VOD Review - Oasis (Panama)

This film premiered in Panama back in 2017. It was shot entirely in Panama. It was written and directed by Jorge Ameer who is a filmmaker from Panama. When it comes to the Academy Awards, Panama as a country only started submitting films for the Best International Feature née Best Foreign Language Film in 2014. Honduras is the only other country in Central America who has started submitting films to the Academy within the 2010's. Honduras is in fact the newest country in Latin America overall to start submitting. El Salvador and Belize have never submitted to the Academy. After Paraguay, Panama is the third newest in Latin America to start submitting to the Academy. Cinema in the country is still growing and Jorge Ameer has been helping to grow that cinema. Ameer even hosted a Q&A for Panama's official, Oscar submission last year. Clearly, Ameer loves his home land and it shows. His movie here is practically a love letter to Panama.

It's probably not a coincidence that Ameer hosted that Q&A last year. That event was for Todos Cambiamos (2019), which is a film dealing with queer themes and characters. Ameer has also dealt with queer themes and characters in many of his films. Ameer has specifically dealt with gay men. Actually, since the early 2000's, Ameer has been working on a collection of films called Straight Men & the Men Who Love Them. I reviewed the third installment of that franchise in 2014. Those collections of short films typically involve a masculine and straight-identified man finding himself the object of desire or lust for another masculine and straight-identified man. Those scenarios usually result in some kind of intimate contact, if not actual sex. This is exactly the scenario that Ameer uses here.

Cesar DeFuentes stars as Oliver, a photographer who lives in Panama. He's married and has a baby daughter. Unfortunately, his wife is constantly nagging him. Her chief complaint is that he stays out too late. She assumes that he's out all night to drink, implying that he's possibly an alcoholic who spends most of his money on liquor. Oliver denies this. He claims that he's depressed and has a beer every now and then, but he insists he doesn't have a substance abuse issue. His principal problem is that he's unemployed and he's been struggling to find a job.

Matthew Lynn who I interviewed last year for the release of his web series The Third co-stars as Andrew, an American who is presumably a business man who comes to Panama to visit Oliver. Andrew is also married, although he's newly hitched, having tied the knot only a few months ago. He seems to know Oliver because Oliver probably immigrated to the United States when he was younger. He and Oliver were friends, but, Andrew seemed to distance himself from Oliver, particularly in the lead up to his wedding. At first, Andrew comes off as a lonely tourist. Later, he acts very hot-and-cold toward Oliver. It gets to a point where it's implied that there was something sexual that occurred between Andrew and Oliver.

The implication is there, but it's never confirmed. The question becomes what did happen between Andrew and Oliver and what will happen between the two. The film is thrust forward every now and then by narration from Oliver. His perpetual question is what is Andrew doing in Panama. Despite his visiting, there still remains some distance from him and it calls into question what Andrew wants or what his motivation for being there is. The opening of the film suggests some danger. The musical score and the way certain shots are static and drawn out suggest that this film at any turn could become a thriller or sheer horror. Yet, that's not really the case, which might be a disappointment for some.

Ameer's film doesn't disappoint on the homoeroticism though. Lynn is dangled like naked eye-candy or some kind of sexy treat that lures not only DeFuentes' character but also the audience further along in this narrative. Literally, Andrew leads Oliver on an excursion or "men's retreat" into the jungles or forests of Panama, deeper and deeper into a secluded area. One assumes it will be to a secret rendezvous akin to Brokeback Mountain (2005), but that's not quite the case either, which also might be a disappointment for some, particularly for those hoping for something more arousing than a massage. In fact, there is no sex scene here, which more goes to an underlying theme of sexual repression.

However, this film is more Panama porn than potential gay porn. There are so many shots of Panama and presumably its capital city. There are so many long and lingering shots, probably with drones. There are also so many shots where the human characters are in the background and the foreground is accentuating the setting. Ameer does this so much that the people almost felt like accoutrements and the real protagonist of this piece was Panama itself. Understandable, it does look like a beautiful country.

Not Rated but contains full-frontal male nudity and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 10 mins.

Available on Amazon Prime.