REGRETTERS (Marcus Lindeen, Sweden). 59 minutes. Subtitled. Sunday (May 23), 5:30 pm, Buddies in Bad Times. Rating: NNN
REGRETTERS (Marcus Lindeen, Sweden). 59 minutes. Subtitled. Sunday (May 23), 5:30 pm, Buddies in Bad Times.
Swedes Mikael and Orlando have transitioned from male to female and are in the process of transitioning back to male. But what sounds perilously close to a reactionary premise turns into a nuanced meditation on the complexi ties of gender.
Neither made his original gender choice because he felt he was in “the wrong body.” Mikael was a soft man unable to attract a woman Orlando didn’t want to be gay. And the two are in other respects hugely different, too: Mikael wants to recover his manhood, while Orlando is seeking his “third sex.”
Shot sparsely as a fascinating and respectful conversation – buttressed by photos and film of the two as wo men – this is smart filmmaking.
