Children of God

The characters in this film are all one-dimensional. They are divided into hateful bigots and joyous but equally obnoxious life force characters. And they constantly make speeches at each other. The only exception is the artist hero who is monosyllabic and apparently brain dead (only because he's repressed). Of course, he is redeemed in the end by the joyous life force guy. Why can't people in gay film fest pictures speak and act like real people? Everyone in this toothache of a cookie cutter gay film fest feature acts like he's on stage. How anybody could confuse this affliction with a good movie beats me. Only for the least discriminating of gay film fest attendees. Its IMDb may have something to do with the director's friends and relatives who seem to be legion.

In spite of the tremendous advances in gay rights in many countries in recent years, homophobia is actually intensifying in many place. While first and foremost a beautiful and tender personal drama, Children of God is also a study of anti-gay intolerance in the Bahamas.

The main story is about Johnny, a gay art student who's so broken that he can no longer express his feelings on canvas, can't defend himself even verbally, and can't even touch another human being. Faced with losing his art scholarship, his teacher directs him to spend a few days on the island of Eleuthera to reconnect with nature, and hopefully his own artistic spirit. There he meets the aptly-named Romeo, who helps him to discover hope, trust, and love.

The second-most prominent story, which lightly touches Johnny's, is that of Ralph and his family. Ralph is a vehemently anti-gay preacher with a secret, driven to stage anti-gay rallies. Lena, his wife, learns she has acquired an STD from him. When she tries to find out what he's done, he turns on her, and to cope, she buries herself even more deeply in his "Save the Bahamas" campaign, hoping to find solace in certainty. In turn, she unwittingly bullies her young son, who becomes afraid that he might be go to hell if he does something "sissy."

Children of God isn't perfect. Some of the meetings toward the end seem somewhat forced, and religious dialogue, always difficult to handle well, doesn't sound quite as natural as it did in, say, Wise Kids. And some of Johnny's quirks seem implausible; how can you have sex if you're afraid to shake hands? The most serious flaw is a character named Purple who has no development. The movie would be improved omitting him and rewriting the ending.

Yet for all this, it's a very good film. If you don't need Hollywood CGI explosions, and can enjoy small stories of the heart, you'll enjoy Children of God.

The Good; Lead actor is cute. A refection of how homophobia is alive in the Caribbean and fueled by religious hypocrisy. The Bad; The lead actor is obviously not gay and uses that to show a character who has so many odd personal issues. But all of his issues are inconsistent, ironic and for that cause very unrealistic in his bi-polar behavior (one minute he is timid and the next he is outspoken). Film starts with a white boy who is not privileged (and expressively so), from school situation to housing and the next he has a car and money to get around a pay a tour guide. Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The conclusion was a cop out that lacked creativity and imagination.

I can understand a film being rushed for budget purposes, but time should be taken to rewrite and put a story together as a package before filming and not be a bunch of conflicting scenarios just to make a point. Did anyone bother to read and try to make sense of the whole script before committing to it?

Ooooh i so enjoyed this movie. Everything about it was wonderful. Love the actors, black and white. Love the melancholy in everything you see. Love the beautiful scenery of the Bahamas's and really loved the music in the back. This movie has so many dimensions. It is a love story but it is also a statement that shows that homophobia is harmfull for the people we love and that gay people are everywhere.

Being gay i could really relate to Johnny because i now how it feels to be left out. So that performance was really convincing. The role of Romeo was also pretty convincing. I've learned that there are gay people acting like they are straight around others but when you are alone with them they hit on you.

The only thing i hate in gay movies overall is that the gay character always dies in the end. That is so cliché and it spoiled the fun.... a bit. Because all the other things are sublime i forgive the director for this bit.

Overall it is a very good movie and one of my recent favourite gay flicks. I would certainly recommend it to anybody who loves a gay romance movie or people who need to open their minds about the gay topic. Well done!!!!!

I'd read reviews elsewhere that were mostly high in praise of this movie, so I ordered it. I really liked the Bahamian life shown as it is away from the casinos and cruise ship areas. The acting was good, especially by the two leading guys, Johnny Ferro and Stephen Tyrone Williams. There is a great progression of self-understanding in short order. Photography and filming was very good, including beautiful scenery. Editing was good too, with excellent continuity. The music was a treat. It seemed to also be Bahamian. I'll be looking for more from these actors and director. I definitely recommend this movie and am glad to own a copy.