Israeli Film 15 Years
Arrives on DVD/VOD on April 28
When I first came out of the closet, around 20 years ago, you rarely heard any gay couples talking about having children. Nowadays it has become prevalent and many of my friends have children. However, it is so important, in a stable long-term relationship, to speak about the want or need to have children as this is something that can rock a relationship. This discussion is generally not talked about due to the assumption that everyone wants children, but obviously this is not reality. By not having this conversation, couples end up in a bad situation, which plays out in Yuval Hadadi’s film “15 Years.”
15 Years is a film from Israel (English subtitles), and follows Yoav, a successful architect, who has everything he’s ever wanted: Dan, his lover of 15 years – a younger lawyer who adores him, and his best friend, Alma – a successful artist, who is like a mother and a sister to him. However, when Alma announces she’s pregnant, it ignites Dan’s desire to become a father himself. But Dan’s parental urges have the opposite effect on Yoav who is haunted by long buried demons. Yoav’s tight grasp on his life begins to come apart, leading him to self-destructive behavior that threatens to destroy his life with Dan, unravel his friendship with Alma, and cost him everything. From writer/director Yuval Hadadi, the searing, insightful drama 15 Years was shown last year at the OUTShine – Fort Lauderdale, and many other festivals, winning awards worldwide including a Jury Award for Best Feature Film.
Obviously Yoav is starting to nurse a major midlife crisis, but his dislike of children is somehow connected to an enormous chip on his shoulder about his own very unhappy childhood. All these years later he is still unwilling or unable to discuss this with his partner or his best friend. He won’t even discuss his father, who is dying in a nursing home. Yoav, who is a typical alpha male, and usually unfazed by anything, is unraveling.
All of the three leads: Yoav (Oded Leopold), Dan (Udi Persi), and Alma (Ruti Asarsai) take control of their characters and deliver solid work. However, the real star here is Udi Persi, whose acting is so top notch that there are times where his facial expressions touch you to the core. I had never heard of Udi before (sorry Udi), but I am now a huge fan!
15 Years, which is 89 minutes in length, arrives on DVD/VOD on April 28, and can be purchased at: bgpics.com and Amazon for DVD, but here are all the VOD platforms coming for April 28: iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu and FandangoNOW. The film will also be available through local cable & satellite providers including: iNDEMAND, Vubiquity and DirectTV
