by Douglas Messerli
Antoine Dupont-Guerra (screenwriter and director) Two Fish / 2017 [11 minutes]
Max (Aurelio De Anda), a swimmer, remains on
campus for the summer, a lonely time, particularly without your swimming
partner.
Suddenly his friend Taylor (Jeremy Howard), back from a trip to Europe
shows up, and Max is overjoyed that the two can get together again. Taylor has
brought back some remarkable records and they decide to spend the evening at
the returned tourist’s apartment to hear some of them.
Some weed later and with a little experiment in sound-mixing on the
shyer, less-experienced Max’s part, the touch of Taylor’s hand sends him
reeling. Although Taylor attempts to slow things down a bit, Max, not even sure
that he is gay, is excited and willing to try out not only mixing songs, but
mixing up in bed with Taylor.
The
next morning, however, as Taylor complains, he seems to have lost his swimming
friend. Max is quiet and removed, rejecting even the touch of Taylor’s hand.
When Taylor pushes the issue a little further, Max finally admits he just needs
some time to think things out, but he’s sure that Taylor’s swimming partner
will soon be back.
The
silence and rejection seems to be a common problem with boys in process of
coming out, even if the joyful sexual encounter is not something they can
easily deny. Even today, it still takes some getting used to when one suddenly
perceives that he or she is not like the majority of other people when it comes
to the important issue of self-identity relating to sex. Pleasure is mixed with
guilt, desire with regret. And for a moment, even as a swimmer, the young Max
feels temporarily more like a fish out of water.
The
film was shot by then student Antoine Dupont-Guerra at Chapman University in
Orange, California, where the sunlight hits the large pool full on until later
afternoons, reflections which this young director easily captures on his film.
It appears at times that the lean, handsome visage of the white-boy Taylor with
whom Max has suddenly been blinded, in fact, may just be a result of the bright
rays of the California sunlight trapped in his eyes.
Los Angeles, August 22, 2023
Reprinted from World Cinema Review (August
2023).
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