By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Goran Stolevski
Starring: Elias Anton | Grace Graznak | Hattie Hook | Thom Green | Toby Derrick
Year: 2023
Running time: 100
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14967472/reference/
Michael says: “I was very curious to see this film as the director, Goran Stolevski’s previous film, YOU WON’T BE ALONE a dark period, folk-horror piece about a brutal with who learns what it means to be human, was so wildly different. There was little I could see that linked the two films other than an exploration into the depths of the human capacity for emotion… and that connection is tenuous.
“On the morning of the ballroom dancing finals, Kol gets a frantic call from his dance partner, Ebony, who has woken up with nothing but the few clothes on her back, and one of her does, in the surf of the ocean shore. She doesn’t know where she is and as she screams incoherently into the phone for him to come get her. Kol responds nearly as frantically as their dance finals are a mere two hours away. Ultimately they figure out where she is, and Kol rouses her older brother, Adam, to drive him there to pick her up. Sadly, there’s no way they will get there and back in time to make the finals. During the drive out, Kol learns that Adam’s ex is male, and it’s pretty obvious that Kol is intrigued, but tightly closeted. It’s 1999 in Australia, and high school seniors aren’t coming out… and to add to the complication, Kol is a Serbian immigrant, another culture that at the time wasn’t so accepting.
“The two spend the bulk of the next 24 hours together, before Adam flies off to Argentina after getting his college degree in linguistics. Adam’s more worldly manner and gentle teasing is amusing and naturalistic, as is Kol’s discomfort, and quick, stolen glances as he clearly begins to fall for the older man. It’s a combination, coming out and first love, and Stolevski and his two actors capture the moments beautifully, both in their giddy excitement, and their heart-breaking moments before parting.
“There’s more to the film, but I won’t reveal anything here. Suffice it to say, the extreme close-ups throughout, along with the tightly framed 4:3 aspect ratio were a little hard to take at first, and between that and the explosively manic opening, had me feeling rather overwhelmed. But as the two men meet and begin their gentle verbal sparring, I felt myself relaxing into the lovely story, much as Kol slowly relaxes into his own identity. It’s an impressive pair of films from Stolevski, and I’m very intrigued to see what he does next. 4 cats
“Screened at the Water’s Edge Cinema, Provincetown”