#its the most ill ever get after the romance scene 🥲

[friedrnilk]

like omg power couple things. just give me a whole game of this

[denimbex1986]

'A few days after the marriage equality bill was passed, Andrew Haigh's 'All of Us Strangers' started making its rounds again on social media, since it arrived (just in time, one would say) in Greek theatres. The film, which was one of the last screenings at the "Premiere Nights" held at the IDEAL cinema, is now also being screened at Cinobo Opera and belongs to the fantasy romance genre . Between us, there is so much more.

I won't lie. When I found out it was a fantasy romance, I had no idea that I would end up with tears in my eyes and so emotionally charged. Haigh's magical realism beautifully embraces the central theme and opens up a huge conversation about queer identity. As Christos Politis (aka Christos doesn't live here anymore) said on LIFO's 'The Review' podcast: “I wanted to see a queer film but luckily I didn't just see a queer film. If I had to put it somewhere, I would definitely put it very high on the lists of the best queer films ever made […] Combined, it blew me to pieces.”

Same Christos, same 🥲

When the broken fire alarm goes off, Adam (Andrew Scott) , a lonely screenwriter, descends on the entrance of the apartment building. Looking up at the other apartments, he sees only one has light: Harry's (Paul Mescal) . He shows up drunk at his door and jokingly says "should I come in?", to which Adam replies "no" (seriously, who would throw a package at Paul Mescal?!). From there begins a strange, sad and bittersweet journey of self-discovery and exploration.

Everyone's performances (well, 4 people were all) had something unreal: You could understand everything from their eyes! With the feeling of loneliness overwhelming every frame of the film, Andrew Scott was the personification of a tragic character; the viewer knows everything, but the protagonist discovers it along the way. On the other hand, Paul Mescal brought an air of melancholy as Harry, portraying a young man both full of love and sadness.

' All of Us Strangers ' explores queer sexuality, both from the protagonists' conversations and from a parent's perspective. First spoiler: ours turns out to be little delulu as he sees the ghosts of his parents when he visits the house where he grew up. Based on this, he begins to reminisce about his childhood with the help of his parents, in the style: "Do you remember when...". We've all experienced it with our own parents and we've all stopped them from saying it. This movie, however, made me want to listen to it again.

One of the many conversations he decides to have with his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) is that of coming out . Being almost 50, Adam has relatively recently discovered and embraced this side of himself. So when he decides to talk to his parents, he does it piecemeal: first to his mother and then to his father. Somewhat stereotypically (although the percentages also speak), mothers tend to accept their child's "difference" more easily than fathers. The punch that this film has in store for us, however, is the immediate acceptance of the father.

In an incredibly touching scene, Jamie Bell apologizes to his cinematic son for not protecting him from bullying at school, culminating in a hug. But in the reflection of the mirror behind them, we see the father embracing a younger version of the son - when he needed him most.

Adam's conversation with his mother is a great parallel to the conversation with older generations. We see her fearing the outcry, talking about illness and lonely life, expressing prejudices that have been cultivated in the way of thinking of many older people. In other words, a man can be lonely, as long as he is straight. In this case, it's typical. But if someone is homosexual, then this is the cause of his loneliness.

The discussion in question:

Adam: “Men can get married. And the women."

Mom: "What, between them?"

Oh yes"

M: "Why?"

A: "What do you mean why?"

M: “Isn't it like you want it all to yourself? Do you want to get married and have children?'

A: “I don't know. It wasn't possible for so many years that I thought it wasn't worth trying to get married and have children."

That sentence hurt 🥲

Overall, the whole movie is a trip down memory lane. With every flashback of Adam, I find myself in my father's house, with all the beautiful memories. It is still a heartbreaking story that belongs to the spectrum of the fantastic, but it makes you feel very familiar. Perhaps one of the best films of '24.

PS: And a fan fact: The house where the scenes with Adam and his parents were filmed is actually the real house where the director of the movie grew up!

Tissues, sweet and good viewing 🥲'