GET HUBBIED

Sad film with a slightly satisfactory end via the main characters softening from a crotchety professor feared by his students and cuckolded by his young wife - 1940 Mike Figgis

We met with these nervous pair of camera-shy men, though they had no need to be. I've known them for years and have been the blissed out repeat recipient of their culinary talents that they dole out generously when entertaining from their home, my dream home. Again, I felt lucky to hear their back story and the challenges they face being together as a gay couple, the issues that remain with their families, and to talk about their love and how it has shifted and deepened over the ten years they’ve been together. They both almost seem surprised, not that they’re still together, but that its been as easy as it has been, as natural.

“About getting married, I always considered it just a piece of paper; the ritual or the ceremony really doesn’t validate the relationship. The peole who are around us see the way that we are - that’s a ritual in itself....I hope we grow old together.” ~ Mo

“I don’t feel that I want to get married. I don’t want to think about getting divorced. Being gay, you kind of had to fight through a lot of other things, so you get to make it up, and that’s the good part, making up your life together because you don’t have to fall into all the conventions.”

A German man, in love with his wife - that’s a fairly accurate summation of this interview. Christian and his wife have endured some major obstacles, but his first priority remains family over all else. He would rather be living in the United States, but stays in Germany for the sake of marital and familial unity. His wife was in Germany at the time, so I interviewed him solo about not being solo. I was moved to hear him speak about his decisions in life regardless of his personal wishes for career and location; he projected such utter unselfishness and sacrifice for the sake of the family, and emanated zero resentment. What struck/jolted me most deeply is that he specifically sacrificed his dream job for his family. I have met very few people, in fact I'm having a hard time thinking of ONE person, who has made such a big life decision and sacrifice for the other.

"Say, you’re an artist for example. its like using different media. Some people like to paint with red, and always paint with red, so they get really deep into it, or working with one technique…and so, you get deep and deeper and you know more about this media than anybody else, but if you jump from one media to another, you're always on the surface." ~ Christian

Check out the interview on this site, under video interviews