I watched the movie knowing about the accusation of "pinkwashing", and having watched this movie, I have to agree to a certain extent that there is some sort of propaganda in this film. Being funded by Israel Film Fund should be a big red flag, as it had to somehow approve the script before the film got filmed. I had no idea that Israel is so gay-friendly before watching the film, but the almost rigid "Israel, gay haven; Palestine, hell on earth" seems too unrealistic, given that there are other Israeli films that say the otherwise ("Yossi & Jagger", for example). And personally I find the description of Israel as a gay haven not so credible too, given that it is a highly religious place and is somehow still socially conservative, but correct me if I am wrong.
The opening of the film resembles 2011's "Weekend" a lot, as pointed out by other reviewers too. However, don't expect "Out In The Dark" to have the same emotional depth as the other critically acclaimed film - the characters in "Out In The Dark" are almost all one- dimensional. Roy seems to exist in the film only to love Nimer unconditionally; there is no attempt to explain his love for Nimer or why he would try so hard to be together with Nimer. The plot seems out of touch with reality and even ridiculous because we all know how shallow gay men can be, and without explaining why Roy is attracted to Nimer beyond his physical beauty, the plot falls apart easily.
But this movie isn't all bad. Beyond the occasional gaps in the film, which require the audience's full attention to really understand the whole picture, the movie has touched on some universal topics in the LGBT+ community that we must all acknowledge: forbidden love, the fear of being kicked out and disowned by one's family, and the fragility of same-sex relationships. The main actors, though being limited by the feeble script, played the characters well and are obviously eye candies, so if you're watching this movie, you're in for a treat.
I would recommend this movie because it reminds us of the fact that beyond the golden surface of the contemporary LGBT+ community, there are still people in the world struggling to survive because of their sexual orientations. And the relationship portrayed in the film, though shallow, shows the strength of what we can do if we come together in this fight towards ignorance and prejudice.
The opening of the film resembles 2011's "Weekend" a lot, as pointed out by other reviewers too. However, don't expect "Out In The Dark" to have the same emotional depth as the other critically acclaimed film - the characters in "Out In The Dark" are almost all one- dimensional. Roy seems to exist in the film only to love Nimer unconditionally; there is no attempt to explain his love for Nimer or why he would try so hard to be together with Nimer. The plot seems out of touch with reality and even ridiculous because we all know how shallow gay men can be, and without explaining why Roy is attracted to Nimer beyond his physical beauty, the plot falls apart easily.
But this movie isn't all bad. Beyond the occasional gaps in the film, which require the audience's full attention to really understand the whole picture, the movie has touched on some universal topics in the LGBT+ community that we must all acknowledge: forbidden love, the fear of being kicked out and disowned by one's family, and the fragility of same-sex relationships. The main actors, though being limited by the feeble script, played the characters well and are obviously eye candies, so if you're watching this movie, you're in for a treat.
I would recommend this movie because it reminds us of the fact that beyond the golden surface of the contemporary LGBT+ community, there are still people in the world struggling to survive because of their sexual orientations. And the relationship portrayed in the film, though shallow, shows the strength of what we can do if we come together in this fight towards ignorance and prejudice.