Some friendships slowly drift away, while others end abruptly like a car crash. Michael Perez-Lindsey’s short film Will I See You Again? is the story of Max and Paul, two estranged friends from college. The pair was actually a trio with Jim, known as the Kentucky Football Bash Brothers. Twenty years later, Max and Paul are forced to face one another at Max’s church for Jim’s funeral, where Max is presiding over the funeral.
After the service, Max receives a letter from Jim’s Estate regarding a potential inheritance. When Max arrives, he is surprised to see Paul received the same letter. Both Max and Paul are to receive an inheritance under the following condition: ask one another five honest questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine.
“…ask one another five honest questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine.”
Will I See You Again? explores themes of friendship, forgiveness, and honesty. From the grave, Jim makes one final attempt to find reconciliation between the two friends and bring out the real reason for the split. Without spoiling too much, we also dive into LGBT themes, homosexuality, and the church.
As one who has worked on staff at very conservative churches, I have been confronted with the issues addressed in the film. My experiences have resulted in negative results and Will I See You Again? works through it in a raw and open manner. This is especially true for Max, poignantly played by Hosea Chanchez, who has the most to lose with the secret he’s been carrying these twenty years.
Co-written with Rhett Lindsey, director Perez-Lindsey takes the approach that honesty is the best policy and uses clever devices such as a funeral and a polygraph machine to unleash some deep-seated secrets. As people, our lives cannot move forward until we are honest with ourselves first. Will I See You Again? captures a moment in time when all cards are placed on the table, and we work from here.
"…when all cards are placed on the table, and we work from here."
