Se Renta

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.

Another superior gay-themed movie from Eytan Fox, the Israeli director of Cupcakes and Yossi and Jagger, among others. It's a simple, but well-observed story about a moment between two gay men from different cultures and different generations. Best of all, it's a showcase for the talents of John Benjamin Hickey, excellent in so many US TV series, from The Big C to Manhattan. It's nice to see him as the leading man. And he's well-matched by Niv Nissem, a young actor with the looks and charisma to make his character, who pretty much embodies the arrogance of youth, attractive. Sublet is also a pretty good snapshot of Tel Aviv, and of Israeli youth. I particularly liked Daria, the would- be dancer who decides she's going to rebel by being completely selfish. Worth the effort if you're in the mood for an intelligent, gentle, quietly moving movie.

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.

A Jewish-American travel writer returns to Tel-Aviv for the 1st time as an adult. He is staying for 5 days, intending to write an article about non-tourist Tel-Aviv. He sublets an apartment rather than stay in a hotel, where the occupant, a pansexual, commitment-free university student of film studies, is planning on couch-surfing with friends for the duration. The writer ends up hiring the student to show him his world, while dealing with a disagreement with his husband back home.

There is an interesting view of what actual student life might be like, with glimpses of the cultural viewpoints of young Israelis, especially in contrast with older Americans - e.g. the writer is appalled that young artists are interested in hip Berlin as a career destination. There are also interesting reflections of what others see of you.

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.