Review: Shelter

I went to see the movie Shelter tonight at the Cleveland International Film Festival.  First the line to get in was crazy.  There were a few lines for different movies lined up, and the one for Shelter was by far the longest.  There was an equally long line for "stand-by tickets."  So it was good that we bought tickets online.  Otherwise we might not have gotten in.

There are so many bad gay flicks out there - sometimes they're just unwatchable.  But this was the complete opposite.  It was a multi-faceted and touching story about a guy who deals with coming out, and balancing the needs of his family with his own.  One movie review puts it this way: "Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family."  There are so many moments in this film that many gay folks can relate to - the joy of first love, the trepidation about first being out combined with the want to shout it to the world, and moments of terror of being found out.  More than that, the themes are universal: love, family, finding yourself, and making the most out of what is in your life.

The movie portrays many ideas in the storyline, is well produced, well acted, and overall very good.  The director says that is is "a story about tuning into one’s sincere desires, finding love, and creating family."  From the cover it looks like there's a lot of skin - and it is a movie about surfers in part so that's nice - but it isn't gratuitous.  Two of my favorite scenes: one where Shaun simply gives Zach a hug when he needs one - a simple scene, yet conveying more than what is one the surface, and the second is when his best friend questions him about being gay.  It's one of those movies that you can get into, and take something away from it. 

Verdict: recommended!

(sources: 2008 Shelter via CelebrityWonder.com, Shelter - HereTV Films)