Product Description
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RJ and Chris are two teenage boys raised in Mormon
communities. Though both are boys for their church with
perfect academic records and pretty girlfriends, buried feelings
soon rise to the surface when they are assigned to serve a
mission together as part of their rite of passage. Now, they will
have to make sense of the conflict between their desires and the
rules that govern the only world they know.
Review
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Had I not known The Falls was part of this year s
Vancouver Queer Film Festival (August 16 to 26), I would not have
realized it was A Gay Film until about halfway through. Until
then, it tells the story of a quiet and rather awkward young man,
RJ Smith (Nick Ferrucci), off to perform his mission and spread
the good Mormon word as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
RJ is paired with Chris Merrill, a more experienced missionary
who serves as both mentor and friend. The two, referring to one
another as Elder Smith and Elder Merrill, as is the Mormon
custom, give us a glimpse into the missionary routine of getting
up bright and early, praying, studying, spreading the word,
attending follow-up (potential) conversion appointments and, of
course, more praying.
Just as Elder Smith begins to learn the ropes and gain
confidence in his endeavour, we begin to see cracks in Elder
Merrill s disposition. Put off by a the combination of potential
conversion dinner-turned-ideological ambush, an attempted assault
by phobic yokels, and his own underlying doubts about
Mormonism, we start to see the real Chris, as sed to Elder
Merrill. Humanity shines through in his growing crises of faith
and, we will soon learn, identity. As he continues to question
his beliefs and the teachings of his faith, Chris becomes
increasingly dismissive of his missionary responsibilities and
bolder in matters of the heart.
The curveball that is, if you haven t heard a word about the
film and you forget you re watching it at the Queer Film Festival
is thrown when RJ and Chris embrace. There really aren t any
obvious hints dropped before the two kiss. The subtlety pays off.
The stakes for the viewer automatically double it becomes not
only the story of two young men deeply troubled by their own
questioning of the faith they deeply love, but the story of two
young closeted gay men giving into their impulses and falling in
love after years of outer and self-repression, and this, under
the judging gaze of their strict religion.
I had barely cracked a smile through the first half starring
Elder Smith and Elder Merrill, but when I was properly introduced
to RJ and Chris, I couldn t help but laugh aloud at some of the
inappropriate humour (from the Mormon standpoint) being thrown
around. The two slowly stop worrying about being Mormon and
instead, just are. When they go to a second meeting with Rodney
(Brian Allard), a man back from Iraq who was honourably
discharged and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder,
the encounter is peppered with moments of stoner humour gold,
largely because it comes out of nowhere. Let s just say RJ and
Chris, having now pushed the envelope regarding their sexuality,
decide to stay aboard the experimentation train. The
blazed-yet-astute and also quite funny Rodney helps blow open the
boys closet doors by not being shocked at all by their being gay,
and relating what they re currently going through to some of his
own experiences... Ain t nobody straight in a foxhole.
Eventually, the relationship between RJ and Chris comes to a
head as they are forced to deal with their new perceptions, of
themselves and of their religion, community, and family members,
which they know do not deal well with people like them .
Director Jon Garcia handles the plot carefully and avoids the
all-too-easy religious attack and mudslinging one might expect in
a film focusing on gay Mormon men. Instead, topics of repression
and strict religious vocation are touched upon realistically and
respectfully, letting the story of one man finding himself and
another man shine through with grace and dignity. --Vancouver
Weekly