Film Reviews / Jun. 05, 2018
The conflict between Jews and Arabs has become a popular film theme, but in Family Commitments (2015) director Hanno Olderdissen has refreshed the subject by spicing it up with homosexual and diverse family plots. The film, wrapped in an impossible relationship, offers in lying the unique possible scape for its hilariously caged characters.
An Arab man, Khaled, has been dating David, a Jew man, for two years. Both of them come from an immigrant family living in Germany. When David is about to propose marriage to Khaled, the lease of Khaled’s family restaurant expires because the landlord died, and the family is in risk of deportation. Coincidentally, the one who takes over their family restaurant is no other than David’s mother, who hates Arab people more than anything. What is even worse, Khaled does not dare to come out because he is afraid that his father may not accept him. This makes David terribly frustrated. Moreover, Sarah, a pregnant woman, suddenly shows up with a time bomb. It turns out that she and David had sex after a party once, and she is now pregnant with David’s child. On the road to marriage, there are many obstacles waiting for them, but it is also a test of their love.
Family Commitments uses the sitcom structure to present the possible difficulties of gay couples from opposite ethnic groups. The pregnant woman’s plotline reminds of The Wedding Banquet, where a gay man tries to please his parents by dating a girl and accidently makes a woman get pregnant. Both films feature the same type of pregnant (and painter!) female lead.
In this film, every character is forced to lie. Khaled hides his true identity from his father and the school where he works at. David insists that he will not raise any child. He keeps Khaled and his mother in the dark and signs the agreement for giving up adoption. He even stoles Sarah’s paintings and sells them in order to save his own gallery. Khaled’s father wants to keep the restaurant so he forges the dead landlord’s signature and tries to extend the date of the lease. David’s mother plans to expel Khaled’s father, but her plan is soon discovered by her son.
Many supporting actors are also crucial. Khaled’s sister supports him, which means that Khaled is not alone in his family. David’s assistant helps Khaled to cover up his lies by pretending to be Khaled’s pregnant girlfriend. David takes in a promiscuous gay painter, a hilarious part that deserves all our praise. Khaled’s aunt is a stubborn woman filled with one-liners. The horny woman head of the school where Khaled works wants to get laid with him, even though she fully supports gay rights. Khaled even passes his teaching examinations because of his “identity.” All of them show that unlike other countries, Germany is on the right way to change its perception of the LGBT community.
Eventually, Khaled’s father finds out he is gay, and Khaled finally has a chance to come out and get rid of his burden. Although “words” are said, in the end, love still conquers everything. When Sarah is about to give a birth, David gives up the idea of not raising his child, and decides he wants to start a family with Khaled. The outcome of the Family Commitments gives us hope to one day all be able to raise a family regardless of our identities.
