DVD Review - 15 Years (15 Shana)

Writer-director Yuval Hadadi's feature debut tackles issues of aging in the gay community, as well as an issue that isn't often addressed. PBS' Independent Lens did a series on what's known as voluntary childlessness or being child-free. Some people are childless not by choice but who accept that for whatever reason they will never have children of their own or even necessarily through adoption. This film centers on a man who is child-free and who wants to remain child-free. He's been fine for his whole life without children but now his best friend and his boyfriend are both saying things and making moves that are challenging his child-free existence. He doesn't like it and Hadadi's film deals with all of their reactions in the wake of it.

Oded Leopold stars as Yoav, a 42-year-old architect living in Tel Aviv, Israel. He seems like he's very successful at his job. He has an office downtown in a tall building with a great view of the city. He actually makes enough money to afford two apartments. Yet, he doesn't drive. He has a motorcycle, but he doesn't use it regularly. This isn't due to financial restraints. He simply likes to ride his bicycle to and forth. This isn't because he's an environmentalist per se. He simply enjoys the exercise. Exercise is very important. He particularly likes to run, even competitively against other people. He mainly does this because he wants to be in good shape to maintain his attractiveness but also because he wants to feel young.

There aren't that many films about older, gay men, especially about those in their 40's or 50's or even higher. Some of note include Gods and Monsters (1998), Milk (2009), An Englishman in New York (2010), Beginners (2010) and Pain and Glory (2019). Strangely though, none of those films were about a gay man in a committed and long-term relationship. They were mostly about single gay man adrift. Most of whom not yet realized a post-gay world where even being open about their sexuality isn't an active struggle. Hadadi's film changes that. Yoav and his partner don't have to worry about homophobia any where they go. Yoav is also in a long-term relationship that has been going for the titular amount of time.

Udi Persi co-stars as Dan Asulin, a 38-year-old lawyer who is Yoav's aforementioned boyfriend. He's celebrating his crystal anniversary with Yoav. Exercising and staying physically active are things he shares with Yoav. However, Dan's preference is jumping rope. He'll go running with Yoav, but jumping rope appears more to Dan's liking. At a party, someone says that Dan and Yoav are in an open relationship. This is probably due to Dan who is commented as always being on Grindr. However, after Yoav's best friend announces that she's pregnant, this sparks in Dan his desire to have a baby, which throws Yoav into a tailspin, as Yoav is adamant about being child-free.

Ruti Asarsai also co-stars as Alma Solomon, a black woman living in Tel Aviv. She's the best friend of Yoav who announces she's pregnant. She met Yoav at the age of 13. She's presumably the same age as Yoav, so she's known Yoav for nearly thirty years. Alma is an artist who does visual media like photography as well as audio media to accompany. She has a habit of using her smart phone to record people's voices or things that they say. In fact, Yoav is the subject of her latest art exhibit. They even have such the connection that people assume that Yoav is her sperm donor. Yet, he isn't, and Alma knows that her being pregnant would be a thorny subject, so how she reveals it to him isn't the best.

Yoav takes her pregnancy in stride at first, but he eventually reaches a breaking point where he erupts at everyone's fawning and being overly flattering about baby pictures and whatnot. There is somewhat of a debate over why Yoav is against having children and some exploration as to where it originated. Hadadi could have done more to flesh out that exploration. The gist we get is enough. The most important thing is the sense that the film isn't condemning Yoav for his choice to be childless or child-free. I don't think that Hadadi is condemning him, even though the film does put Yoav in this light of being an egotist and his resistance driven by a lot of fears and insecurities about aging and dying. Yet, the film does seem to condemn Yoav's relationship with Dan.

Realistically, the impasse that is created probably would doom any relationship, gay or straight, if one person was adamant about not having children and the other was adamant in the opposite. Unfortunately, Hadadi's film doesn't have the two men really discuss the issue. Yoav simply runs away, almost as if despite his age, he's still very much a child or behaves like one. This behavior would suggest him unfit to be a father, which Yoav perhaps himself recognizes, but that isn't verbalized. His behavior in reacting to this impasse is simply shown without needing verbalization. Yet, as that PBS video series demonstrated, a dialogue about this child-free issue is most beneficial. Hadadi's film merely raises the issue.

Not Rated but contains language, nudity and intense sexuality.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 29 mins.

In Hebrew with English subtitles.
Available on DVD and VOD.