“The best film about war and love in recent years,” said the official synopsis and press description of Boris Guts‘ dubious drama, Deaf Lovers , which already received considerable backlash before being screened at Tallinn‘s Black Nights Film Festival. There, the film was not only granted a spot in the Official Competition but also placed in the special section “Standing With Ukraine.” A few days after opening, the festival was forced to remove the Estonian-Serbian co-production from their special section after Ukraine‘s State Film Agency called for them to pull it entirely.
It was certainly the better decision, as was made uncomfortably clear after viewing the misguided feature-length metaphor about two young people falling in and out of love in Istanbul. The Turkish capital is supposed to constitute some kind of neutral ground for the nameless protagonists to encounter each other, though they’re never given the chance to develop into full-fledged individuals. Instead, they are introduced as, and reduced to, representations of the counties the come from. For her (Anastasia Shemyakina) this is Ukraine, for him (Daniil Gazizullin) Russia. “They both lack the money to live in the foreign city and they are both deaf,” claims the sycophantic synopsis. But none of this is true.
The stereotypical tale shows them drinking, dancing in clubs, and having sex in posh hotel rooms, as that is “what young people always do.” Both the statement and its entrenched narrative distastefully diminish the complex interactions of young adults and erase people, ace and otherwise, who do not seek physical intimacy. Even more infuriating is the use of disability as gimmick here. It is carelessly cast aside when it no longer serves the pretentious purpose. Both leads can suddenly hear and converse in spoken words, since both actors are not speech or hearing impaired.
The basic conceit of the film purports to challenge “the cliché that love conquers all,” while asking “maybe it does if you can’t hear or talk about war?” As if disabilities would equal ignorance of world politics or, in turn, indicate innocence irrevocably lost by expanding beyond oblivious heteronormative happiness. The plot doesn’t hold up to even the slightest of scrutinies, and the main thrusts not only don’t hold any water, but are straight up offensive in their stereotypical explorations. Add to that the mechanic acting of our main characters, and its no wonder the film was withdrawn from consideration at Tallinn. That said, the performances are oddly fitting for the Russian director-writer’s shallow award grab, especially given his cinematic commentary has nothing valuable to add to the actual conversation around love and war.
Deaf Lovers premiered at this year’s Tallin Black Nights Film Festival .
