Sublet

Eytan Fox's 2020 Israeli film follows a New York Times travel writer who comes to Tel Aviv after a loss. Michael spends five days with Tomer, the young film student subletting him a flat; the energy of the city and that relationship bring him back to life. The gap between two generations becomes a comparison of how queer life has changed: one man lived through the AIDS crisis, the other knows it as history. Fox's story refuses to construct a romantic escape; what passes between Michael and Tomer is less physical than an exchange of testimony. The images of Tel Aviv are touristic, though the film does glance at the city's political context. The narrative weakness is explaining the loss too late. Who it's for: viewers interested in queer cinema, encounters across generations and Israeli film. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a defined plot, or arriving unprepared for content about grief and the loss of a child.