Sublet (2020 | USA | 89 minutes | Eytan Fox)

Michael, a successful travel writer, who is surprisingly uptight considering his vocation, has flown to Tel Aviv for five days to experience the city as a local (or at least attempt to). Subletting an apartment from Tomer, a struggling film student, he is forced to let in the world and all its uncertainty while struggling with the concepts of love, family, sexuality and his past. Tomer offers a young man’s view of being human and loving people for all that they are and all that they could be, no apologies.

When I delve into film festivals that are specialized like SJFF (Seattle Jewish Film Festival), I wonder how many films will make that difficult leap from a film about being Jewish or about Judaism to being about the life of a human who happens to be Jewish. Sublet not only makes that leap gracefully but also tells the story of a gay man without defining him by it or making that the point of his journey.

The director bathes you in discomfort in more than one scene, not only to bring you into the story but to put you in Michael’s shoes as he finds discomfort in so many moments throughout his stay even as he finds joy in them. It really was a treat to watch the relationship between these two men unfold and I would watch it again without hesitation.

Subjet is showing 5/5 – 5/8 at SJFF via individual ticket sales or festival passes. It is set for wider release in June 2021.