Surrogacy (2021)

Much needed film but falls a bit short

I chanced upon this film randomly and decided to spontaneously watch it. I must say I'm glad I watched it, but not completely pleased with how it turned out.

I myself am gay, but BL-style dramas and movies have never been my favourite. Which is why I really loved this film and its premise when I heard about it. It tackles taboo concepts in Japan, not just homosexuality but also surrogacy, societal gender roles, and the concept of raising children, mothers, and families. Surrogacy itself is technically not allowed in Japan, but is somewhat possible. I think this is reflected well and the concept of surrogacy is presented very well in this film; I really liked how the American woman expressed it to the mother (although I thought her appearance was a bit strange).

I also very much enjoyed the fact that they showed misogyny in both families and the work place, and a woman who was okay with and ready to go against what was expected of her. I think it mixed really well with her role as a surrogate mother, and I actually like how in the end she accepted that the child was not hers to raise, although I think it would've been better for her to have a bit more involvement.

What disappointed me though, was the execution of it. I felt that some of the acting was quite stiff, probably more to do with the actors' lines than their own acting skills, and it felt a bit all over the place. It didn't really have a consistent flow and felt more like watching different, vaguely connected scenes. I think it would have been much better if it was longer or possibly had multiple parts, maybe a mini-drama. This would have allowed them to tackle the themes in much more detail and give it an actual resolution (not necessarily a positive one, but a more complete ending). I couldn't really tell if it was supposed to be serious or comedy, I wish they could've been more consistent if they wanted to use both.

All in all, this is something I would recommend. It's short, quite light-hearted, but still addresses very important issues in Japanese society and brings awareness to them. I think it's a good starting point, and I'd really like to watch more films like this one! I don't think I'd put it at the top of my rewatch list but I wouldn't be against it one day.

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