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Showing posts from May, 2012

Gay Short Films : 12

A Crimson Mark (South Korea) This short film shows love in old Korea during the Chosun Dynasty. A secret relationship between two Korean government employees is complicated by the difference in the ranks. The 2 guys want the premier to act according to this individual suggestion and they are supposedly opposition members but they have a secret love going on among them. (4.5/10) Les puceaux (France) [The Virgins] A simple yet beautifully done story. 2 boys are sitting and talking. It turns out they are both virgins. One with boys and the other with girls. The pleasure, anxiety and fear of doing it with a virgin and teaching the ropes is shown very beautifully. The end was specially nice when one by says to the other that he wants to kiss him.  (6/10) Between The Boys (US) Two handsome easy going boys playing, giggling and tickling, the very erotic shower scene, and the snow fight -- and then BAM a twist to end all homo erotic twists. It turns out they are both brothers. A

Billy Elliot (UK)

This film is filled with great performances, a heart-touching plot, an underdog winning and the circumstances that feel too real. It will be wrong to categorize this film as strict gay-film but I think this definitely falls as a gay cult classic given the nature of the lead character and the storyline. 11 year old Billy lives with his widowed father and older brother, who work in a coal mine factory which in on a strike. One day when his father takes him for boxing class, he immediately dislikes it and chances upon a ballet class that issuing the same gym. Unknown to Jackie, Billy joins the ballet class. When Jackie discovers this, he forbids Billy to take any more ballet. But, passionate about dancing, Billy secretly continues lessons with his dance teacher. His teacher thinks that Billy deserves to study at the Ballet school in London but both his brother and father prohibit him from doing so thinking that everyone will think Billy is gay. Over Christmas, Billy learns his best f

Consenting Adult

One very important thing to remember when you watch this film is that the film was made for TV way bak in 1985. That was the time when homosexuality was not widely accepted. In fact, it was not even openly talked about. It was some sort of disgrace to a family, so the reactions that you see in the film are more relevant.  Ken and Tess are a happily married couple and Ken is just fought cancer and is healthy. They have a son Jeff who studies in college and a daughter Margie who is expecting her baby. Both parents are very proud of Jeff. After having struggled very hard with himself and lying to everyone, Jeff decides to tell his mother that he is gay. Though his mom is unnerved by the revelation, she tries her best to remain supportive in front of him—despite insisting that he seek therapy to "fix" the situation. But for Ken, it is devastating for him to know that his only son is gay. Not knowing how to deal with the situation, he starts avoiding his son on purpose. Soon the v

American Translation (French)

After watching this film, I asked myself whether this film was really a work of cinema or more of artistic pornography. I still do not know the answer. The film sourced from various studies of serial killers, goes all over the place. There should be a story that goes somewhere rather than just a series of incidents to make the audience gasp. Chris, a young man is a wanderer and likes to pick up people and have sex with them and kill them. He meets a young rebellious young French-American Aurore in a hotel bar and drives her out to the woods in his van, where they have lots and lots of sex. Instead of murdering her, Chris begins an intense sexual relationship with Aurore and the pair move into a flash apartment owned by her wealthy but frequently absent businessman father. They both start falling love. One day Chris picks up a male prostitute and accidentally kills him. Things take a dark ugly turn from there. What follows next is a series of events where Chris either by himself or wit

I Woke Up Gay (Documentary)

Once in a while I do like to watch documentaries in LGBt cinema but sometimes they spring you a complete surprise. The title of this documentary was pretty catchy and I had to see this. 7 years ago, a 19 year old rugby playing teenager Kris snapped his neck while playing with his friends. He suffered a massive stroke and he woke up as a completely different person who is now ok. The documentary follows Kris' quest with his past, since he doesn't remember much of it, his trial to convince everyone that indeed the stroke made him gay and it was not how he was born. The documentary contains a mixture of one-to-one interview and video diary footage of Kris himself, joint interviews with him and his fiancé Jak Powell and others with old and new friends, and also follows him as he consults with a number of medical and academic experts, as well as another man who experienced significant personality changes as the result of a stroke. The documentary doesn't look to provide any an

Plein sud (French) [Going South]

If you watch this film looking for entertainment, you will be thoroughly disappointed But have some patience and give it some time, you might start feeling what the characters are going through. There are long shots of silence in the film but they go with the characters, and their aimlessness. There is some mystery in the character's childhood and slowly, as the film progress, we will find out. Sam is traveling to south of France looking for his mom. On his way, he gives ride to siblings Lea and Jeremie. Lea is pregnant and it seems the siblings are also running away from something. Jeremie likes Sam a lot and has feelings for him , which Sam also does but there is something stopping Sam to give himself to the love of another man. They meet Mathieu who joins their trip on Leah's insistence because she now fancies the boy. The film now explores the chemistry between these 4 individuals and their interactions. They have happy times, they have sad times, they have times when hear

Comme Les Autres (French) [Baby Love]

There have been very few gay themed films which have highlighted the topic of chilld adoption in gay community. Thankfully most of them have been handled with sensitivity and maturity. This film can easily be added in the list of those few films. The best part of this film is that it has a light dry wit running through it with many little surprises along the way.  Manu, a gay pediatrician in his forties, lives with his partner Philippe, a lawyer. Manu loves kids and desperately wants to adopt one with his partner. The reality is that Philippe is pleased with his present life and will not have it spoiled by the invading presence of a wailing brat. They both try to reason on the argument and in absence of a consensus, the two lovers part. Manu's quest for a surrogate mother begins. He finds a young girl Fina, who is Argentinian immigrant, also looking for legal paperwork so that she could stay in France. They become friends and after Fina gets to know Manu better agrees to bear

Just One Time

This film could as well be an equivalent of a chick flick, except this one is for gays. A cute subject, a simple and engaging direction with pretty above average performances definitely make this film a good fun time pass. I saw this film about 5-6 years ago, before I started writing this blog, so I had to watch this film again to give a fresh perspective to the film when I write about it. The story is pretty simple. Anthony, a fireman is very much in love with Amy and they are gonna get married soon. Victor a neighborhood boy has a huge crush on Anthony (and I think Amy is aware of it). Anthony has always fantasized of Amy with another women for a 3some. Initially reluctant, Amy finally gives in on his bachelor party day but try soon there is a twist. She asks Anthony to do a 3some with a guy before she does that with a girl. Enter Victor, who is more than glad to help. Funny incidents happen leading to Victor going out on a 'date' with Anthony and his friends who after a per