1985

1985 (2018) is an American independent drama by director Yen Tan, available to watch online on iFILM. Christmas in Texas. Adrian (Cory Michael Smith) comes home after three years away in New York City. His parents — Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis — are glad to see him. They don't know why it took so long.

Adrian is carrying something he can't say out loud, and the film is set in a year when that particular secret carried the weight of a death sentence. His family talks around the obvious; he can't find the words. Shot entirely in black and white, the film uses visual restraint to match the emotional kind — everything important goes unsaid.

Quiet and precise, this is an AIDS-era story told through absence rather than statement. Stream 1985 (2018) online on iFILM.