Summer in My Veins

In Summer in My Veins, filmmaker Nish Saran's mother and two aunts, who are making their first trip outside their native India, attend his graduation from Harvard, after which they travel across America to visit relatives and see the sites. This familial scenario is not as light-hearted as it seems, however, for Nish hopes to have the chance to come out to his mom at some point during the trip, and also thinks there's a chance he's contracted HIV. As we follow the family on its journey from Cambridge to San Francisco, tension mounts as Nish loses several chances to accomplish his mission, finally rallying less than 12 hours before Mom flies back to India. Her reaction is the one that every gay child wishes for ("it's strange to think of, but it's not a problem...things between us won't change...whatever you do, I'm with you...yes, I'll take care of telling the relatives"), and it turns out that Nish is not HIV-positive. Despite its fresh approach in depicting an actual coming-out (rather than an after-the-fact retelling in a studio), unusual honesty, and poignant outcome, Nish's tape is disabled by its home-movie style and too many sidetracks of the "here are my aunts frolicking on the beach" or "here they are cutting up in the hotel room" variety. Its hefty price and warm-but-amateurish production values render it optional for all but the most comprehensive gay collections. Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)