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AN ADULT TRAGEDY OF SHAKESPEAREAN PORPORTIONS

DEWEY MEE | ELLENSBURG, WA, | 01/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In a DVD interview, director Casper Andreas says, "It is not all good times being in a relationship." He says he wanted to explore what happens when the passionate love you thought would last forever does not, and the love goes away. I understand his point and, I think I view this film differently than those reviewers here who clearly hate it. I've often said, "A relationship is always wonderful until it isn't anymore." A friend of mine says, "the opposite of love is not hate. Hate is merely love standing on its head. The opposite of love is indifference." One thing is certain; lovers Kyle and Marcel (Simon Miller and Justin Tensen) are never indifferent to each other. Andreas captures this complex dynamic, and how we often love and hurt each other simultaneously; with pinpoint, often heartbreaking, accuracy.

French Marcel marries his lesbian friend Sarah (Jane Elliott) so he can stay in New York City with Kyle. Marcel and Kyle move in together, while Sarah gets Marcel's old apartment down the hall. This imperfect, but satisfactory, arrangement is thrown off balance by the arrival of Kyle's trangendered sibling April/Cole (Rob Harmon), who comes with endless emotional issues and baggage.

This independent drama was, astonishingly, shot in seventeen days; primarily in an abandoned New York City apartment building. I think the condition of the apartment building serves as the perfect metaphor for the crumbling relationships within.

Essentially, we watch Kyle and Marcel's relationship disintigrate; which is extremely painful to watch (this may be why many viewers find the film disturbing and even distasteful). Kyle and Marcel are torn apart by forces from within (both admit to one-night stands with strangers) and from without (April/Cole is an extremely toxic person who exacerbates the vulnerablities in Kyle and Marcel's relationship in order to break them up).

I know many reviewers hate this film, based on the low ratings, and I am in the minority. I don't believe this movie gives gay cinema or gay characters a bad name. Heterosexuals often display the same behaviors and have the same tragic things happen to them. Think of this as a "relationship movie." I can tell you that watching this movie, I felt like some painful wounds inside me were being ripped open. The whole movie rang sadly true and honest to me. I could not stop crying. The drama often reaches near operatic heights. The climax is a disturbing scene of domestic violence; while the conclusion, I think, makes the entire movie a tragedy of Shakespearean porportions. I highly recommend this adult drama, but not without a box of kleenex."

Weird Movie but great soundtrack

Pyramus James | Brooklyn, NY | 09/22/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most people will lose complete sight of the purpose of the movie due to the complex way it was presented. But the soundtrack is great"

Between Love and Goodbye (2008)

Elisa | Italy | 07/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Between Love & Goodbye is a romance on reverse: instead of tell you the story of two men falling in love, it tells you the story of two men who do everything to destroy that love. At the beginning I was all for Marcel, I found that Kyle was immature and easily misled by wrong friends and co. But then I realized that Kyle is only really young and that Marcel, apparently the perfect and good boyfriend, has some ego of his own, and he is not probably the right person to understand and bring back on track someone like Kyle. So there is no right or wrong side on this couple both of them are equally guilty for what it's falling on them.



Side note: again one of my favorite models, this time Matthew Ludwinski, has a small role... I'm happy for him, I was wondering what it was of him after his Milan period."

My film review

G. C. Johnson | Minnesota | 12/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The film was quite well done; however, I was disappointed with the ending as there was no follow-up as what happened after the break-up."