Sublet

I was immediately drawn to this movie for two main reasons. 1. It has John Benjamin Hickey, who I recently became familiar with from Mapplethorpe (knowing an actor in a low budget gay movie means a lot), and 2. It focuses on an older guy (I'm exclusively interested in intergenerational relationships, and I'm a little burnt out on gay films with high schoolers).

Is it good? For the most part, yes. JBH is a good casting choice, I correctly predicted a lot about his character just by observing him. The rest of the cast is good too, and the direction is solid. I'm used to watching tons of micro budget gay films, so simply having decent acting and a director who knows how to work a camera places this towards the top.

The story might not be for everyone. It is deliberately paced, and there's not much drama. You spend most of the film getting to know the two leads, what makes them different, and what makes them connect. The tone is mostly light and fun except for one scene in particular, so it makes for a decent film to put on if you don't want to get too depressed. There's not really any homophobic bullying or violence, which that alone makes it stand out from most of the gay cinema I've experienced.

Overall, I liked pretty much everything about it, especially the characters. I don't know if it makes my top 10 gay films, but it's certainly close. If it interests you, I'd highly recommend it.

It's a low-key drama film with a warming performance from the always splendid John Benjamin Hickey. It's offers nothing new actually. Been done before. Yet still able to deliver some charms. Besides any Eytan Fox film is always a fine little treat.

There may not be much happening in the story, but it draws you in very much. There is subtlety in emotions, making it a film to feel.

Sublet (2020) was co-written and directed by Eytan Fox.

John Benjamin Hickey plays Michael, a middle-aged travel writer for the New York Times. Michael visits Tel Aviv as part of his work.

He sublets an apartment from Tomer (Niv Nissim). Michael invites Tomer to stay in the apartment, and Tomer becomes his guide to the real Tel Aviv.

Michael is gay. Tomer is young and bisexual. The plot revolves around whether their friendship will turn to intimacy.

I enjoyed this film. The actors are excellent, and I learned more about non-tourist Tel Aviv.

We saw this movie virtually as part of the always outstanding Rochester Jewish Film Festival. The movie has a tepid IMDb rating of 6.9. I thought that it was better than that, and rated it 8.

Beautifully written, funny, charming and moving at the same time, this movie is a little gem that had me smiling all the way through and that even brought a tear to my face. I was surprisingly happy by how the story developed and how great and dynamic the chemistry between the two main characters was (Tomer's character is very well thought through). The finale was touching and clearly showed the movie's overall efforts of bringing two generations closer. A must watch!