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Light Up (Documentary)

By Golu
Light Up  is an intimate documentary that focuses on the lives of five people in Atlanta—four Black gay men and one Black transgender woman. It’s a really personal look at their backstories and how they’ve dealt with prejudice and mental health struggles because they felt they had to hide who they truly were. The big thing they all share is that every person interviewed has found a way to push through those hard times. Now, they're all at a place where they feel totally comfortable being themselves and speaking their truth. The five people sharing their journeys are Simone Tisci, Derek Jae, Octavius Terry, Obio Jones, and Benjamin Carlton. Derek Jae is already pretty well-known from reality TV, while Simone Tisci is a successful makeup artist who is now working on breaking into acting. Then there’s Octavius Terry, who used to be a record-breaking track and field star. He actually cut his athletic career short because he was so scared his coaches and teammates would find out he was ...
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Vincent River (French)

By Golu
This French film is actually a filmed theatrical play and the shortcomings of this are very obvious when you watch it on your TV screen. Its a serious subject, but also a story that I have at least seen twice in other settings. But he treatment here is theatrical which makes a huge difference and not in a good way, especially when all you have is two actors mouthing heavy dialogues for 1.5 hours straight.

A 50-something Anita is packing her bags before leaving her flat. A young, pale and jittery Dave has been following her for days before Anita finally allowing him to enter her home. He introduces himself as the guy who called the police informing him aboutAnita's son's brutal death. There is a cat and mouse game with lot of back and forth, with Anita admitting that her son was found dead in a gay causing park beaten to death in a homophobic attack. Initially struggling with his homosexuality, it comes out that Davey is actually her son's boyfriend and together the recount the horrible truth of the events that unfolded leading to the murder and also what role the deceased man played in their life.

A subject like this should ideally wreck you emotionally and hit you in your heart, but the very bland acting and treatment makes this film seem like its been going on forever and you can't wait for into end. I have never understood the film makers fascination for stretching a story beyond what its needed to. By the time all cards from the deck are laid to the table, as an audience I had stopped caring about any of these people long time back, because at some point they all went in to a self indulgent zone. The play set is very basic with some dark colors that try to set the tone of the story to unfold, but it could have been much better if they had already decided to film it. The actors are strictly ok. This might have worked as a live play but as a film, it fails miserably. (2/10)
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