This film is part of Rentals

Martyr 18 rating

The sudden death of a young man has a profound impact on those around him in this experiential contemplation of grief and loss.

Drama 2017 84 mins

Director: Mazen Khaled

Overview

Hassane is a young man disenchanted with life. Criticised by his parents for his apparent lack of direction, he struggles to work out his place in the world, instead choosing to spend his days with his equally disenfranchised friends. However, when Hassane unexpectedly drowns in a freak accident on the rocky shores of Beirut, his friends are forced to return his lifeless body back home and embark on a series of rites and ceremonies as they face the magnitude of what has happened. Pushing the boundaries of what is conventionally understood as LGBTQ+ cinema, this is not a gay film in the traditional sense. Instead, this hypnotic and beautifully filmed study of homosocial behaviours and societal ritual is a bold and quietly erotic meditation on the male body, shot with a distinctly queer gaze.