Ganymede
Colby Holt, Sam Probst
2024, 98 mins.
Stereotypes ‘R’ Us
Ganymede
- a beautifulTrojan youth who was abducted by Zeus to Olympus and made the cupbearer of the gods
In this 2024 version of the noun, it has been updated to “an unrepentant homosexual”.
Armed with good intentions, this film concerning an up-and-coming varsity wrestler (Jordan Doww) falling head over heels for a classmate (Pablo Castelblanco) definitely comfortable in his queer skin, lacks almost any semblance of narrative depth or nuance to become anywhere near a memorable fillm.
Town Commissioner Lee Fletcher (Joe Chrest) is over the top as “he who must be obeyed”, revered and respected even as he praises the lord when appropriate but also diddles the household help when in the mood. Wife and Mom Floy (Robyn Lively) struggles with the memory of a gay sibling who took one last walk into the deep even as her fears of an equally queer son produce a flood of answered prayers.
The local vicar (Davie Koechnar) also has a repressed, blessed eye for a shapely bottom, but, nonetheless, happily treats the lavender wannabe with brutal electrolysis treatments. Student counsellor Kimpton (Anna Schlegel) is a wee breath of fresh air while offering advice calming tensions. Delightful fag hag Sarah (Tatiana Harman) looks good and does no harm.
As the young men lurch from situation to situation (none of which comes as a surprise), thoughtful viewers will be wishing for a far deeper dive into real drama instead of just skimming the surface. (And guess, what? The biggest high school bully of them all also has a penchant for attractive men—just don’t tell his buds!)
So, it’s close but no cigar for this cinematic outing. JWR
Close to You
Dominic Savage
2024, 100 mins.
Show them your trust, not your anxiety
Imagine realizing the body you were born with is not exactly your own.
Imagine having the courage to change genders, but requiring a different place to live (here, from small town Coburg to Metropolitan Toronto).
Imagine, finally, after years away, having the, er, balls, to go back home to celebrate your dad’s birthday.
Imagine meeting your one-and-only true love on a Via train on the way back to your heritage site.
Imagine most of your relatives (some long-known, others married into the family during your “changes”) offering a wide variety of greetings.
Imagine varying degrees of love and acceptance from your kin, but not always from their significant (such a bad term) others.
Imagine still adoring the one you loved most (before the “changes”), loving her again but unable to find the sort of joy and rapture you both were seeking.
Imagine our MAGA Republican bent neighbours to the south never being able to understand a single word of this production.
As her/he Sam, Elliot Page readily carries this film on his slight shoulders. Hilary Baack’s Katherine will make one and all ignore some slight speech impediment disappear in favour of the content of her honest utterings.
The rest of the cast (notably Peter Outerbridge as Dad Jim), dutifully flit and float around the principals, leaving the rest of us who get this, wondering what all the fuss is about when courageous human beings hope to become who they really are.
Savage’s film ought to be required viewing for many of our American friends, but most of them will never understand the important subtext of this tale of one who risks all to truly become a human being. JWR