A Moment in the Reeds

To be honest, I was slightly uncomfortable watching this - I felt as if I were intruding on something intimate and private! It's a gentle, enveloping, tale of two men who are working on a dilapidated Finnish summer house. The father of one of the men has to, frequently, leave them to their travails and slowly the two bond. Janne Puustinen is "Leevi", who is studying literature in Paris but has come back for a holiday to help his father restore their property so they can sell it; Boodi Kabbani is "Tareq" - is a Syrian refugee who is engaged as handyman. Their developing relationship is sincere and affectionate - sure, there is passion, but that's not really a focal point of the story. Both characters have baggage, and occasionally the appearance of the father "Jouko" (Mika Melender) serves to focus that. It is erotic, but in a seductive rather than rampant fashion and the beautiful lakeland scenery lends much to the intensity of this love story. I found it to be well paced - it is slow, but not laboured, and there is certainly a chemistry between the two men that makes this a thoroughly engaging film to watch.

This had so much wasted potential, it could have told an interesting story, but instead you sit through 20 minutes of home repairs, then long talks on unrelated topics, so disappointing.