Marko This movie offered a promise of an unusual plot. That is where it stops. Even if you convince yourself that such a combination of characters and events could exist in real life, you will soon be disappointed with stiff acting, slow pace, unwanted scenes of symbolic dreams and too many flashbacks, jumping forward, more flash backs and more dreams. It all gets mixed up to the extent that you are not sure are we 'now', before, or before-before. All the stereotypes are there: a gay priest, butch female prison chief, an orphan with a history of sexual abuse, sadistic inmates, a hypocritical bishop, a dying brother, several shower scenes and a bloody ending. You get bombarded with improbabilities every step of the way: a boutique prison with less than 20 inmates, a love story between a prison guard and an inmate with regular sex in a prison cell, unexplained resurrection of a guy beaten to pulp whose skull was smashed against a solid ceramic sink, breaking it in two pieces, mysterious injection which knocks you out for two weeks and you wake up perfectly fit, a prison chief firing her staff on a request of an inmate janitor, and so on. I could not help myself thinking that most actors are gay friends of the movie directors/scriptwriters. If they were not effeminate, they were certainly too soft and unconvincing in their 'butch' roles. The main villain is simply boring. The only original moment in the movie was mercy killing by the priest. Hey, why use readily available lethal dose of morphine, and euthanize your dearest one quickly and painlessly, when we can drown them by force in a very unpleasant way and extend their agony? Finally, the ending -- famous ending of almost every gay-themed movie that I have ever seen... you guessed! It was not a happy one. However, there were plenty of scenes featuring dreamy green meadows, sunshine over idyllic towns and white clouds flying in the blue blue sky forever...

Armand Cruel discussion. About faith, love and shadows of gestures. About sacrifice and its root. About silence as cage. It is a beautiful gray movie. Delicate as burnt paper. Bit as dust of cinnamon. Strange as a walk behind present. Story of a priest and his fake errors. A murder and life in prison. A love story. Silhouette of devil. And the punishment . A movie like melted lead. Few crumbs of Dostoievski, some drops from old British film, air from cold spaces of memory, game of a world. It is only a challenge. So, it is difficult to say if it is a good film, boring or mediocre. It is a picture. Bitter, salty, sour, with taste of gall.Nothing is alright. Every character - a broken doll. It is not a drama. Only a search. And a way without destination.

jpcobb315 Although I found the plot a bit confusing and disorienting at first -- which was intentional I am sure -- with 1 or 2 minor exceptions the actors gave good solid performances. The lighting and camera work was interesting, sometimes non-conventional, but the over-all visual effect was well done. Although apparently a modest-budget film, the final production values seemed to be high quality. While any modest-budget film could be improved if a mega-budget had been available, this film does not seem to suffer from simple settings -- attention to detail is more important than lavish sets. It is an enjoyable drama, although the violence and subject matter may be inappropriate for younger audiences and highly sensitive people. Excellent performances by the leading actors: Daniel Brocklebank and Gary Summers!I was surprised to see a review by someone who only watched the first third of the movie -- that is hardly giving any movie a fair chance.

treborlodge This film represents another departure from the norm in gay themed films. It is a tough love film with striking images and sequences that allow the viewer to fill in the elliptically presented representation of prison life versus Catholic ideology and the controversy surrounding the red hot issue of euthanasia. I won't pretend that I found it an easy watch because it isn't - what it is however is a cleverly constructed narrative that twists time with flashbacks and fantasy sequences that underpin the main thrust of the story. I was left after seeing this film with a greater understanding and sense of the pain of love that exists between gay men especially when coupled with the contemporary issues explored. It has probably not sat well with gay audiences because it is a film that is more than the usual gay fare. It has a strength of determination to it's approach that borrows with ease from well known films that are much loved and critical exemplars. Given that the budget was so low it is amazing what has been pulled off in this film. Some of the cast clearly were relying on intuition when it came to their performances but the leads are seasoned professional and recognisable actors whose performances were not reduced by the amateurs supporting them - moreover it added an authenticity to the emotional journey. I wasn't sure what to expect but more importantly I wasn't disappointed. Very interesting film. It was great to see a lengthy complimentary "making of" on the DVD which revealed an earnest engagement from all involved but also a great sense of fun whilst making it..good for them.