Oranges

This short Australian film depicts with warmth and without pretension the awkwardness of two teenagers starting to recognise and explore their homosexuality.

It was refreshing to see two actors cast who were the right age for these roles and who showed no reluctance to share a kiss on screen. Many older actors/actresses of whatever sexuality could take a lesson from these two.

The final image of the film which relates to the title and storyline has a beauty and simplicity that surprises and lingers.

I saw this film as part of the Pink Filmdays in Amsterdam, and it received a very warm reception, compared to many other higher budget, overstylised and less sincere offerings.

its simplicity is the basic detail. and the poetry of small gestures. and the kind of reference to madeleine of Proust. but the element who gives coherence to the story is the spirit of age. it gives coherence and credibility to a small story of two boys looking to impress or under the fascination of kiss. and the most important moment has the great virtue to remind many memories from the viewer past. the kiss, its taste, the last scene , when the bitter meeting is covered in the taste of orange , are the ingredients of a powerful story about meanings and truth and force of revelation to change everything. so, a lovely short film. touching, tender, fragile, more than realistic.

We all have "un-glamorous but utterly authentic" scenes from our childhood. We never forget them, like little gems we've tucked up our sleeves. Throughout our adult lives, we occasionally take one out and ponder it -- an inscrutable mystery.

Yet, next to the "glamorous" content found in the onslaught of movies served up to us year after year, decade after decade, our own gems appear dull, embarrassing, and worst of all, shamefully true. We quickly tuck the gems up our sleeves, hoping no one saw us think about them.

"Take out the gems! This is where your life happens!" yells this movie -- with a smile. "This is where you got brave! This is where you dared to show yourself, to share yourself! To embrace vulnerability with another! This is where you tasted your first orange! Do you remember whose lips it was on? Can you taste it even now?"