pictures have been able to . For instance , The Lawyer , running over one hour and a half , is a complex love story that explores the relationship of two seemingly lost souls — a homosexual Lithuanian lawyer Marius and a bisexual Syrian refugee Ali . It touches on loneliness , discrimination , privilege , and the issues within the Western gaze . Thanks to Romas ’ s extensive research and filming the motion picture at a real refugee camp , it ’ s an authentic piece of work with a great amount of respect to forcibly displaced people .
The Lawyer has sparked a much-needed conversation about the Syrian refugee crisis , especially in Lithuania . Through the lens of two protagonists from completely different backgrounds , this film explores privilege in a truly complex and honest manner . Some people don ’ t have the luxury to experience what many have taken for granted , be it love , grief , or any other emotion .
When it comes to Queer representation on screen , Romas confirms that the need for it will always be there . “ I love to contribute to this need , being gay myself ,” he admits . “ However , the themes I ’ m tackling are actually
universal .” And , as it stands , Romas is that long-awaited fresh perspective in the cinema industry ; he aims to represent the community beyond the whole in need of aspect . “ It ’ s not for me to assign importance to my work ,” he explains , indicating that doing so can actually be counterproductive to him . Instead of that , he hopes that his work is simply entertaining , unique , and interesting to the viewer . “ I ’ m welcoming the audience looking for some Queer excitement from the New East [ of Europe ],” Romas says .
When it comes to self-expression , Romas believes that there ’ s somewhat of a paradox attached to it . When an artist chooses to merge their personal stories with the artwork , the audience consumes both the art and the story behind it . The risk here , as suggested by Romas , is that the making-of occasionally becomes “ significantly more important ” than the art itself .
“ I ’ m not saying that it ’ s good or bad , it ’ s just in our nature to perceive the world this way ,” Romas elaborates . “ But in reality , every artwork should stand on its own .” However , dropping the self prefix shines a brand-new light on the topic .
It reminds Romas of Madonna ’ s ‘ Express Yourself ’, a song that he describes as a celebration of self-respect , inspiring women , and being direct about what you want .
“ Madonna is always great in expressing herself and her values ,” he says , delving into the details of Madonna ’ s changes throughout the years , and how she ’ s been able to continuously reinvent herself . “ But expression can take on many different forms ,” Romas adds . To him personally , expression represents the process of creation , not its quality or effects .
“ As a teenager , I watched many classics at a local library , and it helped me discover the diversity of the world and become proud of my own uniqueness within it ,” Romas says in the end .
Of course , Romas is absolutely right . Expression isn ’ t just one thing , it can be defined in 7.9 billion new and original ways , in parallel to our planet ’ s current population .
Expression can take on any shape that you ’ re ready to mould it into . is whatever you want it to be .
A STILL FROM THE LAWYER , ALI ( PORTRAYED BY DOGAC YILDIZ )
A STILL FROM THE LAWYER , MARIUS ( PORTRAYED BY EIMUTIS KVOSCIAUSKAS )
THE LAWYER IS NOW STREAMING VIA VARIOUS VIDEO ON DEMAND PLATFORMS
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