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Rent Parallel Sons (1995)

Seth lives a dull-as-dishwater life in a small community in upstate New York. He hates his job in the local diner and dreams of a cosmopolitan life studying in Art college in Manhattan. Highly creative and with a vivid imagination, he is obsessed with Afro-American culture, despite never having met anybody who is black. One day his life is turned around when a black escaped convict called Knowledge Johnson tries to rob the diner, Knowledge was wounded during his escape, passes out during the attempted robbery and Seth hides him in the family log cabin so he can nurse him back to health. Seth's initial wariness but obvious fascination with Knowledge turns into a friendship that is bound by mutual attraction. However when the local sheriff discovers Knowledge's whereabouts events overtake them as Seth attempts to get Knowledge across the border to Canada and freedom. Parallel Sons became an instant cult classic when it originally hit the international film festival circuit picking up numerous awards around the globe. With an outcome that is positively Shakespearean, John G. Young has created the unlikeliest of love stories, a fascinating and sensitive exploration into the world of obsession, racial tension, sexuality and human frailty.