Departures

“Inspired by all the dickheads that fucked us over,” according to the opening text, Departures is a gay rites-of-passage movie which leavens hard knocks with an almost jaunty sense of humour. UK critics have been quick to make comparisons with Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting: it may be grim up North, but it only hurts when you laugh.

Two lads — Benji and Jake — meet at an airport gate and begin monthly incognito trips to Amsterdam together. Their chemistry is off the charts, but it’s Jake (David Tag) who’s really calling the shots while Benji (writer and co-director Lloyd Eyre-Morgan) is the one who’s emotionally invested. Unfolding in flashbacks, the movie doesn’t shrink from BDSM, or physical and mental violence for that matter, but it still manages to be caring and compassionate. All in all, it makes for a strong companion piece to the recent Pillion.

A cult classic in the making.

Indiewire

A highly thoughtful exploration of love and identity. Though grappling with heavy issues such as body image, family rejection and toxic masculinity, Departures never veers into maudlin sentimentality, favouring instead dark comedy and a poppy visual style.

Phuong Le, The Guardian