ARE YOU HUNGRY?
A Winner About A Mom + Her Son's Sexuality
Are You Hungry? is a short film from Finland that’s made the film festival rounds. It’s about an overprotective mother worried about her adopted teenage son who may be gay. The mother uses food as a bonding strategy. She is trying to find out more about him as she wonders if he has friends or partners. The protagonist, Tomi, seems aloof and is always on his phone. His mother tries connecting with him but fails to do anything more than ask him, “Are you hungry?” She is continually trying to serve him a sandwich, to which he always replies, “no.”
The mother, a cab driver, talks with her coworkers and asks what she should do to connect with him. She believes he is hiding relationships from her. They are all dumbfounded and say they don’t know much about gay teens. The mother invents a fake dating profile and tries to set her son up with a guy. On the way to drop off her son, she arranges for the two to meet, but instead is surprised when an older man meets him at the drop-off. It prompts her to follow the two. She finds out that her son has an unusual business, where he is paid to spend time with men and fix electronics. The venture is not erotic, but his mom believes it has a sexual undertone.
In the end, Tomi returns to his mom with money and says he’s found a summer job, finally. It calms his hysterical mother, who drives off as the film ends. Tomi is charismatic, played by Matvei German, and his mother is convincing, played by Pirjo Lonka. This 12-minute short is enjoyable and funny. PROVOKR loves it, and you may, too.
