In the dark days of the aughts, when gay cinema mainly consisted of whatever low-budget movies contained some gay plot that Wolfe could release on DVD for $3, there were a few oases in the desert. One was the Eating Out series (yes, truly). Another, more highbrow, were the films of writer-director Eytan Fox.
The Israeli multi-hyphenate made tender, smart movies about gay Israeli characters when American directors were busy crafting cheap romcoms filmed in model homes. If you’ve never seen Yossi & Jagger or The Bubble, they’re worthy of your time. Long before Call me By Your Name, Fox was making movies that treated gay love and desire with true seriousness and interest.
Now he has a new movie finally arriving. Like The Bubble, Sublet is set in Tel Aviv. But this time the main character is an American journalist, played by John Benjamin Hickey, who has traveled to the other side of the world in search of meaning after his life is upended. Meaning comes in the form of a beautiful younger man (as it so often does) played by Niv Nissim, who teaches him about Grindr, calls him out for his book about NYC in the late 80s, early 90s. and is generally a very charming landlord and tour guide.
Check out the trailer below; the film—co-written by Itay Segal—is now in theatres June 11 and will be available on demand July 9.
