Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Catangro
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Derrick Gibbons
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Bene Cumb
Joint headwords "gay", "Islam", "Arabs in Israel" are already so versatile and involving so much controversy that, based on them, one can expect a creation full of hatred, resentment and violence and with taking sides. But differently, Out in the Dark is a film dedicated to high human values (love, trust, friendship, loyalty), and the background and headwords mentioned are only the means to express them. Thus, the result is a pleasant, not strictly a gay film, with love pleasantly depicted, without domination of lust or gay clubbing, with political and social issues present, but without black-and-white approach or appeals to end the situation present in Israel by any means. Both the leading performers - Nicholas Jacob, Michael Aloni - do a great job, and the ambiguous ending let the viewers nicely ponder on and over the main topics of the film.Thus, Out in the Dark - with so relevant title - is a fine opportunity to become acquainted with modern Israeli cinema.
Jani Ahonen
When I began watching this movie I didn't know anything about the story, I just knew it was a gay themed film. I will say that I have seen a great number of gay themed films so my only reference in this genre isn't the classic Brokeback Mountain everyone always praises about (which in my opinion is barely an average gay themed film, there are much better films out there that are less known). Out in the Dark belongs now to my Top 5 gay themed films and here are the reasons. This film represents the reality and how gay people are seen and treated in Palestine/Israel. If you thought that in western culture being accepted as a gay person was a difficult process, it is million times harder if you happen to born in Palestine. This film isn't trying to be "the best film of the year" nor it doesn't have the most "intelligent" storyline, but it is about showing how things can differ from our (western) way of experiencing and seeing things. Out in the Dark takes the viewer to a trip to the streets of Palestine/Israel and shows those moments most Hollywood screenwriters would not add to the screenplay since they are not what the "screenwriting manual" tells you to write. This is also what makes this film so appealing; you are following a journey of a person as it happens, aka "live", without any editing tricks or plot twists taking place all over the film. During the film I was constantly thinking how this could end and if the film can retain that level of intensity during the whole film, it means the film is well-made. At the end Out in the Dark is a film about love and how strong love can be between two people regardless of their sex. The ending will certainly divide people whether they like it or not, but I would have personally loved to see more, but I will not tell more since I would otherwise spoil it for you.Out in the Dark shouldn't really be compared to films like Brokeback Mountain since this has a completely different narrative mindset as a film. Brokeback Mountain is a classic Hollywood polished love story just made with well-known actors and a director, but I personally feel that Brokeback Mountain gets praised more than it should. Films like Shelter (2007) and Just a Question of Love (2000) are million times better than Brokeback Mountain and I would recommend them anytime for anyone who wishes to see a well-done gay themed film. Even though by itself Out in the Dark isn't in my opinion as good as these two I just mentioned, it is still best gay themed film when it comes to this type of films; films which represent reality as it appears in a current day. Brokeback mountain is simply a reality sugared with all possible drama elements when in Out in the Dark the main thing is not to go through the "beginning, middle and end", it's the part of the journey one person must take to survive.
vauxtc
I thought this was a powerful and heartbreaking film. Powerful because of the dramatic storyline and the performances of all the leads and heartbreaking because of the tragic situations which exist in the Middle East where for some just existing is a struggle and being gay is life threatening. And once again government abuse is rife through the Israeli security service behaviour or through the behaviour of the self appointed thugs on the Palestinian side. The script was strong with believable dialogue. And the film interestingly doesn't take sides. The ending left the possibility of a sequel which I gather is a real possibility.
zzbigniew
"Out in the Dark" left me astounded that the director could have thought that in this he treated his theme thoroughly. The script is replete with clichés, the plot is vapid, the dialogue is shallow and anything but believable, and worst of all - the actors seemed to have been meticulously guided to portray their characters in the most detached and mechanical manner possible. Not one utterance, smile, tear, or touch got through to my heart. Even the physically intimate scenes between the protagonists, who have supposedly fallen in love against very strong odds, a love that must tackle the extreme taboos, left me cold. The subject matter - love across social and political borders - was left as the trailer's unfulfilled promise, as though it is possible to represent matters of the heart by just going through the moves, while forgetting to bring your soul along. The only thing done write in this film is the atmospheric photography, especially in urban landscape takes.
