Program 21: A Moment In The Reeds

Directed by Mikko Makela

ASL Interpreted, Subtitled, Narrative Feature, Monday, Oct. 8 / Finland, UK / 2017 / 104 mins / English, Finnish with some English subtitles / New York State Premiere

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Program 21: A Moment In The Reeds

Little Theatre 1
October 8, 2018 8:45 pm Buy Tickets

Description

This program will be ASL interpreted.

Returning home to Finland after studying literature at grad school in Paris, Leevi finds himself back in a country he was more than happy to leave behind. But he’s agreed to help with renovations on his family’s lakeside cottage before his father Juoko (Mika Melender) prepares to sell it. Knowing Leevi’s not much for manual labor, his father has taken the liberty of hiring some additional help.

Enter beautiful, bearded Tareq (Boodi Kabbani), a Syrian refugee who’s taking odd jobs to earn some money, learn the language, and get a sense of the country he now calls home. An architect by trade, the soft-spoken Tareq doesn’t speak a word of Finnish, which gets him off to a rough start with Juoko. But he and Leevi find they get along quite easily.

When Juoko has to leave on business temporarily, the two younger men are left to their own devices, occupying themselves by drinking beer, listening to music, and enjoying the cottage’s sauna. And as inevitably happens in these situations, nature takes its course.

Taking full advantage of time alone, the two men have plenty of steamy (in every sense of the word) sex and enjoy the natural beauty of their surroundings. Afterward, they talk through the night and learn about one another – about the life Leevi has made for himself in Paris, and about Tareq’s family back in Syria and his apprehension about them joining him. Eventually Juoko returns and work on the cottage must resume, though Leevi and Tareq find ways to sneak in makeout sessions at every opportunity. The emotional and physical intimacy between them only grows and – knowing the job won’t last forever – the men must eventually decide what the future holds for them.

With a beautiful sense of naturalism and a combustible chemistry between its leads, A Moment in the Reeds is an achingly romantic story about sharing a true connection with another person, and learning to appreciate your time together, no matter how fleeting the moment may be.

— Adam Lubitow

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