Parallel Sons (1995)

An intelligent and haunting depiction of sexual passion and the interplay between desire and identification, John G. Young`s first feature is a festival favorite that`s been three years waiting for a release. Set in a redneck, upstate town, it`s about a white teenager who`s totally black-identified - does his blond hair in dreads, plays hip-hop, makes the Autobiography of Malcolm X his bible - although he`s never met a black person. His life takes a turn when he falls in love with Knowledge, a young black man who`s been wounded escaping from prison.

Color-Blind Love

"Parallel Sons"

Color-Blind Love

Amos Lassen

Not many gay films have black actors in leading roles and to finally have a good film that does is almost reason to rejoice. "Parallel Sons; is the story of Seth, a youth with artistic leanings and a fascination with Black pop culture, living in a village in the Adirondack Mountains. He has a friend, Kristin with whom he alternates sensitivity and brutality. One night late as he is closing the café where he works, a young Black tries to rob him at gun point but faints from some kind of illness. Seth takes the man whose name is Knowledge and is a prison escapee, to a family cabin where he takes care of him. An intensive friendship develops between the two. When the sheriff discovers that Seth is harboring a criminal there is a confrontation.
The plot is like an old-fashioned fairy tale but unlike a fairy tale, there is an authenticity to the characters and to the town. There is an overriding feeling of depression, despair and alienation. It is an old-fashioned story with a modern sensibility and the gay biracial twist to the story plays only a secondary role to the feelings and emotions portrayed.
The parallels in the two men's lives are based on several fundamental issues--growing up gay in a hostile society, racism, firearms, adolescent independence. When the appearance of a Black criminal shatters the town's calm appearance, things begin to happen. The criminal had escaped from the state mental hospital and he gives Seth an outlet for his deepest yearnings. Knowledge's escape brings the two together in both a cultural and sexual bonding.
When the movie ended I heard nothing but silence because the movie struck so hard. The movie is a year ahead of its time as it deals with important issues in a very natural way. The film is full of ideas for thought. Gabriel Mann as Seth gives an amazing performance and Laurence Mason as Knowledge is powerful. It is the acting that allows the film to be so understated. The supporting cast is also excellent as the film moves toward an ending that devastates.
The themes of the film are handled with great subtlety. The primary message seems to be that the consequences of homophobia are tremendous harm and the meaning in the film is not lost on the viewer.
May 12, 2008

Unrealistic

I bought this title because of some good reviews on Amazon, but found it generally contrived and hard to take seriously. The production values were decent and the setting was quite beautiful, but the direction was lacking and the characters were very underdeveloped. I really had to stretch myself to not see most of the characters as cliches or unknowns. I'd have to be really bored to watch it again. April 9, 2007

Exceptional in places, shaky in others

This is an interesting and somewhat fresh look at race and gay love done with some flair and ambition. The casting and editing are pretty good and this is a stong effort overall.

However, I can't get past the story that claims that a young boy, white but mostly Black-identified, falls in love with a convict, prison-escapee Black man, who falls in love with him. Now I'm a romantic, but it was real hard for me to believe, and this film does nothing to make it seem real. (We are expected to accept that with one look, the white boy falls headlong in love with the Black man and will risk everything for him.)

Add to that this nagging feeling that the film-maker wants to make a film crossing the gay race lines, but that it backfires, in my mind, because the white boy only loves the Black man because he's Black. (At least we're given no evidence to the contrary.) So, the racism that the film might be trying to combat is actually ever present in the film.

Overall, it's original, covers some delicate ground, and moves along well. It's worth seeing to decide how you feel about it, but I can't really give it a recommendation. December 28, 2006

A Sweet but Tragic Story

Seth Carlson (Gabriel Mann) is 20, attractive and bored with his life in what appears to be upstate New York. Living with his younger sister and father-- his mother has died of cancer-- and working in a dead end job at a local restaurant, he longs to escape this life and move to New York City to study art. And he loves all things African American; he has blond dreadlocks and listens to rap music although he has never known a black person. Then he befriends a young African American male named Knowlege (Laurence Mason) who has escaped from prison and is bleeding from a bullet wound.

Some of the events in this movie are predictable. We understand certainly that the citizens of this small town will not ask whether this young black man is guilty or not and will rush to judgment. And certainly they will not tolerate the friendship between these two men, let alone a love affair.

Messers Mason and Mann give understated moving performances as these two young men caught in a trap for which there will be no happy ending.

Once again the small independent movies are way ahead of what Hollywood turns out on sensitive subjects. December 22, 2006

great film but worst dvd transfer ever!

this is a great film , a very important film and the other reviews are very accurate....

HOWEVER the quality of the film transfer to DVD is abysmal, apart from being non-anamorphic,(if STRAND is charging top dollar we should at least get a higher definition anamorpic transfer for the money) this dvd looks like a 3rd generation bootleg remastered on somebodys home computer, unbelievable amounts of video noise, over enhancement , blocking and anything that is vertical in an image has double imaging. trees and grass look like one of those old 3D movies looked when you werent wearing the Glasses.In my opinion it is the single worst image quality ever presented on DVD.... shame on you STRAND releasing for doing such a great disservice to this amazing film June 16, 2006

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