Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

"Oh, Otto!" is a wonderful coming-of-age story, which will be incredibly recognizable to their twenties and thirty-somethings. The series seamlessly captures the messy reality of growing up, and all the issues that come with it. The characters are not perfect and make everyday mistakes, making the story feel very real and not forced. With 7 episodes of about 25 minutes and a criminally handsome and charming lead, this series should be on everyone's watchlist. The series starts with Otto's boyfriend Boris returning from a 3 month trip, and breaks up citing that Otto needs more fun and Boris is bored of his mundane life. Otto lives in the huge apartment by his grandmother, hasn't renovated the place, as if he is stuck in time loop. This breakup comes as a shocker to him and he is not ready to move on. His best girlfriend Lente suggests Grindr. Otto is new to Grindr and creates a new identity and starts to hook up, gets to experience the surprisingly vibrant (and at ...

The series Blur tells the story of a close group of friends formed during high school. But what happens after graduation? As their lives change, so do they, and so do the dynamics between them. Will they let go or stick together? The first season had 8 episodes of 35 min each. It I snot really a gay show, but there is a queer relationship quite prominent in the initial part of the overall story and again later, so I think it qualifies to be reviewed here. This is the story of Tommy, Tuur, Femke, Rune, Manon, Joren and Julie, a close group of friends that emerged during high school. Their group is called "Pigs". After graduation, as they spread their wings and get to know themselves better, how will the multiple events affect their life and their interactions with others. Manon and Joren are twin brother-sister. Julie is Manon's best friend dating her brother Joren for 4 years. Rune is the gay guy (more like gender fluid , in my opinion) of the group, who is spending more ...

This is how some series should be (take a cue Asian BLs). I mean, just 6 episodes, each of 11 minutes each and the mini-series says so much with so little. I love every single second of it. Poignant, sentimental, emotional and with respect and dignity it shows us a story about one man's past trying to reconcile with his present. As per the director of the show, he wanted to focus on son the show on young adults and whether teenagers in 2025 realize that not so long ago it was quite hopeless to fall in love with someone of the same sex. Things have changed drastically between 2000 and current times. This series tells the story of Seb, a father who comes out as a gay in 2025 and thus ends his relationship with his child's mother. What follows is an intimate portrait of personal growth, identity and the search for acceptance. Seb is in the middle of divorce from his wife and the teenage daughter doesn't understand it. In pain, Seb blurts out, "Because I am gay". The ...

Why don't we make more such films? Sweet and earnest, this is the kind of film that’s easy to wrap your arms around because it understands that coming of age is inherently traumatic. Sometimes you don't need plot twists or bog dramatic reveals. This film about a 14-year-old kid who falls for the boy next door, causing him to question his sexuality and somewhat rebel against his parents treasures in fragile thoughts and feelings, mostly internalized, and also shows a sense of hope that you feel like a comfy blanket thanks to people around you and your family. We all could use some positive reinforcement about love in our lives and this film does exactly that. Elias, a young 14 year old lives in a small countryside village. His family is mostly a prototypical household: his older brother is dating, his caring mother supports her father's musical profession and a very empathetic grandfather who works in a farm and with whom Elias likes to spend time. Elias sorta has a girlfrie...

Told in three parts, Patrick Carpentier’s “The Irregularity of the tearing” is a three part cine-diary intimate journey along the author’s transient love stories: two and a half years of sensuality to question intimacy, an exploration of desire and reason. Part one, “God is a Dog” (2004) is shot on Super 8 and confronts the film makers remembrances of childhood memories and how they interact with his adult love encounters.  Section two, “Les 9 mardis” (The 9 Tuesdays) (2005) deals with the absurdity of the passage of time. Time that reopens and closes past wounds, time that re-opens and cures childhood wounds, time that brings a rhythm to the impossibility of loving, time that provides the courage to continue and to go through mourning. The final installment is “Combat”asks the viewer: how can one let go in a world where one learns not to? Is it possible to reach the end of desire? The tale of two young men both deeply in love who can only express their feelings through acts of phy...

Bare documents the creation of an all-male, all-naked modern dance piece by Belgian dancemaker Thierry Smits; from audition to opening night. Told with neither an erotic whisper nor a juvenile giggle, Bare celebrates the male body in all its complexity, might, and vulnerability. Anima Ardens features 11 male dances, all of whom appear completely nude for the duration of the performance. The furiously hypnotic energy of the performance invites audiences to explore the male body, which rarely receives the same level of aesthetic consideration in fine art as female nudes do. This doc films the 11-month preparation for Anima Ardens and offers a window into a unique artistic collaboration. The auditions introduce a unique dynamic that transforms as the film progresses. Smits asks his prospective dancers if they have read the performance description in full and understand that the piece is to be done in the nude. Several dancers are visibly surprised and uncomfortable as they begin crossing ...

A few of us may have seen some of those European arthouse films, sometimes they are abstract and sometimes they are wonderful, so every time when I watch one, I am always skeptical. This film was one of those. It had barely any dialogues, very abstract setting, confused sexuality of the protagonist and a message, that I personally didn't understand as to what the point of this film in the first place. Thankfully the film ends in just an hour. The story is basic, if you can call that. A good looking psychologist believes that he is living the perfect life both professionally and personally. During a session with a deaf male client, after the passing away of his boyfriend, the lead man feels a strong attraction to him and that stirs up feelings that have been long buried inside him. As he tries to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend and resist his desires, the psychologist is drawn to his client and the new feelings that he can no longer hide. They start having an affair an...

I may not be much of a dancer myself, but I have always always enjoyed dancing and watching people dance and dance shows and stuff. So naturally when I heard about this documentary queer Tango dancing, I was very excited. Tango is one of those dance forms that has always attracted me and I have told myself plenty of times, that if I could be an expert on any dance form, it would be Tango. So with all these feelings, naturally I went in watching this documentary with a lot of expectations. Big mistake! The film documents two years of a gay couple Misha and Otar before their immigration to Israel. The images of the documentary preserved their lives and emotions in the decision making process. While organizing queer tango events and giving tango classes, they are feeling lost about the upcoming departure. Tango is a pair dance that originated in the poor port areas of Argentina at the end of the 19th century. It was danced by men, emigrants from Southern Europe, Africa, South America. The...

I am not sure why the title of this Belgian comedy-drama film, but it tells the story of a colourful sham marriage between a widowed and whimsical homosexual man and a young, undocumented Congolese woman. I won't call this film a queer film per say, its more about human interactions, loneliness, a face-off between two human beings who are polar opposites, and who will have to learn to live together. Martin, an again man, has just buried Jan, his husband of many years and love and backbone of his life. He is now struggling financially to keep up with mortgage of the house they both lovingly built. One day, a friend dog his tells him how he has fallen in love with a Congolese woman but  because of legal reasons cannot support her to make her legal in Belgium. He pleads Martin to marry her in return for money. Martin agrees and enter Tamara. Martin and Tamara, who have virtually nothing in common, will enter into a marriage of convenience and will have to live together, much to their ...

It's been a while since I saw a version of Skam, and this felt like any other good time. So here I am. Just finished watching Season 3 of the Belgium remake of Skam, known here as wtFOCK. The Belgian version also followed the same pattern as the Norwegian original posting clips throughout the week via social media and posts. By now, if you have seen the original version and any other remake, you know that normally Season 3 focuses on the gay story and it was the same here. This time the story is set in Antwerp, Belgium. Just like the original, here the focus of the season is Robbe, a young teen struggling with family and his own sexuality. He gets a girlfriend, much sooner than any of his other boy friends. But he knows something is off and doesn't feel very sexual for the girl. On one of the seaside trips, he meets another boy names Sander. He is mysterious, attractive and something about him that instantly attracts Robbe towards him. They both feel a certain chemistry towards...

What an absolute bizarre film (or was it a documentary?). The version that I saw either had some really bad subtitles, or it had the kind of English that made absolute no sense to me. It was extremely poetic using words that just didn't make sense together. Given that the film is supposed to be a homoerotic journey through a modern day Caravaggio painting, I'd have to say the dialogues were meant to be artsy. Maybe they make more sense in local language, but in language I ket scratching my head on what really is this film trying to say. The plot as per online resources is this. Set in three geographically distinct chapters that take place in Naples, Utrecht, and Rome, this drama follows the wanderings of a middle-aged man as he mopes his way through the sex clubs, concert halls, bars, and streets of Europe. Voice-over reflections on love, art, and death are abundant.  In a cross between a diary and a baroque play the film reconstructs the fragments of a fateful journey against ...

An interesting roundabout love story, or is it a use story? Whatever it is, it is a convincing story of a young man looking for love, compassion, stability and a home and the only way he knows, to get any of those is through his body. He is lanky and handsome Argentinian boy and now he needs to do something in life. In some ways we all use other people in life which somehow becomes habit and eventually a norm. Lucas, is a young man in Argentina who does gay web came sex shows to make money and tells that he is very lonely and if any of the suitors send him money, he will fly to meet them. Next thing we know is Lucas arrives in Belgium, and an old overweight baker Henry is there to pick him up. Henry is gay, and is hoping that Lucas will help him in bakery shop and of course fulfills his sexual needs while living together in the same house. Lucas protests sleeping in the same room, but he has no where else to go so he agrees. Slowly Henry realizes that Lucas is actually disgusted by his...

I think this is the kind of film where it is important for the audience to know what they are actually getting into. And by that I mean, not just the storyline of the film but also a bit of history about the film and the subjects of the film. This film specifically relies too much on pieces of information about a then well-known Russian film-maker who was quite popular. And in this film, we get to see the unauthorised biography of what could have happened when he along with his crew visited Mexico to shoot for his next film. In 1931, Eisenstein, famous Russian director, drove from California to Guadajuato, after two years of unsuccessfully trying to get a production started in Hollywood. Eisenstein in a clownish and an eccentric  man who gets very fascinated by the country and finds too much similarities and differences between his motherland and Mexico. Canedo, is a handsome academician who has been assigned to the director to show him around and be his companion. The directo...

This was such a breath of fresh air. Although the film is over 15 years old, it is probably as relevant as today. I have been watching more and more cinema on gender identity issues and they have all been very interesting and eye-opening for me personally to understand the people better. Th film is comic yet heartbreaking and the subject is very sensitively handled by the director. Seven-year old Ludovic lives in an upper-middle class Belgian suburban neighborhood. He behaves in a way that is quite natural to him, dresses in a dress or skirt whenever possible, and is quite convinced he will be marrying a neighborhood boy, Jerome, the son of his father's boss. He knows a boy doesn't marry a boy , so he will marry Jerome when he becomes a girl. The rest of the family humor him as best they can, rationalizing that Ludovic is only trying to find his identity and will be over it soon. While playing a game Ludovic and Jerome are caught while pretending to marry which is seen by ...

I watched a gay film after a really really long time. And I am glad that it wasn't a bad one. I was hesitant on which movie to pick up, since there was long break but thankfully, this film almost met my expectations. I guess the trick is not to have huge expectations in the first place. The film with hits Turkish background became even more appealing to me for reasons known to people who know me. The film deals with social and religious equality for gays, religious fundamentalism and about divided identities. Film's protagonist is Ibrahim, a Turkish origin guy in Belgium who would rather be called as Bram and identified as Belgian. He is Muslim and is gay. With this the platform is set. He is smitten by Kevin, the son of a woman running a local diner. They become friends but soon we also find out that Bram is all set to marry his cousin back in Turkey. Bram's family is traditional Turkish family. His younger brother Furkan is an angry teenager, who skips school, commits ...

This is a movie about the people who live on the outskirts of society. Isolated and frequently shunned by the rest of the world, trans-gender and transsexual people form their own family circle. That fragile little support system is shattered to pieces by the serial killer that targets members of their sisterhood. So far so good- but that's when the problems with this movie start. Transsexual Bo works as an entertainer in a drag club in Brussels. His best friend is Maeva, who performs with him. There is a serial killer and the prostitutes are falling prey to him who disfigures each of his victims in a vicious way. Bo, we learn, left home at age 13, unable to cope with sexual molestation from his father and the suicide of his mother, and lives quietly in a humble apartment. Her interest is peaked when a handsome young Johnny moves in next door and she fantasizes an affair with him. While Johnny appears to be infatuated with Bo, he has his dark side, living with a roommate with ...

It has been a while since I saw a really touching and heart warming, tender and electrifying, gay coming of age story done with such sensibility and sensitivity. An engaging story with superb performances, his movie stayed with me much longer after the film had ended. Pim, is a 15 year old boy living in a coastal town with his fading beauty queen mom. He is friends with a neighboring family and he is totally in love with Gino, 18 year old son of the family. Pim is a shy guy who doesn't talk much and lives in his own world where he like to paint and draw. He takes care of his mother and other household activities. Having played as kids together, Pim and Gino had been involved in some kid sex moments but things change when one night they get an opportunity to sleep together. They slowly start falling in love, at least Pim does. They do a lot of excursions on Gino's bike and make love to each other. Gino's sister Sabrina has a total crush on Pim. Totally oblivious of ...