Make it a Double Feature: ‘Breaking Fast’ and ‘Flee’
When it comes to the permeating topic of art and politics and how both are inseparable, that conflation is especially apparent when it comes to queer art. Whether it’s a story capturing a brutal period in time to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself or a harmonious story meant to humanize the queer community, every story about the LGBTQ+ experience is some form of an activist statement.
In the spirit of Pride Month, I’ve chosen Breaking Fast and Flee, two pictures centering on the queer Arab experience that are distinct yet collectively highlight how having more diversity within LGBTQ+ media only strengthens such storytelling.
The former film, an underrated rom-com written and directed by Mike Mosallam, follows the life of Mo (Haaz Sleiman, Eternals), a gay Muslim doctor living in West Hollywood. After enduring a rough breakup with his former partner Hassan (Patrick Sabongui, TV’s The Flash), Mo feels he’s not prepared for love again. A feeling that changes when he meets Kal (Michael Cassidy, The O.C.), a kindly working actor, and gradually falls for him over the course of Ramadan.
What begins as a quick stroll for some gum during their initial encounter ends up being a walk throughout the city. After bonding over an iftar, which is the fast-breaking evening meal every night during Ramadan, as we see in the typical rom-com montage meant to signify how deep in love our characters have become, it becomes the first of many for both men throughout the holiday. Along with the love montage, Breaking Fast employs other familiar genre mechanics like the climactic love declaration, while subverting familiar tropes like the role of the gay best friend.
As Mo’s best friend Sam (Amin El Gamal, Good Trouble) acts as comic relief while encouraging him to break out of his shell, he also serves as a microcosm for complicated religious intersectionality. During a later scene where Sam explains that he’s non-religious despite coming from a Muslim family, he dares to challenge Mo’s limited worldview on his beliefs, forcing Mo to not only open his heart but open his mind to how not everyone aligns with him beat-for-beat regarding his faith.
While Amin El Gamal acts as the film’s scene-stealer, lead actors Haaz Sleiman and Michael Cassidy easily carry it with their amusing chemistry. Haaz Sleiman brings relatability and endearing charm to the role of Mo, a man who dares to open himself to love again even as his anxieties dare to get the better of him. Meanwhile, Michael Cassidy exudes almost disarming charisma as Kal, a kindly man whose overt kindness is simultaneously a mask for turmoil over his troubled past. All three main actors are the strong center of an amusing rom-com that’ll win you over in ways you can expect such a film to do even as it finds ways to transcend familiar storytelling ground.
Speaking of breaking ground, the documentary Flee did just that by being the first film in Oscar history to be nominated for all three specialty categories: Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature, and Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Flee weaves in hand-drawn animation and real-life archival footage to document the story of an Afghan refugee named Amin living in Denmark whom Jonas has known since he was a teenager.
As Flee follows Amin’s life from his childhood to when he and his family were hiding in Russia to when he finally settled in Denmark with his partner, Kasper, Rasmussen tells the story through vivid animation with its most powerful moments involving what isn’t on screen. Such moments that are crafted through charcoal drawing and depict harsh memories that Amin either tries to erase or are hazy to him force the viewer to imagine how harrowing they were in real life. Even a later scene involving Amin lying about his background to avoid deportation when he arrives in Copenhagen proves to be quite harrowing as it demonstrates him having to discard another part of himself besides his homosexuality.
Thankfully, there are moments of levity woven in with some involving the joys of needle drops like “Take on Me” by A-ha and Roxette’s “Joyride.” But ultimately, as Flee makes one feel joy that Amin successfully came through on his journey, one still can’t help but think of the many people today in countries such as Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, and Sudan who are trying to make their own journey towards a more prosperous life.
As much as Pride Month is about viewing buoyant narratives like Breaking Fast, it’s also a time of watching films that confront and stress the need for liberation of LGBTQ+ people everywhere, including those who live in places where they can’t live as openly or authentically. For those looking for viewing options this month and beyond and want a mix of slight escapism and confrontational reality, why not pick both films and make it a double feature?
Breaking Fast is available to stream on Prime Video. Flee is available to rent and buy on VOD.
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