Yes, indeedy! At least that's what The Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is swearing, and who are we to disagree? The Fest also notes with steadfast certainty that The Binding's director, Eyal Kantor, is "without a doubt the most prolific queer independent filmmaker in Israel at the moment" with six shorts and three features listed on IMDB alone.
The still active Eytan Fox, the Israeli director of such daring worldwide hits as Yossi (2012), Walk on Water (2006) and The Bubble (2007), might tut, tut, tut at that. The latter a Romeo-and-Romeo romance between an Israeli reservist assigned to a checkpoint and a closeted young Palestinian, might be considered even more triggering nowadays than upon its initial release. However, The Binding is also quite timely, way more graphic, and "electrically" perverse.
The film opens with its blindfolded hero, Binyamin (Yoav Keren), handcuffed to a wall while being body-slapped upon a scarlet-sheeted mattress. It takes a few seconds to realize this is a consensual S&M exchange. After some choking, a bit of on-screen penile manipulation, and tummy kissing, the top unlocks Binyamin and moves in for some Frenching, from which our hero immediately sways away.
Jump shot to Binyamin smoking at a kitchen table. Still nude, he watches a news report on the sighting of a shivering baby seal on an Israeli beach. The bearded top, still unclothed, strides over.
Top: Did you enjoy that?
Binyamin: Yeah, I think so. How about you?
Top: I was afraid I’d break your bones or something. I went easy on you. (Playfully punches Binyamin on the shoulder.) I can go harder next time.
Binyamin (smiling): It was totally fine.
The top then admits he’s new to the BDSM scene as he fondles and smooches with Binyamin. Then the slightly rough stuff begins once again.
(Please note both are wearing beaded jewelry, accessories that might not work so well in the States-side leather scene.)
At about 8 minutes, 30 seconds, into The Binding, we finally see Binyamin in clothing. He's working as a bartender at a bar owned by an Orthodox Israeli settler, Avinoam (Shimon Mimran), who teaches Bible classes to young men on the side.
The 49-year-old, eyeglassed, slightly stocky, yarmulked Avinoam at first appears to be the most delightful of bosses. Putting a God-centric spin on life, he seems to be protective of his young employee who’s out to be screwed by every gay man in Tel Aviv, especially those willing to hurt him a little. Binyamin, a proclaimed atheist, is even getting spanked in doorways.
But as Binyamin learns, some spankers might get carried away. Don't worry. Breathe easy, dear reader. The weaponized Avinoam, a settler who's served in the military, is always prepared for what might saunter around the corner: "If there's anything I've learned from my service, it's that a gun and a first aid kit are like pants. You can't leave your home without them."
But what’s really going on here? Is the Boss just friendly and caring or trying to bring his faithless employee back into the Sabbath mold? Maybe he's trying to bed Binyamin? Or is there a third goal that might be a lot more discomforting? Really discomforting!
You might also wonder at this point who's walking Binyamin's dog named Putin throughout all this, a mutt that elicits one of the finer lines of dialogue of the past year: "Roll over, Putin!"
Whatever you guess, The Binding will surprise you. Possibly even "electrify" you.
The screenplay delves into self-hatred, sex addiction, damning dads, animated camel accidents, nipple play, closet cases, and even a new method of conversion therapy that hopefully won't gain in popularity.
Yes, Binyamin's gay spirit is shown at times being hammered down by life forces, misshaped by the kosher prejudices he was born into, and drowning in the guilt he's thrust upon himself. That he's still orgasming several times daily might make him forget he’s cemented to a woeful soul. Then there's all the photos of himself narcissistically hanging on his living-room wall. Probably, we should no doubt call Binyamin up to remind him he's miserable.
Billed as a thriller, with its two highly committed leads and a finale that a very young Hitchcock might have appreciated, The Binding is a solid reminder that although LGBT rights in Israel "are considered the most developed in the Middle East," anti-LGBT incidents are still on a steep rise over there as there are in so many countries.
No matter, The Binding argues quite persuasively that queer love can still survive.
(The Binding is available on Amazon.com for both rental and DVD purchase and on AppleTV.)