This documentary is nearly twenty years old now, and it follows a gay couple as they navigate the stressful and exciting journey of their first pregnancy through surrogacy. You get to see it all— the hope, the nerves, and the dramatic hurdles they have to clear along the way. Back in the day, this was probably a massive deal, but since I’ve known a few gay couples who’ve gone through this exact process, some parts felt a bit dated to me. I liked bits and pieces of it, but I also felt like the film stays pretty surface-level. It doesn't really dive into the deep, complicated reality of life after the baby actually arrives. If only raising a kid were actually as simple as this movie makes it look! Erik and Mark have been together in New York for ten years, and since they feel solid in their relationship, they decide they’re ready to raise a child. They start the hunt for a surrogate and eventually connect with Wen, a wife and mom from Maine who agrees to carry the baby for a standard...
A man and a woman are watching random video footage shot from someone's flat overlooking a canal. The footage has views of the street, the metro line running above it, buildings opposite and most prominently the Afghan refugees who have setup a make shift shelter at the two ends of the canal. Apparently the flat is of Simon, this man's lover whom he used to visit most nights. The documentary is a series of questions asked by the woman to this man Vincent watching footage asking him about his platonic gay relationship with the mysterious Simon while also looking at the refugees crisis. We never see Simon. We only hear how Vicent met him at a bar, slowly got together and would meet only at nights because they both had their personal life during the day. That's pretty much it.
Shot on digital video, the film is an improvised puzzle that not only tries to suggest what Jaurès neighbourhood in Paris is like, but also tries to conjure a picture of a love affair with someone who is not really seen, since the real Simon – whose name and life was changed for the film – never appears on screen. I am actually surprised that this weird documentary has actually won some awards. I saw someone made a comment online saying that this film is like a Poverty porn analysis by two people sitting in an AC studio. Shot from an Jaurès apartment, while also just sharing his love story with another man from whose apartment these footage were shot. And I couldn't agree more. This documentary is absolutely ridiculous. (1/10)
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