Skip to main content

Albatross

By Golu
This is not atypical gay/queer film but has a strong subtext and hence I am going to review here. This is primarily a story about repressed sexuality and the impact of those trapped in the lie. It takes you on a journey through the past to the present using race and sex as the drivers for something everyone is now familiar with. The tone is haunting but the setting is very much theatre like with four son 4 primary characters are the dialogues between them. The characters seem mysterious, but sadly the film failed to hold my attention for too long and I found myself drowsing away.

The story takes place in 1959 New England. A biracial couple, the Millers, are invited to visit a psychiatrist and his wife, the Burkes, to help gain entrance to the social community around them. The Burkes are respected members of the community and its social structure, but this is not who they really are. Mr. Burke, a psychiatrist, is involved in homosexual relationship with one (or possibly more) of his 'patients' trying to relive an older romance when Mr Burke was young. A gay love story from past shown in flashbacks, haunts the aging Mr and Mrs Burke. A secondary theme involves the Millers’ struggles as a biracial couple, but its only significance is to highlight their role as outsiders. They have their usual issues but nothing concrete comes out of it. There are also hints of commentary on women expected to just stay at home. At one point, Mrs Burke shows the Miller wife her art while it feels like Dr Burke is trying to get into pants of the black guy. Then Ms Miller finds the doctor's young lover and hangs out with him and while everyone gets drunk and wasted. The ending is just weird.

Dr. Burke has regular relationships with men, constantly replaying the memories of the defining love story of his youth. Mrs. Burke had married him knowing the story but in her way she also wanted to appear “normal” in society. Why are they together then, is never really explained or detailed out. There is a hint of judging the interracial couple's racial status. Racism towards those in interracial relationships gets paralleled with same-sex couples dealing with homophobia. But the plot meanders from issue to issue, racism to homophobia to sexism to homophobia again to racism. Such issues are intersectional and the attempt to address them all is admirable. However, Albatross gets bogged down but all of these issues, making it difficult to tell what the film is truly about. In end, sexism and racism are brushed under the rug to focus on how homophobia ruins lives. I found myself pretty confused about the albatross at the beginning of the film and I tried my best to keep my attention but I lost interest in the plot during the last half. (3/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

By Golu
Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...
5 comments
Read more

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

By Golu
Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...
3 comments
Read more

One Summer Night (Korean)

By Golu
I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more