Movie Review on American independent gay film "Rock Haven"(available at the Malaysian blog Filem Gay). This post was written by RBP team member line of flight from Sampaloc Toc.
First of all, I want to give a shout out to the Malaysian site, Filem Gay, for helping to catablog international gay cinema.
I have watched many many gay films in my life and with the recent advances in editing technology and its greater accessibility to the middle class, I have to say that I have been unable to be aware of every gay film that has come out in the last ten years (there is just too many). I was roaming through Filem Gay's blog and stumbled onto Rock Haven. Filem Gay summarized:
The film was well written and well shot. It was able to address the fundamental conflict of adolescence between remaining a child of our parents and becoming an adult -- using the lens of American Christian fundamentalism. It did a great job of that without painting the fundamentalist mother as a flat religious wacko (I mean, she's a religious wacko, don't get me wrong, but its not like a two dimensional cartoon character level of wacko.) The ending could have used some work especially on the mother-complex issue and the Clifford resolution, but overall the theme regarding spirituality and sexuality is well presented. There is no inherent conflict between spirituality and sexuality. The only conflict is with church control of spirituality through the realm of sexuality.
First of all, I want to give a shout out to the Malaysian site, Filem Gay, for helping to catablog international gay cinema.I have watched many many gay films in my life and with the recent advances in editing technology and its greater accessibility to the middle class, I have to say that I have been unable to be aware of every gay film that has come out in the last ten years (there is just too many). I was roaming through Filem Gay's blog and stumbled onto Rock Haven. Filem Gay summarized:
The coastal California community of Rock Haven is the perfect place for cute eighteen-year-old Brady and his loving mother to begin a fresh start. Their mission: to spread the word of the Lord. But while roaming the beach one day, Brady meets Clifford, a young man who is the complete opposite of him: outgoing and athletic as well as incredibly handsome. Their initial encounter stirs up feelings of homo desire that Brady has been suppressing. Once Clifford makes it clear that their attraction is mutual, Brady's conflicting feelings of religious obligation and natural impulse go into overdrive, and the two young men must navigate their confusion, lust and beliefs in order to come to a mutual understanding.
The film was well written and well shot. It was able to address the fundamental conflict of adolescence between remaining a child of our parents and becoming an adult -- using the lens of American Christian fundamentalism. It did a great job of that without painting the fundamentalist mother as a flat religious wacko (I mean, she's a religious wacko, don't get me wrong, but its not like a two dimensional cartoon character level of wacko.) The ending could have used some work especially on the mother-complex issue and the Clifford resolution, but overall the theme regarding spirituality and sexuality is well presented. There is no inherent conflict between spirituality and sexuality. The only conflict is with church control of spirituality through the realm of sexuality.
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