The Others

Almost every lesbian conception drama I’ve reviewed for this site garners the same complaint: that they all have the same basic story. This is true of The Others as well. But The Others premiered in 1969. So it’s the OG. This movie predates the next-oldest lesbian conception drama (1982’s By Design) by over a decade. I can’t believe this movie exists. The style of it assures you it is indeed a film from 1969. But the content of its story is staggeringly progressive for its time.

The Others begins with Flavia announcing her desire for a child. This is difficult as Flavia is in a relationship with another woman, Sandy. Committed and content, Flavia and Sandy decide to take action towards Flavia’s desires for a child. So, they search out a willing sperm donor. They have several false starts in this regard, especially once they lay out exactly what they want from the man. But eventually, Flavia gets her wish. She gives birth to a daughter. But being raising a child with two mothers draws more attention to their life than the couple wishes. Soon, their story of two women raising a child causes a media storm. Of course, Flavia and Sandy just want to keep their heads down and live a normal life with their daughter.

The Others plays a little coy with its depiction of homosexuality. The only time they kiss onscreen is in a dream sequence. Of course, they do live together and Flavia draws Sandy baths and reads to her from the side. But most of the way they act can be excused as being “just good friends.” All of this is pretty understandable for a 1969 film, though. Assuming the director wasn’t queer, maybe he really did think that queer people in private were as low key as they presented publicly. Besides, what the film lacks in overt displays of physical affection, it makes up for in content. There would be no conflict if Flavia and Sandy really were just friends. They could say that and move on. But these women are more than just friends, they’re a committed partnership. And that’s of course what causes the media firestorm surrounding their life.

The film has a bit of a pacing problem. About the first hour of the film is Flavia and Sandy’s journey to conception. It’s comparatively low-conflict. In the last 35 minutes, The Others packs in way more plot. We’ve got a brief segment where Sandy feels cold towards the new baby and unsure in her relationship with Flavia. But mostly, we’ve got the media attention plot. This is a story line that has a huge amount to say. And props to them, they managed to say most of it. But it does feel quite rushed as it’s condensed into about 20 minutes. This is the real conflict of the film and where the most amount of social commentary happens. I would’ve liked this plot point to have taken up more screen time.

One of the more interesting things this last 20 minutes covers is an early example of commodification of the queer identity. Flavia and Sandy’s family portrait is co-opted by an advertising company. They want to use this non-traditional family to sell their product. Specifically, they want to use this image of lesbians to essentially virtue signal. The customer they want to cater to isn’t some working class reactionary, no. They want to cater to a higher class who are either more progressive or feel the need to at least appear more progressive. I can’t believe this commentary exists in a film from 1969. This is one of many ways this film’s attitude is so absurdly ahead of its time.

The Others ends with Flavia and Sandy publicly going back into the closet. Banking on their media attention, they stage a double wedding where they marry men. Though the ending assures us that the real honeymoon is between the two women. They found a way to take the scrutiny off of themselves for the good of their daughter. This is a sad, but very realistic ending. Queer people and queer families have been around far before it was known or even legal. They simply did their best to lead a low key life. And that’s what Flavia and Sandy do. They aren’t able to solve the scrutiny they get in public. And to try would probably be to the detriment of their child. So, they closet themselves publicly so that in private, they can be the family they want to be.

This is co-writer/director Alessandro Fallay’s only directorial effort. He wrote one other film, The Sisters. That one focused on a past sapphic relationship between two sisters. Like The Others, I was surprised at how nuanced and progressive it was. What the heck was Fallay’s deal? He makes two very sensitive and quality lesbian films in 1969 specifically and then drops off the map. Of the two, The Sisters is the stronger film. Fallay is perhaps a stronger writer than he is a director. The Sisters had a stronger feel of control over its story and pacing. But The Others is still an Italian film from 1969. There are technical issues, but this is such an inherently stylish film. When Fallay directed The Others, the film looked modern and trendy. Nowadays, it looks delightfully vintage. But the commentary and themes the film touches aren’t close to being dated yet.

I’m stuck on a sense of disbelief that The Others even exists. This is such a progressive-themed movie made during a time when WLW cinema was incredibly rare and often deeply problematic. It’s hard to critique it as a film because I’m so overwhelmed with the novelty of its existence. My main issue is the pacing. Fallay touched on so many notable issues regarding queer existence and queer parenting but mostly in the film’s last act. I also feel justified in my complaint that so many lesbian conception dramas tread the same beats. The Others is the template for this genre. And not much in this subgenre has changed since its conception. This is a fascinating film to experience just to see a very vintage, very progressive depiction of queer parenting. I really recommend tracking the Others down as a piece of queer cinema history.

Overall rating: 6.5/10

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