The psychological premise of the movie is familiar: two boys on the edge of puberty face a crisis in their friendship when Nicholas, the smaller and shyer boy, gives in to an erotic impulse and plants a peck of a kiss on his pal, Bobby, and Bobby recoils. Then the movie dissolves into murky surrealism. We're not sure whether the friendship is continuing -- real Bobby has been replaced by zombie Bobby, whom Nicholas hides in his bedroom and in a barn that serves as Nicholas' etymology lab. Bobby the silent zombie accepts Nicholas' gestures of care-giving, which include a bath, secretive feeding (who knew zombies need food?) and a shoulder massage. But there is no further overt affection shown except one kiss on Bobby's neck. Another introductory scene shows Bobby dragging a reluctant Nicholas to a school girl's party. The two take part in a game of spin the bottle. When it's Nicholas' turn to take a girl into a closet for a make-out scene, nothing happens except a shadowy man in long underwear pops up behind the clothes rack, apparently as a voyeur. Later on, we learn that the apparition is Nicholas' dead father, who makes a few other appearances for no clear reason.Secondary characters and choppy dialog add little to the story. We watch Nicholas' mother trying to be supportive of her son and getting little but sullenness in return. The mother's suitor gets a similar brushoff. Near the end, real Bobby hauls zombie Bobby away in a wagon while Nicholas watches. It's hard to know what to make of this scene -- they seem to be parting as friends, yet the mood suggests Nicholas has been abandoned. By this point, Nicholas has been transformed into a zombie himself, and is shown following his father's shade into an abandoned farmhouse. It is anyone's guess whether the real Nicholas is still out there somewhere or has surrendered to schizophrenic fantasy. I watched this film in a 7-part series on YouTube and I did plod through all seven segments. At the end, I wished I had tuned out after Part 3.

Yes, yes we "get" it Jeff, but let's get a little real here, shall we? When people talk of the pathetic state of English Canadian cinema, this is the film they are referring to. And the director's faux naive "Gee, I really don't know what to say about my own film," pose, is, let's face it, just that. He has thousands of words to explain why he can't or won't explain the creative decisions he has made so, please spare us the "artiste" attitude. You, sir, are no artist. You have a short film idea blown up into a bombastic and obvious turgid wallow in your own psycho sexual confusion - except it doesn't even feel authentic. Take a simple film of sexual ambiguity like, Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho." A simple tale, borrowed from Shakespeare, about street kids testing, experimenting - and each beat, each frame is charged with all the delicious meaningful ambiguity that escapes this film. What do we get instead? Arbitrariness. Capriciousness. Confusion. Oh, but it's all super clear to the director? Good for him! We all thought that the age of the navel-gazing, nebulous "Canadian" bore- fest films were over, but sadly, the age lives on in Winnepeg. And I put the über-precious, constructivist Guy Maddin in the same bucket - what Nancy-boy, and he's not even gay! This film has such a tiny truth to reveal, such a small-minded, blinkered, pedestrian notion of adolescent sexual confusion, but somehow this misguided auteur and obvious member N.A.M.B.L.A., convinced a whole series of funders to back this project. What happened, Maddin come up dry on that funding go-round? I try to imagine some visitor to Canada checking into his motel room and turning on MPix and stumbling over this over-worked, tepid dross and wondering, "This must be what pass for independent cinema in this country. Poor souls!" And because Astral put money into it, they feel obliged to play it over and over... death by a thousand insipid cuts of mindless nonsense. And you, you reviewers, gushing breathlessly over this misfire - get out much, do you? Out there on the wind-swept prairies? Here's a clue - a shot of a wheat field, is a shot of a wheat field. Not a portal to the ineffable. and here's a clue for Jeff - when next you decide to write a script, and get puzzled looks from those who read it, take it to heart. Next time, why don't you write something outside yourself, just for once - why? I'm gonna give you the gift of truth. If you were Buñuel, if you were Goddard (in his prime) or Eisenstein, or J.M.E.C. Cocteau, or Rimbaud, or even Patty Smith, if you had an interesting life, an original thought or were just a really fun guy, then maybe what comes out of your head, that is so clear to you, but which you just can't explain, might be worth looking at. But, you're not. Not even close. You don't have a point of view worth looking at or listening to. It is base, dull, unimaginative and worse, banal. You bore with your reluctance to really grapple with what's in front of you. You mince around when you should be tearing it up. You lack spine and guts and conviction. You are stubborn but, that's a poor substitute for having something important to say. Do all of Canada, and Winnipeg a big favour and stop making films.

The Nature of Nicholas -- An interesting film, uniquely done with compelling, open-ended metaphors with some dark comedic moments and thought provoking cinema photography. Noteworthy acting from two very young actors. Homosexuality is not really what this movie is about. It's more about accepting who you are and the struggles we go through to achieve that. The homosexual theme was just used to communicate that point. In addition, there isn't really just "one" meaning to this movie. It is created in such a way so that everyone can come to their own conclusions.Here is my interpretation of the movie: Pre-teen Nicholas and Bobby are best friends who are becoming mutually attracted to one another. In the beginning, Nicholas is a bit more aware of it than Bobby. When Nicholas acts on an impulse and kisses Bobby in their clubhouse, Bobby's shocking realization of this new emotion sends him into a state of deep denial. The only way Bobby can distance himself from his homosexual feelings is by manifesting a separate entity. Created from all the shame and guilt he feels -- probably influenced by societies regard to homosexuality in the late 50's -- Bobby's homosexual self comes alive as a grotesque, zombie-like twin which he casts-away to die and rot alone in deep pain, suffering and sadness.Nicholas is still very much in love with Bobby. Although they stay friends, Nicholas's romantic feelings are ignored by Bobbies heterosexual, normal-looking persona. Nicholas finds mutual warmth and understanding by nurturing Bobby's suffering and dying homosexual entity. He hides it under his bed, protecting it and feeding it with pilfered food from his kitchen and entertaining it with comic books. It is obvious Nicholas is desperately trying to keep it alive.Nicholas's mother comes into his room. The hand of Bobby's entity sticking is out from under his blankets. This provokes paranoia in Nicholas, assuming that his mother now knows his true feelings.Nicholas's dead father -- A stern military man -- comes back from the spiritual side with a bizarre dual personality of compassion and retribution. It temporarily uses Nicholas' mothers' body to communicate with Nicholas -- confirming the paranoid feelings Nicholas has that everybody knows how he feels toward Bobby and how wrong it is. (It's not clear if that was intended to actually happen or if it was a figment of Bobby's imagination sparked by paranoia and guilt. I guess that's left for each person to decide) Overwhelmed with guilt and shame, Nicholas shuns his homosexual feelings by creating a zombie-like twin, much like Nicholas did, which he casts-out and leaves to rot and die alone.Toward the end of the film, the heterosexual, normal-looking Bobby takes his now rotting, homosexual "alter ego" away from Nicholas before it dies. We see Bobby carting his almost lifeless bag of bones into the distance. At this point it is believed that Bobby is taking it away to finally kill it -- or to finally put an end to his homosexual feelings. However we find out later this is not the case.Later, while walking in a field, Nicholas asks Bobby: "What happened to him?" Bobby points to himself, shrugs his shoulders with a shy grin and replies: "I'm right here!" -- It is clear that Bobby was no longer ashamed of his homosexual feelings and no longer needed that separation or "alter ego". Bobby took his alter-ego away so that he could accept his homosexual feelings before they died. So In other words -- Who Bobby is, is who he is -- part gay, part straight, a mixture of every feeling and emotion (like all of us probably are) -- And Bobby was finally at peace with that.However poor Nicholas is not so lucky. He will have a much more painful road in life to travel. We see Nicholas's decaying, homosexual entity and his fathers spirit meet at an old abandoned little house on a lonely road. The spirit attempts to put Nicholas's alter ego (or homosexual feelings) to rest forever. It looks down at the rotting, Nicholas-like figure lying on an old bed and says: "All in the past. It's a part of growing up. There are allot of little houses down this road." it then covers the entire body with the blankets. The scene cuts to the outside of the old house -- On the roof is printed the name: NICHOLAS.The little house where Nicholas's homosexual self resides is symbolic to what it would feel like to have your true emotions imprisoned due to an unacceptable, prejudice world. Putting Nicholas's alter ego to rest communicates the very common parental (and society) disapproval of homosexuality -- especially in young children. The "other little houses on the road" that the spirit mentions, tells us that many other children were also denied their true feelings -- They too had to put their feelings to rest.While waking into the yard on his first day of the new school year, Nicholas notices boys and girls sitting and laughing together. He realizes that his homosexual feelings -- A true part of who he is -- has been forced to be at rest. However, he pauses, looks around, boyishly stone-faced and bit confused as if he realizes in his heart that his true feelings will never, honestly be put to rest. This inner turmoil is something that Nicholas realizes he will have to face. He understands that life goes on and he must go forward and so he continues walking into the school.Dressed in his military uniform and cap, His father's spirit walks slowly behind with arms crossed behind his back. This metaphorical scene communicates clearly all of the intolerance, forced-denial, guilt and shame -- not just from his dead father, but from society as a whole -- that will "haunt" Nicholas's life forever.

Be Prepared, you may be confused..but to be honest The Nature Of Nicholas is one of the most creative and innovative films I have watched in a long time. It is an avante-garde surreal masterpiece of reality and hallucination that is like The Wonder Years on acid. It's ideas and themes may be familiar..but the way Erbach deals with them is fantastic. This film may not be for everyone, but for all of you who love to see something new in film making watch it if you can. Jeff Erbach is a great new Canadian director who is reminiscent in the likes of David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin & David Lynch.