Editor's note: We published follow-up notes based from the Netflix version of this film.
Funny Boy might be the most well-known Canadian film in recent times with a release on Netflix and a worldwide debut on CBC. The story takes us to Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s with a gay boy as well as the civil war between the Tamils and Sinhalese.
The younger version of Arjie dominates the first part of the film where he explores who he is in a place and time where his mother and aunt Radha (Agam Darshi) love and support him for being "funny" while his father disapproves of even the boy dancing, much less wearing makeup.
The second half of the film is mostly about the rising Tamil-Sinhalese conflict leading up to Black July in 1983. The focus on teenage Arjie meeting and falling in love with Shehan ends up being surprisingly secondary, given the focus on Arjie in the first half of the film. Funny Boy the film stops becoming about the funny boy.
The legendary Deepa Mehta directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Shyam Selvadurai, who wrote the original novel. Mehta shot the film in Sri Lanka, which adds to the authenticity of the story but the Tamil language issues have been well-documented.
Aunt Radha is a huge focus in the first half yet disappears in the second half of the film. She falls in love with a Sinhalese man but marries a Tamil man because her family insists on this. Her disappearance is one of several points in the film that are lost due to audio issues.
Jegan becomes the focus of the second half. The problem is I had to look online to figure out who Jegan was.
Even if you have the most perfect hearing, you have to watch this film with closed captioning. So much of the English dialogue is muddled; some of the Tamil dialogue isn't translated into subtitles. This is a story where the words are important. Most of the dialogue between Arjie and Shehan is lost without closed captioning.
There is a surprising amount of English in the film. Technically, the film still qualifies for the Oscars (hopefully) in the Best International Feature Film. You would have to break down the film to know whether the film contains less than 50% in English. Some English makes sense in context but so much is lost with the poor audio. There are quite a few conversations that switch mid-sentence between English and Tamil.
Our Funny Boy preview with debuts soon on CBC and Netflix
Deepa Mehta's Funny Boy is Canada's Oscars selection
The film incorporates a lot of early music references from in and around 1983. They don't talk about Black July specifically — another moment where your humble narrator had to research online that really belonged in the film.
Every Breath You Take by the Police; an Eurythmics T-shirt; Irene Cara's Flashdance, What a Feeling are meant to be symbols of 1983 even if they don't follow the timeline. Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy was definitely from 1984. These small details are distracting if you know that era.
The David Bowie and Culture Club references do fit the timeline.
Yesterday, Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY was announced by Canada as the country’s official selection for @TheAcademy Awards. Today, we share the first trailer for this moving film, which @ARRAYNow will release on @netflix in December. Watch, smile and share. Let’s spread some love. pic.twitter.com/3Ck9uZjIkm
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 30, 2020
There are Canadian references. The young Arjie wears a University of Toronto jacket. Leonard Cohen is referenced in Suzanne and Famous Blue Raincoat. Radha speaks of living in Toronto and hanging out with her gay friends. Radha actually says, "whatever happens in Club Davids, stays in Club Davids" in the 1970s in Sri Lanka. The 21st century Las Vegas tagline is jarring in this context.
The numerous mistakes are a bit of a surprise from a veteran filmmaker such as Mehta. A few more months of post-production would have done wonders for the film.
A lot more context for what was happening to the Tamils would have been useful. A linear telling of the teenage relationship would have been useful. The film does a terrible job with how the relationship develops. The relationship feels superficial, like a music video circa 1983, which feels really out of place. The audience is invested in Arjie in the first part and their desire to see more of him is not rewarded.
Mehta and Selvadurai pounce on the contrast between wealth and poor in the film but almost never show that argument from the poor side of the equation.
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Funny Boy has potential compelling stories but is all over the place in presentation. The film feels rushed with numerous, obvious mistakes in English and Tamil. If your audience is having to do research while watching the film, you might want to reconsider how that story is told. If you don't value your script, the audience won't value the words either.
The film gets points for telling difficult Sri Lankan stories on Sri Lankan soil with mostly regional actors. If the minor details don't get in your way and you see the film with closed captions, you might enjoy the film overall. The stories deserved better treatment, especially from a legendary filmmaker such as Mehta.
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We will know on February 9 whether Funny Boy makes the Best International Feature Film Oscars shortlist.
The shortlist of 10 films gets narrowed to 5 official nominees on March 15. The 93rd Academy Awards is scheduled for April 25.
Funny Boy is available in Canada on CBC Gem and debuts on Netflix today in the United States.
photo credit: Funny Boy film
Twitter capture: @ava
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