Arijeet Chandra
“Open Your Mind. And Everything Else.”
Shortbus is an American film written and directed by John C Mitchell. The plot revolves around a weekly gathering of sexually driven people at a salon called Shortbus. Inspired by early 2000s NYC underground meetings, the Salon is not only a place for sexual orgy, but also is a club where different kinds of people get together and discuss music, art, politics etc. Shortbus has a variety of explicit scenes of sexuality and this had/has given it a tag of pornographic film, but according to writer-director Mitchell, the film attempts to “employ sex in new cinematic ways”.
The plot has a mélange of characters and therefore portrays numerous kinds of emotional as well as sexual relationships. Sofia, a New York City based sex therapist cum couple counselor, comes across to James and Jamie, a gay couple who have been monogamous for five years. The persistent denial of sexual relationship from some time made both to seek consultation of Sofia. Sofia, herself dissatisfied sexually with her husband, reveals the facts of her marriage during the first session with James and Jamie. The couple suggests her to visit “Shortbus”, a salon in Brooklyn. There, Sofia along with her husband Rob enter a world where she hopes to find her answers. The character of James is another pivotal role of movie. The film reels on revealing many observances about human sexual and emotional
connections.
Watching Shortbus has been a unique experience. This brief movie of 101 minutes can boast of broadening one’s view of sexual pleasure by providing numerous examples. It may not make an impression as commercial cinema does, however this experimental cinematic piece is not to be missed.
