Review: Islands by Samantha Kane
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2009
During the WWII two men that probably wouldn't have had any chance otherwise meet: René is a Frenchman and adventurer living in a Polynesian island almost like a small king, and Gabriel is a Navy officer and engineer who comes to ask René's access to the island for military purpose. Even before Gabriel's arrival, René was keener of America and Australia than Japan, and he would have probably given his consensus anyway, but when he sees the handsome American officer he decides to play a bit. René, openly gay and quite wanton, at first seduces Gabriel more for fulfil a physical abstinence than for any real love interest, but he ends up in love for the man. Gabe is reserved and cautious, but not against the idea to be seduced; he already knows to have a preferences for men, but till that moment he satisfied his needs with anonymous encounters in dark alleys, he has never had a relationship in the open. True, it's not that suddenly René and Gabe can have a fairy tale love, even if in an isolated island in the Pacific, there are still some conventions to be respected, but all in all, this is more a nice and simple love story than an historic drama. In the relaxed atmosphere of the island, Gabe will learn to loose a bit his strict behaviour. Among patriotic words and declaration of love, both men manage to retain their masculinity, mixing the French carelessness with the American stoicism and creating a safe haven years before the exotic gay resorts will become so popular.