1:54 (Yan England, 2016): Canada

Reviewed by Stephen Clark. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in Metropolitan theatre 4

Tim and Francis were two typical high school students, their curious homosexual relationship takes a turn for the worst as they become exposed, their lives changed forever. Tim, a timid yet accomplished and gifted athlete and student plays a conflicted and powerful role expressed through his dramatic body language and erratic behavior. He and his best friend Francis are outcasts at their school and Franciss’ exposed sexuality gives means for Jeff and other classmates to make personal attacks on the both of them. This naturally affects the relations between Francis and Tim as Tim’s sexuality is still hidden and his efforts to preserve his identity deeply sadden and desolate Francis. They both spend their free time demonstrating science experiments in hopes to impress their peers, and to carry on with their activities in the midst of experiencing emotional distress. Their efforts to fit in fall short as they are both driven into a state of self doubt and depression. Francis’s emotions overpower his judgement as he is driven to take his own life from the pressures of his classmates. Tim is utterly devastated by the traumatic turn of events and finds himself at a crossroads in his quest to discover his identity. A spark ignites in the soul of Tim as he finds motivation in the midst of grieving Francis’s life. Tim becomes overwhelmingly conflicted by the pressures of his classmates and he finds himself in pursuit of a charming young woman by the name of Jen. Instead of true love, Tim seeks validation and to prove his sexuality to the classmates. Tim also makes a bold statement by joining the track team and seeking to compete against adversary Jeff for the spot in the “Nationals”. Tim is not only on a quest to overcome the pressure of Jeff but also to make a statement of achieving greatness in honor of Francis. Tim’s conflicted emotions are portrayed through dramatic body language that gives the viewer a sense of personal connection and to empathize with Tim to an extent.

Viewing the 1:54 in the Metropolitan Metro 4 Theatre during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival  was truly an unforgettable experience. The bold actions of Tim and his accomplishments represent themes of prevailing through adversity and were truly inspirational. The production and cinematography done by Diane England, and Denise Robert enhances the film by illustrating a somber and lugubrious mise-en-scene, delicately orchestrated sequence of frames and patterns that underline the motifs. Throughout the film, Tim experiences torment from his classmates to an extreme degree. Tim’s adversary Jeff blackmails him with a video of Tim and Francis engaging in sexual intercourse to force him off the team. The film concludes with a theatrical series of events as Tim seeks revenge on Jeff for destroying his image. Tim sabotages a party in celebration of Jeff by detonating an explosive device at the scene. Although Tim’s intentions were cutthroat, he has a revelation at the last second and makes and effort to alarm the possible victims. Tim ends up taking his own life in order to protect those who sought out to make his life full of misery, in the last moments of his life he chose to display an act of selfless heroism.

All in all, the messages of the film were undeniably relevant in society and made for a powerful story with a tragic twist. I would recommend this film to anyone as it was a truly unforgettable story.