Breaking Fast(2020)

Though it isn’t an especially well written nor acted drama, this one, it does shine a little light on the culture clashes that exist when it comes to being gay and a man of religious faith. Here, it’s “Mo” (Haaz Sleiman) who has a relationship with “Hassan” (Patrick Sabongui) but it’s closeted. Well, it’s too closeted for “Hassan” at any rate and this leaves “Mo” uncertain and at a bit of a loss as to what to do. His concerns are not just about his religion, but also how his family might react to the news that he gay and has a boyfriend. As Ramadan arrives, he encounters the permanently smiling “Kal” (Michael Cassidy). He’s a sort of all-American boy next door whom your mother might actually want you to be gay so that you could date - and he can cook! What now ensues is fairly predictable but it does invite us to consider just how frequently incompatible religion can be when dealing with same sex orientation. This film takes a slightly rose-tinted view of the attitudes of many of the Muslim faith - and being set in Los Angeles it hardly challenges the existence they might experience living in Lagos or Kampala, but the underlying premises of fear, anxiety and intolerance - real or anticipated - could apply to most religions where sex and marriage are the exclusive purview of a man and a women for the purpose of breeding more of the same. It’s naive and simplistic, but that said it tries to turn these qualities into something that tells a love story whilst, perhaps, provoking some debate about just what being free actually means. Sometimes that is societal, sometimes it’s attitudinal, maybe even both and Sleiman does a reasonable job at characterising a man conflicted whilst bringing a little cheesy humour to a romance that you’ll never remember, but it’s an easy watch.