'CAS' finds a gay couple in Amsterdam having their seven-year relationship being shaken up when they take in Cas (Felix Meyer), who is a young student who sleeps on their couch.
Rating: 3.5/5
This is a short film that was shown at the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival, focusing on the lives of gay men. While it initially does seem like yet another white-centric queer film, it does give a look into what a nonheteronormative relationship looks like – and they face similar issues as their heterosexual counterparts.
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What is really interesting is how the addition of Cas actual highlights problems that existed in their relationship beforehand. It is clear that Sjors (Kevin Hassing) and Pepijn (Wieger Windhorst) struggle to vocalise their feelings and tend to cover it up with sex.
Every time they would disagree about something they would never discuss it – instead, they would just end up in bed. With both of them clearly attracted to Cas after a drunken night out, the three of them end up in bed together and this is what really rocks the boat.
They end up being in a pseudo “throuple” (three people in a relationship) and while initially, it brings much-needed levity into their relationship, jealousy and envy creep in as they never discuss the rules for their throuple.
Director Joris van den Berg does a great job of showing the normalcy in queer relationships, while still revealing some of the struggles and differences that arises. Seeing how the couple navigates Cas and his disruption is quite interesting and he unearths a lot of their buried issues that, because of comfort, they have ignored.
The film is in Dutch, with English subtitles, but if you understand Afrikaans you will have no problem following the dialogue. As a dramedy, this film strikes a great balance between very humorous scenes and more dramatic moments.
The sex scene goes right to the edge, which is quite refreshing since a lot of directors skirt away from showing men in intimate positions. Overall, the film was a quality addition to the festival, bringing much needed queer cinema to the public. Hopefully, next year we will see more such films with LGBT people colour too.