User Reviews

I'm not sure if I was supposed to believe the flashback towards the end or if it was something he wished had happened.

It is at least a well put together and contained story and not too badly acted either.

In New Zealand an Orthodox Jewish man named Jacob (Rudi Vodanovich) is mentored by an older man named Andrew (Alexander Campbell). Then Jacob discovers Andrew is gay and his obnoxious estranged lover Charles (Richard Lambeth) comes to visit. Things go out of control and Jacob soon discovers Andrew's true feelings for him.

Well-done short. It deals with the subject matter in a sensitive restrained manner. Also the acting is spot on. But the script falters in two spots--it makes Andrew into a saint and Charles into a complete jerk. They're TOO black and white for me to empathize...or believe. But Jacob is thoroughly believable and it's quite moving at the end. However it ends quite abruptly just when it looks like it was leading up to something. Stil this is well-done and worth catching.

The quality of the acting, direction, editing, cinematography and audio are all very good. This film presents an inter-generational relationship which isn't viewed as scandalous, nor should it be. Both these men are above the age of consent and they know what they're doing. In fact they share a similar age difference to Sir Ian McKellen and his NZ partner (and nobody batted an eyelid).

This week I heard a New Zealand radio interview the film maker Christopher Banks in which he criticises "Brokeback Mountain" for having a tragic end for one of the characters, when "Communication" both opens and closes with tragedy. However the two films share the fact that lovers must learn to survive loss and live on.

I've yet to see a Jewish themed gay related film in which the lovers are both happy and alive at film's end. Death and depression are too often the dominant themes at LGBT film festivals and in a proportion well out of kilter with reality.

"Communication" ends on a hopeful note - but so did "Brokeback Mountain". In my opinion Annie Proulx's story and Ang Lee's film are equally magnificent and passionate classic works of art. "Communication" is not in that league, not by a long shot, but I can well understand why it is receiving praise and awards at LGBT festivals and the film makers deserve to be very proud of it.