Oasis

"Oasis"

"In Here Life is Beautiful"

Amos Lassen

If you have been following my reviews, you know that I am a fan of director Jorge Ameer. One of the films I reviewed was hit and he has given me the honor of being the first person to write a review of his work. Naturally when he told me that his new film "Oasis" was being screened at Cannes, I became very anxious to see it. Now that I have done so, I want to share with you news of his romantic thriller set in gorgeous Panama. It is the story of two friends whose lives and worlds intersect as they embark on a journey of self-discovery as well as of each other as they visit some of the most beautiful places in the world that are located in the lush country of Panama. Visually, the movie is a feast for the eyes and I don't mean just the scenery.

While on business in Panama, Andrew (Matt Lynn) visits his friend Oliver (Cesar De Fuentes). Andrew had in his mind that Oliver was doing fine and is surprised to discover that this is not true. It seems that there is trouble and Andrew realizes that when he hear Oliver arguing with his wife, Constancia (Katia Semacaritt). The couple has a daughter but we learn that Oliver lives by appearances and is deeply in debt. When Andrew realizes the truth of his friend, he offers some relief by inviting him to go to some of the more exotic and tropical locales in Panama with the hope that the two men will be able to pick up where their friendship stopped before this trip. What we the learn is that Andrew, however, has his own problems and these problems are put to the test one nigh when a mysterious indigent tells Andrew that he can help him see the future.. Problems that one night are challenged when he meets a mysterious indigent who claims he can help Andrew see the future. I am not sure what Andrew was thinking but he bought the latest synthetic hallucinogenic street drug as a way to stop the indigent from stalking him. Soon, both men experience something sinister, as their curiosity for this drug changes the course of their trip and their lives.

A word of warning— it is very easy to surmise what is going to happen here if you paid attention to the way I thinly wrote about the plot. Do not make any suppositions because you will probably be wrong. It is important to know that Andrew and Oliver are from different social classes and this, of course, does affect them and it thereby affects the film as well.

"Oasis" as the title of the film is perfect in that it describes the beauty of Panama as well as the respite the two men find when they are away from it and exploring the country's beautiful places. It is the peace they find when they are together and not part of the mundane world around them. I can't say any more about the plot without giving something away but I can say something about Jorge Ameer's direction which is perfect. I have always been told that the sign of a fine director is when you do not feels his/her presence. Under Ameer's direction the story flows beautifully. Like I said before, the setting is magnificent and it is wonderfully captured. The actors are also excellent so prepare yourself for a film you will not soon forget. This is a film that deserves 5 GOLD STARS.

REVIEW: OASIS

My first exposure to Jorge Ameer's works was last Christmas Eve when my partner and I chanced upon his most recent movie, The Family Tree. Years ago, we decided to ditch watching the holiday classics like The Christmas Story, or It's a Wonderful Life as part of our Christmas eve film viewing tradition and instead focus on similarly themed LGBTQ films. In the early years of our new tradition, the pickings were slim, but now, fortunately, the halls are decked with many LGBTQ movies to choose from. Progress, I guess.

So, watching and reviewing OASIS, which Jorge Ameer made in 2017, I felt a bit of apprehension that I might maltreat this movie. That I might compare it to his latest The Family Tree and that it would come up short of the cinematic brilliance that Jorge's 2020 film has achieved for me. So I hemmed and hawed, gave myself all sorts of excuses not to watch Oasis yet, but eventually, the excuses run out. So cautious self-advice be damned, I'm going to the Oasis!

As the logline said, OASIS is about two friends who embark on a tropical expedition to bury their past. But if you know Jorge Ameer, the way I know him now, a "burial of the past" in his world is never just a mere act or ceremony of burying a past- done, over, let's move on. No. It's unearthing skeletons in the ground you just dug; it's digging up the future; it's discovering that Ameer, once more, set us up with a ticking time bomb that could explode in a second or could be disarmed with the flick of a master storyteller/editor's hand.

At the beginning of OASIS, we see Andrew (Matthew Lynn) arriving in Panama, where through a series of stunning shots of the city, we find out that Panama is much more than just a canal. It's breathtaking beaches, modern skyscrapers, and later in the film, lush tropical rainforests. Andrew is here on a business, but he has a more critical agenda on his pretty mind: to reconnect with his friend Oliver (Cesar de Fuentes), whom he last saw days before his own wedding, which Oliver did not attend on purpose.

When Andrew visits Carlos, he sees all sorts of troubles- financial, emotional, psychological, you name it- in his friend's married paradise and decides to take him away from his beautiful nagging wife to a resort for a weekend of chilling and bonding...and then some. Turns out, Andrew suffers from similar issues, so this weekend boding is really for them to heal, resolve, come to terms with their f-up lives. It helps that before they went on this trip, Andrew bought some synthetic hallucinogenic street drug called "Oasis" from a mysterious gypsy, played with gleeful abandon by Jorge Ameer himself!

"The burial of the past," as I've said earlier, turned out to be so much more than that. In this movie, everything life-changing happens as only Ameer can depict it-with whimsy, with humor, with nudity, violence, and, most of all, with the audacity of pushing the film's premise into a deep and daring burial ground.

I saw Jorge's journey as a filmmaker in this movie, and it's incredibly fascinating. I'm very, very interested in what Jorge Ameer's does next.

A very twisted story. Starts out like a travelogue but goes into a dark place towards the end. I didnt know they make movies in Panama,but after watching Oasis it makes me want to visit. Its now on my bucket list of places to visit. Cesar De Fuentes does a great job. Recommended.

This is a great movie! Interesting storyline. I watched it with pleasure! I recommend it to everyone!

I recommend the movie. The theme is about what a person can do to live by appearances. They live a superficial life and become obsessed with "what they will say" to such an extent that they become mentally disturbed. In the 21st century, our society is full of taboos that prevent us from being completely happy.