{"id":27981,"date":"2018-05-01T15:32:14","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T19:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=27981"},"modified":"2018-05-01T22:50:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T02:50:20","slug":"ekaj-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/01\/ekaj-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Ekaj (2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Cati Gonzalez\u2019s \u201cEkaj\u201d presents an interesting conundrum for me, because while they compare their film to \u201cMidnight Cowboy\u201d they also compare it to \u201cKids.\u201d I for one loathe \u201cKids\u201d while loving \u201cMidnight Cowboy.\u201d The latter is the tale of the American dream and our grasping for it that is often unattainable. Thankfully while \u201cEkaj\u201d can sometimes have the guerilla filmmaking of \u201cKids,\u201d it\u2019s thankfully much more steeped in \u201cMidnight Cowboy,\u201d in the end, which is why I probably enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEkaj\u201d is centered on a gender fluid individual who spends his days and nights looking for places to stay and trying to find ways to hustle for food. Ekaj doesn\u2019t have too much of what it takes to survive in New York, which is why it\u2019s a godsend when he meets Mecca. Mecca is a tattooed young man who knows how to get money when they need it, spending his time walking around the Bronx stealing bikes, lifting purses, and relying on mild acquaintances for a place to sleep for the night. The pair of characters present an interesting dynamic as Ekaj does what he can to learn from Mecca, but eventually relies on him for survival. Ekaj is a young individual who can barely decide what gender he is, let alone where he will wake up the next day.<\/p>\n

This is used as an aspect of their personality to reflect on how incapable they are of making the ultimate decisions on the street. While preparing for a night out Ekaj asks for cologne, and his friend replies \u201cYou want to look like a girl, but smell like a guy; you\u2019re confused.\u201d While the meaning and definite ideas about the aimlessness of life and survival and the tale of two lost souls is compelling in its way, \u201cEkaj\u201d sadly isn\u2019t a perfect film. Some of the editing is rough around the edges, and a lot of the narrative for the film feels like filler, especially when director Cati Gonzalez relies a bit too much on the montage to transition from scene to scene. There is also the occasional stiff performance, especially in one scene where one of the performers is clearly reading from cue cards off screen.<\/p>\n

That said, \u201cEkaj\u201d garners great direction by Gonzalez who really captures the grit and flavor of New York that \u201cMidnight Cowboy\u201d did decades ago. \u201cEkaj\u201d is a very good character study and story of two drifting individuals looking for a meaning, and a purpose while surviving on the unforgiving environment of New York.<\/p>\n