Funny Boy

You like it or hate it... the director is an international fame and loved her other works esp Water which was also nominated for Oscar ....this movie is based on a book by Shyam Selvadurai.. it is a coming-of-age story of a boy in 1970s Sri Lanka amidst uprisings, tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese, ethnic riots... although, author stated that it is not really his biography but it does appear as his personal narrative when I read about him.. but disappointed with the middle-of-the-road and 1980s style direction, performances are average too... a multitask watch...

I am so happy and pleased and proud to see a movie like this filmed in Sri Lanka and on Netflix!!! I hope this film starts conversations and I hope and pray for that change and justice come to the LGBT community in Sri Lanka. I hate racism and homophobia so much.

I want to deal with one of the criticisms of the film right away. I do not speak any of the languages of the sub continent at all and wouldn't recognise the difference between Sinhalese or Tamil to save my life. Therefore the poor-quality spoken dialogue from the non-Tamil actors playing members of that ethnic group was something I obviously never picked up on. OK, I'd be furious if I was watching a German film and, say, Swedish people were speaking poor German and pretending to be that nationality. But as I was in no position to pick up on this here, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film.

I always enjoy films that combine personal dramas and stories with sweeping political and societal events. Here we had them all in spades. Family dynamics, prejudices in both the domestic sphere and the national arena, differing viewpoints on how to deal with inter-community strife.

Within a country whose idyllic existence is slowly being rent apart by ethnic tensions, a wealthy family lives these problems in microcosm. The plot outline on IMDB contains many spoilers but I am not going to be so crass. The film concentrates on two periods, first of all in 1974 when Arjie is a child interested in dressing up as a girl with a protective auntie encouraging him and his parents attempting to get him to "man up". We see the prejudices that occurred even then between Sinhalese and Tamils. And Aunty Radha forced to depart for Canada because of them.

Then we follow Arjie in his teenage years when prejudice is turning into hatred between communities. He is caught up in this in both his love life and with his family whose patriarch wrongly thought their position in society would protect them.

It's a part of history I knew about, but not in detail. I have looked it up since and can see that, although there is not a clear political context in the film, the major issues and events seem to be true. I was mesmerised throughout and fascinated by both the wider and the personal stories. I'm so glad I saw this film.

Prolific Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's latest achievement is a tender coming of age gay story with a strong political backdrop. Set in late 70's-early 80's it depicts the horrors of racial prejudice against members of a Tamil community in the awakening of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The narrative focuses on the development and sexual arise of a young boy, who since his early ages demonstrates his interest in the feminine universe, as well as a courageous expressiveness of his true personality. As a kid he battled bullying in school and prejudice at home, while his parents are engaged in the political conflicts; as a young man he discovered the fascination of American/British pop culture, while developing his first romance with a lonely richer boy; As the crisis intensifies and most of his community are threatened and attacked, they plan a escape to Canada, interfering somehow in the boy's sudden process of figuring out his identity and place in the world. The director unveils social, political, gender and cultural issues seen through Arjie's boyhood and varied experiences with a world he doesn't belong to. It's only at the moments of intimacy and entertainment provided by his encounters with his boyfriend, and the acceptance found on his aunt's approach that bring him a sense of ease. Canada's Official entry for the Best International Film at the 2021 Oscars, Mehta composes an affecting, lively and free-spirited, historically accurate and family-friendly LGBTQ tale.

Many aspects of this film are fascinating, like the scenery and location shots. Cannot speak to the 'Tamil' voice/accent issue which is of concern to many. I did read that there has been a lot of voice dubbing which would explain why, at times, the spoken English(unsubtitled) is difficult to understand. The meat market scene is presented without appropriate context. I found the scenes where the main character was jumped back and forth in age to be annoying rather that developmental. However, the film does seem to capture well the trauma of being caught up in ethnic/religious disputes.