Post a response:
|
I just watched For a Lost Soldier. Overall, I thought it was a good movie. The romance between Walt and Jeroen was, on the whole, pretty touching. The language barrier makes the development of their relationship feel a bit clunky and, in my opinion, makes it harder for the viewer to get invested. It's kind of hard to depict the development of a meaningful relationship on screen if the two characters don't understand what each other are saying most of the time (although, one could say that it adds to the charm of the movie that their love transcends the language barrier). The ending was a bit confusing to me (how was old Jeroen only seeing the picture of Walt's dog tag for the first time? wouldn't he have already had it? if not, who had the picture between the "flashback" events of the movie and the present?), and of course, the part where Walt leaves without telling Jeroen is sad, but for the most part, I liked the film. But, my question is, did anyone else feel like the sex scene between Walt and Jeroen was too forceful and not very consensual? Walt is the one taking all the initiative, and Jeroen is just lying there on the bed with a neutral expression, letting him do it. And when Walt (it is implied) penetrates him, he grimaces, and he doesn't appear to be enjoying it at all. None of the reviews I see seem to address this: from Wikipedia, Despite its controversial themes, Kerbosch said that the film was broadly accepted. "In Holland, audiences just took it as a love story," he said. "And that's also what happened in New York, because it's a love story, a beautiful and romantic one at that." Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the film's "refusal to load the story with contemporary psychological and social baggage" ... He added that the film does not insinuate Walt was responsible for harming Jeroen or had abused Jeroen While Desmond Ryan of The Philadelphia Inquirer called the film "an acutely observed portrait of adolescent yearning", The North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a pedophilia advocacy organization, praised the film, focusing on the relationship between the adult and child. "We see man and boy kissing, stripping naked, showering, climbing under the covers. There is one long, lovingly photographed close-up of the boy's face as the soldier, lying upon him, penetrates him anally. All of this is handled in perfect taste I feel like it's a little odd to completely disregard the fact that the one time we see Walt and Jeroen having sex, it appears to be an uncomfortable and painful experience for Jeroen, and Walt has sex with him anyway without regard for how he's feeling. The fact that this happens seems to detract from the "wholesomeness" and "romance" of the movie. What are your thoughts? Was it kind of shitty for Walt to have sex with Jeroen like he did? Or was it a tastefully handled, tender, romantic moment between two partners who love each other? Also, P.S., hot boy. As the youngsters say these days, would. :P |