Film Recommendation: Stream of Love
One of the most common misconceptions regarding later age concerns sexuality, appearing in the form of hurtful stereotypes stigmatizing the elderly as ‘asexual’ or condemning them for expressing their sexual needs and desires. If somebody is still not convinced – despite the scientific literature on the topic – that sexuality exists in later life and it is anything but vicious, Ágnes Sós’s Stream of Love (Szerelempatak, 2013) will perhaps persuade the ‘doubters’ at last. This Hungarian documentary film – jointly financed by the National Film Fund and HBO Europe – took European film festivals and audiences by storm, bringing forward two realizations. On the one hand, the topic of sexual pleasure and intimacy in later life is rarely discussed, not only in this isolated Transylvanian rural community – where the film takes place – but also in European (film) culture. On the other hand, the success of the film, both at festivals (such as IDFA, Trieste or Thessaloniki Film Festival) and with streaming audiences proves that there is a palpable demand to see films like Stream of Love. Populated with characters that are life-affirming yet full of pain and regrets, Ágnes Sós builds up an environment in which inhibitions are slowly dismantled and subjects can open up about their experiences without feeling ashamed or judged.
Behind the construction of this free, comfortable environment lies a certain anonymity and emphasis on the collective. The director does not disclose the exact place of the village and is not especially keen to attach names to faces. More importantly, the dramatic structure assimilates to a multi-protagonist narrative: there are many subjects yet there is no hierarchy between them. Since everybody is sharing their experiences, either alone or sometimes even in the company of others, the characters and the viewers don’t feel they are accessing something that cannot be shared. It would be naïve to suggest that this – or, in fact, any – documentary captures the reality as it is, instead, one should acknowledge that the charm of the film can be deduced exactly from the presence of the camera, which motivates the elderly to speak up freely. Presumably, there are some secrets and traumas that were told for the first time, in the proximity of the camera and (in some cases) of lifelong neighbours and friends. These stories reveal wounds of sexual abuse and adultery, absence of attraction and consent in marital sex, absence of sexual pleasure and Third Age revelations on what it means to experience it. A strong reliance on traditional values, prudishness and patriarchal power structures underline all these episodic mini-narratives, which – instead of emphasizing the social commentary – are more drawn to reflect on the ‘humanness’ of pleasure and desire.
As for the audiovisual world of Stream of Love, there is an interesting contrast between the cruel realities told by the characters and the beautiful images of ‘rustic romanticism’ (‘parasztromantika’ in Hungarian), which tend to idealize village life, the relationship between human and nature, the communal and ‘simplistic’ aspects of the agrarian environment. Notably, the interview situations usually present the characters during some kind of action, e.g. planting, cooking or animal handling. The subjects – whether they are in their 60s, 70s or 80s – are self-sufficient and all of them are involved in what the literature defines as active ageing, engaging in agrarian work, physical and social activeness. Furthermore, the editing also needs to be highlighted for associating images that occasionally originate from different times and places. Thus, a game of glances is built up between elderly men and women, implying that curiosity and subtle flirtations are not disappearing in the Third Age.
Even though Stream of Love entails ethnographic considerations, touching upon customs related to sexual activities – such as the recommendation of nettle seeds as an aphrodisiac or the habit of lovers rolling down the hill as foreplay – overall, the documentary is not so much an ethnographic work but more of a frisky and emotional meditation on sexuality in later life. To borrow its title, the director makes us realize that the stream of love does not dwindle with the advancement of the Third Age, even if cognitive and physical abilities may change over time. Taking into consideration its cultural relevancy, Stream of Love goes beyond the Hungarian documentary scene, addressing a topic that still figures globally as a novelty, slowly paving the way to a future in which sex and sexuality in later life are no longer subjected to consternation.
Written by: Boglárka Angéla Farkas
Image credit: Stream of Love (Szerelempatak), directed by Ágnes Sós, produced by Szerelem Patak Produkciós Kft. and HBO Hungary, 2013.
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