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‘Fruit Gathering’ Review: Two Working Women Chase Impossible Dreams and Desires in a Delicate Debut from Myanmar
"Fruit Gathering," the debut feature from Myanmar director Aung Phyoe, has premiered in the main competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where critic Guy Lodge reviewed it favourably as a delicate, affecting drama built on small gestures, silences and everyday sensory pleasures. The film is notable for its rarity — dispatches from Myanmar, where same-sex sexual activity remains illegal, are still uncommon in world cinema — and it distinguishes itself from comparable stories of queer repression through the vivid particulars of its setting, standing as a reminder of ongoing battles for LGBTQ visibility.
The story follows San Kyi (Nandar Myat Aung), a browbeaten young woman who makes a meagre living hunched over a sewing machine in a punishing textile factory on the industrial fringes of Yangon, and who dreams of returning to her rural home village up north. She forms a close bond with a new, more free-spirited employee, Theint (Nandar Myint Lwin), and an unspoken current of queerness builds between them before a single reckless kiss forces the issue. Co-produced with France and the Czech Republic, the film follows Phyoe's well-received shorts (including the 2019 Locarno entry "Cobalt Blue"), and although it lurches somewhat into melodrama towards its close, it is expected to enjoy extensive festival travel, particularly in LGBTQ showcases.
In short
- Myanmar director Aung Phyoe's delicate debut premieres in competition at Karlovy Vary.
- Two factory women form a bond edging towards forbidden queer desire.
- Praised despite late melodrama; strong festival prospects, especially LGBTQ showcases.
Explained simply
"Fruit Gathering" is a new drama from Myanmar about two women who work at a textile factory in the city of Yangon. San Kyi works long hours at a sewing machine earning very little, whilst dreaming of returning to her rural home. When a more spirited colleague named Theint arrives, an unspoken attraction develops between them.
Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia where same-sex relationships are illegal. Films from Myanmar are very rarely shown internationally, making this drama particularly significant. By portraying a same-sex romance in a place where such relationships face legal prohibition, the film provides rare visibility to people's experiences and desires.
The film is the debut feature by director Aung Phyoe, who has previously made respected short films. It was produced in collaboration with filmmakers from France and the Czech Republic.