any relationship is so important. Yoav never ever shares what is his real problem with not wanting to be a father. We just know and feel his angst is real but it's difficult to connect with him since we don't know where it is coming from. What happened between him and his father? Yes, couple sometimes grow apart but they make things work. I mean even these guys were in open relationship (which I felt Yoav was not comfortable with) but just a matter of child could make things so worse? I think, they can. The film is about how sometimes things just change in a relationship and there’s nothing you can really do about it. Or maybe you can, if you make an effort, but by themselves nothing will change automatically. Both the lead actors are absolutely fantastic and so is direction. It's poignant and makes you think and want to give them a hug. Here, I have to say that Dan was absolutely gorgeous and so magnetic and charismatic. So HOT! and a good actor.

All in all, this film is an intimate and intense look at a relationship featuring two characters that see no choice but to drift away because they want different things in life. This is a very serious film to watch, but I think you will not be disappointed. (7.5/10)