Oranges (I) (2004) User Reviews

Sensitive and bittersweet

[preppy-3 · 8/10 · 17 November 2012]

Two young Australian boys (Thomas Blackburne and Martin Sharpe) meet after one crashes his bike into the others car. They walk around and the older boy talks about all the girls he's kissed and how he's dating three girls at once. Then they get alone, share a sweet simple kiss and discover the truth.

Short and bittersweet film. It's very quiet and has two actors who are exceptional their roles. They also appear to be the same age as the characters they play. No big loud pronouncements or any drama. Just a laid-back quiet approach to how young men are dealing with being gay. The only drawback--the Australian accents are thick and it's sometimes hard to hear what they're saying. Still--well worth catching.

A very good but heart breaking gay short

[Irishchatter · 8/10 · 2 September 2018]

I honestly liked this short, it really was sad that the main character was a loner, basically had no friends and the fact in the end,his lover turned his back on him along with his pals during the lunch break. I was so wanting a happy ending for them or even see if they do actually decide to be a couple or not. Man, sometimes shorts don't really have the time for detail within stories!

Kudos to all involved, great Australian gay short!

Beautiful Unpretentious Short

[Rod Evan · 9/10 · 19 December 2004]

This short Australian film depicts with warmth and without pretension the awkwardness of two teenagers starting to recognise and explore their homosexuality.

It was refreshing to see two actors cast who were the right age for these roles and who showed no reluctance to share a kiss on screen. Many older actors/actresses of whatever sexuality could take a lesson from these two.

The final image of the film which relates to the title and storyline has a beauty and simplicity that surprises and lingers.

I saw this film as part of the Pink Filmdays in Amsterdam, and it received a very warm reception, compared to many other higher budget, overstylised and less sincere offerings.

Rare Coming Of Age Short

[meaninglessbark · 10/10 · 10 January 2014]

Oranges is an unusual short in that it captures stumbled upon intimacy and curiosity in a realistic manner.

Unlike a lot of queer shorts (and feature length films) Oranges doesn't try to titillate with gratuitous shots of young bodies, jar with a sudden negative turn of events, or have characters spouting dialog that sounds like it comes from a script.

Oranges feels like being there for a strange and awkward afternoon. For anyone who ever had similar encounters it's like reliving those moments.

Well shot, acted, and directed Oranges is definitely worth finding online to watch.

simplicity

[Kirpianuscus · 17 September 2016]

its simplicity is the basic detail. and the poetry of small gestures. and the kind of reference to madeleine of Proust. but the element who gives coherence to the story is the spirit of age. it gives coherence and credibility to a small story of two boys looking to impress or under the fascination of kiss. and the most important moment has the great virtue to remind many memories from the viewer past. the kiss, its taste, the last scene , when the bitter meeting is covered in the taste of orange , are the ingredients of a powerful story about meanings and truth and force of revelation to change everything. so, a lovely short film. touching, tender, fragile, more than realistic.

Can you taste the Orange?

[jas-40385 · 10/10 · 4 May 2022]

We all have "un-glamorous but utterly authentic" scenes from our childhood. We never forget them, like little gems we've tucked up our sleeves. Throughout our adult lives, we occasionally take one out and ponder it -- an inscrutable mystery.

Yet, next to the "glamorous" content found in the onslaught of movies served up to us year after year, decade after decade, our own gems appear dull, embarrassing, and worst of all, shamefully true. We quickly tuck the gems up our sleeves, hoping no one saw us think about them.

"Take out the gems! This is where your life happens!" yells this movie -- with a smile. "This is where you got brave! This is where you dared to show yourself, to share yourself! To embrace vulnerability with another! This is where you tasted your first orange! Do you remember whose lips it was on? Can you taste it even now?"

Very forgettable, story non-existent

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 29 July 2016]

"Oranges" is an Australian 11.5-minute movie from 2004, which means it's already over 10 years old. the director is Kristian Pithie and neither he broke through nor one of the actors in the years since this was made. For pretty much everybody working on this one, it is still their most known work today. The film's title describes nicely the color used mostly in here, but that's already all the positive I can say. These gay-themed short films often have the problem that they are either completely uninteresting or completely unrealistic and this one here is the former. All the story that happens is basically a boy bragging to another boy about his experience with girls, later they kiss and then they see each other again. This is not enough of a plot, if you can even call it a plot. With the title (color), it seems to be a very pretentious movie that is style over substance for sure. It is absolutely not worth checking out. Bland and uninteresting, I give it a thumbs-down.