Raspberry Reich GR, The Review

Distributor: NakedSword Film Works Edition Details: Standard Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Short Film, Gay, Softcore, Political, Foreign Run Time: 9 minutes Rated: R Release Year: 2015 Director: Menelas Siafakas Written by: Menelas Siafakas Cast: Nico Deen Release Specs: Audio: Greek Stereo Subtitles: English Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

The Raspberry Reich GR is a short film by photographer and director Menelas Siafakas. The Raspberry Reich GR movie was made along with a complimentary photo exhibition. The Raspberry Reich GR is a political activist movie made to exemplify the feelings of Greek homosexuals during 2014 during the time of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the fight for the right for gay marriage in Greece at the time. The Raspberry Reich GR is also a homage to Bruce LaBruce's 2004 film The Raspberry Reich.

There isn't a plot to The Raspberry Reich GR, just a series of moving images — some with words and dialog some without — that when put together create a striking image of how director Menelas feels the struggle for gay life is in Greece at the time. Menelas chooses to show the gay population as terrorists in the movie, which certainly catches the eye and the mind of the viewer. There isn't any explicit hardcore action shown within the short movie, which to this reviewer is also very telling of what Menelas is trying to say. The guns are on full display whereas anything that could be explicit hardcore action is obstructed by pictures of politicians and similar imagery. This in itself says to this reviewer that pictures of violence are preferred to society to that of the homosexual lifestyle.

There is one serious flaw to The Raspberry Reich GR which is that the short never tries to explain to the audience who is who within the short. Greeks may be familiar with the politicians that are being shown along with the quotes attributed to them. However, this reviewer is American and in all honesty had no idea who was who, which I think lessened the impact of the movie. After viewing this reviewer looked up what was going on and who was who but this reviewer wonders how many viewers will bother to do this on their own.

The Raspberry Reich GR leaves the viewer feeling very uncomfortable which, in this reviewer's opinion, is perfectly acceptable. Hopefully, viewers of the movie will rethink how society as a whole treats people who don't adhere to a heterosexual lifestyle and how the treatment of the LGBT community makes the people within it feel.

The edition of The Raspberry Reich GR screened is the streaming only version available from NakedSword. NakedSword Film Works has done a great job with their streaming only version of The Raspberry Reich GR. The Raspberry Reich GR was shot digitally and is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p. The movie looks absolutely beautiful with rich and vibrant color, which is extremely important for this movie. There were no noticeable blemishes at all with the video presentation at all.

The Raspberry Reich GR is presented with a Greek Stereo audio track. This reviewer doesn't speak nor understand Greek, however, the dialog appears to be clear and easy to understand throughout the presentation. There are burned in English subtitles for The Raspberry Reich GR with different placement spots presumably picked by Menelas Siafakas. There are no noticeable defects within the audio or subtitles.

NakedSword Film Works hasn't included any extras for The Raspberry Reich GR.

The Raspberry Reich GR has been released by NakedSword through their NakedSword Film Works (NSFW) division that was launched in 2016 to exhibit gay independent movies that aren't exactly pornographic yet aren't exactly mainstream. The Raspberry Reich GR is a political action short movie by Menelas Siafakas that was made to show the struggle that gay men in Greece were going through during the fight for the right for gay marriage. While not perfect, The Raspberry Reich GR catches the viewers attention and makes the viewer want to understand more about what was going on. NakedSword Film Works has done a great job with their streaming only version of The Raspberry Reich GR on NakedSword with beautiful video and audio quality.

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