Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

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On this page: FATHERHOOD | MEA CULPA | MEMORABILIA

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 26.Mar.25

Fatherhood Tre Fedre
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir-scr Even Benestad, August B Hanssen
prd Carsten Aanonsen, Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdottir
with Kristopher, David, Sindre, Ann-Elise Og Knut, Anne-Grete, Masus, Gry, Asle, Mari, Jannicke, Trond, Tim, Oliver, Liam, Theodor, Salvador
release UK Mar.25 flare
25/Norway 1h17

Now streaming...

Warmly soft-spoken, this documentary presents three men in a relationship in a matter-of-fact way. Being gay in Norway has never been a problem for these guys, although being a throuple did catch people off guard, as did the way they planned to become parents. These are earthy, funny men who will clearly make good fathers, and the film knowingly traces their journey as they prepare for the birth.

In Norway, three beardy men have just bought a new home and are looking forward to the birth of their first child. The responsible one, Kris wanted to be a father since he was a young child. From Spain, David is the playful one, while Sindre is preparing for their world to be turned upside down. And as a trans man Kris carries the unborn child in his uterus. As they prepare the house and attend doctor's appointments, they're excited and nervous about impending fatherhood. After some scary pregnancy issues, the birth is hugely emotional.

With a large base of friends and family who support them, they take public stands for equality and the right to live without fear. The camera crew follows them on a fishing trip to a lake in the countryside, where they reminisce about how they met and became a trio, balancing each other in ways that wouldn't work in a couple. And the film includes childhood snapshots along with their parents' memories, with particular focus on Kris' transition. Intriguingly, the more his body changes with pregnancy, the more convinced he is that he's a man.

There's no question that this child has been born into a home full of love, with three doting parents and extra grandparents too. They speak about the nature of attraction and how it relates to gender, and because they have experienced bigotry, they are realistic about what they will face in the future. It's fascinating to watch them negotiate their parenting style, discussing the roles of religion, art and tradition. And it's beautiful to see the whole family come together for a traditional christening.

themes, language 25.Mar.25

Mea Culpa
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir-scr Patrick Tass
prd Ellen Meiresonne
with Randa Tass, Patrick Tass, Diana Tass, Simon Tass, Bryn Watkins, Ida, Roy Hankach, Yara Safadi, Farid Salame, Ghina El Hachem, Rita Mounzer, Mathieu Pereira, Lama Badaoui
release UK Mar.25 flare
25/Belgium 1h12

Now streaming...

This collage-style documentary is a yearning statement from filmmaker Patrick Tass, who lives in Belgium, to his mother in Lebanon. It explores the geographical distance as well as how they hide things about themselves from each other. The images are beautifully shot and edited, capturing offhanded real-life moments as well as deeper thoughts, ideas and emotions. It's a fascinating exploration of identity, seen through filters of nationality and sexuality.

Visiting his family, Patrick videotapes his mother Randa, father Simon and sister Diana in their everyday life. Randa agrees to let him use her voice and image in his new project as long as he shares the final film with her. And she's impatient to see it. Randa persistently maintains contact with Patrick when he's in Belgium, but Patrick doesn't share about his life as an out gay man. Messages in which she worries that he's lonely play under scenes of him dancing. Meanwhile, Patrick realises that becoming Belgian doesn't actually clarify who he is.

Assembled from a variety of sources, the film features video calls, snapshots, newsreels, voice notes and screengrabs alongside new footage Patrick films in both Belgium and Lebanon. In a soft-spoken voiceover, he speaks directly to his mother about how he and Diana were classified as a Palestinian refugee because of their father, denied heir mother's Lebanese citizenship even though they born and raised there. They only learned the truth about themselves by accident, and Patrick sees parallels in the way he withholds his truth from his mother now. He grapples with guilt, but understands that this is simply the hand that life has dealt.

These kinds of ideas make the film feel melancholic, even if his life is happy. Patrick shapes this as an intensely personal message to his mother, revealing how he sees her and also how his self-image has been shaped by confusion about himself. He struggles to understand why his parents remain in a neighbourhood overrun with toxic machismo and anti-Palestinian hatred. And the ongoing conflict there casts an increasingly grim pall over the entire film. Indeed, both Patrick and Diana had to leave in order to live their lives more fully. And "alive" should not be the answer to the question "how are you?"

themes, language, violence 25.Mar.25

Memorabilia
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

Memorabilia
dir-scr Charles Lum, Todd Verow
prd Charles Lum, Todd Verow, James Kleinmann
with JJ Bozeman, Justin Ivan Brown, James Kleinmann, Edgar S Lantigua, John Murphy, Frankie Payne, Jed Ryan, Todd Verow
release UK Mar.25 flare
24/US 1h10

Now streaming...

Planned by filmmaker Charles Lum before his death and completed by his collaborator Todd Verow, this experimental film is a collage-style film memoir tracing a gay man's sexual journey, including things rarely spoken of on film. It's also unusually honest in its depiction of inner yearning, creating a gorgeously lusty vibe that runs through even in the more prosaic interludes. So the cumulative effect is dreamy and resonant.

It opens as the narrator discovers his tribe while at summer camp, most notably the speedo-wearing lifeguard teacher. And then there are even more sore speedos on display at the Montreal Olympics. Later he's being distracted by his college roommate or a guy at the YMCA, then sneaking off to cruise during a family vacation. In early relationships, roleplaying adds a spark. He discovers cottaging in London public toilets, which leads to an extensive chronicle of cruising at rest stops. And his journey continues through Act Up protests and getting lost on drug trips.

There are clever set-pieces throughout the film, including stop-motion animation of his first true love, the family's vacuum cleaner. There's rather a lot of illustrative nudity and sexual scenarios that might be considered to be transgressive porn. But it's all presented in the context of a young man working out what he wants in life, travelling around the world in search of fun, and he's also looking for something more lasting. Even the travelogue sequences are beautifully assembled, regularly shifting the film's geography.

This is a fascinating collection of footage, including home movies, artful experimentation and sexy new provocations, all shot on gloriously grainy 8mm. And an abstract climactic sequence features barely glimpsed imagery accompanied by swelling music. In words that feel like they come from a journal, the curious voiceover muses whether someone will hear these stories and be able to make sense of it all. Perhaps the point isn't to make sense of it, but to acknowledge that these experiences aren't actually that uncommon, and they need to be remembered.

themes, language, sexuality 25.Mar.25

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL