Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Mardistan (Macholand) explores what it means to be a man in India. I was under the impression that this documentary would focus more on the gay aspect of men in the country but I was disappointed. Though they touch upon the subject in a minor segment but overall the documentary does try to enlighten the fact of what it means to be a man in India, a nation increasingly defined by social inequality and gender related violence. There are 4 main protagonists in the documentary whose life story we get to hear. Interestingly they represent different phases of generation as well. First we have a middle-aged writer trying to make sense of the physical and sexual abuse he witnessed studying in an elite military academy and the shock he goes through. He grows up confused as to what real meaning of manhood is. Secondly we have a Sikh father of twin daughters resisting the pressure to produce a son. And we find out this is because he was born when his father was quite old. The social pressure...

These days I barely am getting time to watch films. It breaks my heart because there is so many films to see and once in a while when I do get time, I hope that the film is a good one. So imagine, when you end up watching some bad spoof in the name of comedy with loopholes plenty. The intent probably is nice but its a very bad execution. Maggie runs a bed and breakfast in the town of Saugatuck. The planned thanksgiving dinner does not go well with her gay son Drew and her stuck up daughter Penelope, who thinks Drew needs to pray for his sins. She brings with her, her fiance Paul and we also have Brett, who is Drew’s best friend and also Penelope’s ex.  It turns out that Maggie’s cancer has come back but the said procedure will take a lot of money. Penelope refuses to help. Brett comes up with an idea of travelling church to church pretending to cure latent homosexuality and raise money for Maggie’s procedure. They start making money in ludicrous and over the top acting, until ...

Poker Gayme (USA) On a regular poker night, one of the friends in accidentally outed and is hurt when no one acts surprised and gives him a hard time. Cute n funny. Tenho Local (Brazil) [Get A Room] Daniel makes a date for casual sex with a stranger at his place. He lives moments of adrenaline in this strange crazy night. This is what role-play is about because the stranger happens to be the boyfriend. Bloom (USA) A dismal used car lot is owned by a very angry man. His vicious dogs guard the inventory at night, when only two other people work: Doug, the security guard and Rose, the bookkeeper. Rose likes Doug but he is going through a rough patch with his boyfriend, who in turn decides to surprise him; only to be attacked by vicious dogs. Cinquième Fugue (France) A young student takes lessons with a teacher to learn piano. Yawn! A Song for Your Mixtape (USA) An exploration about love and loss where the guy has lot his love first to a girl and then to life but he is s...

This film tries to explore the masculinity of modern Australian make. The subject is a bit dark, in terms of the amount of pain that these men are ready to inflict upon each other and exploit each other. The film is shown a lot in flash backs and things start to make sense only after a while, so be patient. The film is about three guys: Len, Meat and Phil. Len is the champion of a NSW surf life saving club and finds his position threatened by the club’s new golden boy Phil. Phil is younger, more handsome and gay. Phil being gay is an issue for Len, which we later find out does not come from ignorance, but rather his own repressed gay desires caused by an abusive father and the relentless machismo of his social circle. On the night of celebration of Phil’s win Len manipulates Meat (who for some reason does everything that Len wants him to do) into stripping an almost unconscious Phil of his clothes, burying him in sand up to his neck, and forcing him to sit back and watch the tide ...

I was so so so happy when I got to see the season 2 of this web series. I can’t believe I did not even know that it was under production. Having loved the season one, you can’t even imagine the excitement I had to watch the season 2, because I expected nothing but the best. This season may not be as good as season 1, but still this is a pretty darn good sequel where it returns from where the characters were left. And yes, I will continue to want more seasons and sequels to this web series. Season 1 ended with Oona’s blog picking up, Jack & Mitchell were finally starting to work on their friendship and Paul was getting into a grad school. Time has passed and the stories continue. Paul and Jack are string to make their long distance relationship work by opening it up. Jack has been meeting few people here and there and as always is quite unsure about what’s happening between him and Paul (Scruffy from season one and we find out his name in this season). Mitchell has a new boyfri...

It was  novel idea to take a couple of real life gay porn stars and make a film that probably enters around a similar theme, but not every idea on paper turns out to be a good reality. The film tries to examine the loneliness and the resiliency of the human condition, especially in our main protagonist’s case who also happen to be a famous porn star. Rashawn, a young African-American wanna actor is now Elijah, the hot porn star and escort still struggling to pay his rent. When his roommate leaves abruptly, he rents his spare bedroom to Takeshi, a kindly employee at his favourite takeout palace. The shy Takeshi, who has no problems with Elijah’s job soon finds himself inundated in Elijah’s existence; although admittedly he is not gay. He is fascinated by how popular his room mate is, while he is practically invisible in and around NYC. aries that brings the two together for a moment of intimacy that neither will soon forget. In between, we also meet one of Elijah’s clients, Bryso...

First of all I would like to give a big thank you to the makers of the film for showing us this bitter truth and ugly reality of one of the aspects of Section 377 in India. The incident occurred six years ago, in 2010, but the film's themes – the violation of one's privacy, imposing one's morality on others, intolerance, and society's ten Professor Siras is a 64 year old man who teaches Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He is shown living a very solitary lonely life busy listening to his favourite singer’s old classic songs. As part of the sting operation, he is caught and filmed having sex with a rickshaw-puller from worker class and is subsequently suspended from his position in the university just 4 years before he is supposed to retire from the university. Deepu, is a budding journalist, and when he reads this whole story, wants to help the professor. After initial misunderstanding, he finally manages to strike a bond with the professor; something that star...

Coming Out (UK) Quirky comedy about deaf identity - a deaf teenager reveals a personal secret to his hearing mother. Why does he have ‘dirty’ magazines and videos hidden in his room? What will his father say when he finds out? The unexpected revelations question whether family life will ever be the same again. You can easily draw parallels with being Gay. Wonderful film! Keep Breathing (Israel) A young man’s strong feelings for his ex turns into an obsession when he starts stalking him and even turns up at his girlfriend’s house. Better sense prevails and he is back to reality with support of his best friend. Just Tonight (USA) Two strangers meet on a hookup app with very different expectations of how the night will go. For one, its the first time and for the other, its just a getaway from his boyfriend. Listen (UK) A government worker, who spends his time monitoring phone-calls, becomes inspired by a series of conversations between a gay son and his mother. Duvid (U...

This was an interesting weird film. I don’t think I still completely understand what exactly happened with the whole twist, but to be honest I really don’t care. Yes, the film is confusing, yet pretty straight forward and it still keeps for an engaging viewing. It never lets you bore besides the confusion that it adds. Also I don’t think it is a gay film per say. Yes there is a gay couple and yes maybe  they try to seduce the straight guy but thats that. 40-year-old Anna brings her much younger lover, Stefan, to her childhood home. She meets her old school friend Bernd and his boyfriend Marc of 20 years. The protagonists stay in a secluded location )of this house in east Germany) for a few nights, the house serves as a pressure cooker of emotions and sexual tensions. There is open-pit mine activities going o the town that sends occasional small quakes in the region. The metaphor also is important since it is the similar quakes thats happening in Anna’s life. Marc, who is a well ...

Taking a very important and crucial moment in gay rights history and reducing it to mere background for a coming-of-age story is not cool. The title and the trailer of the film creates expectations from the viewers, especially the ones who had witnessed the ordeal but alas! To be honest, I have not seen many films on the subject, so I am no expert to say whether the said events are shown to reality or not, but I can still very confidently say that, the title should have been used to make a better film with more facts. Danny, is a small town Indiana boy who arrives to New York after he is discovered to be having an affair with his football team-mate. Danny’s father who is the coach can’t deal with it and the boy is exiled. He arrives on Christopher Street in Greenwich village and is befriended by Ray, an androgynous, who slowly starts falling in love with Danny. He also gets support from other trans members and hustlers (mostly street living LGBT members). The entire group hangs ar...

Now this would be a first for me. An entire film about journey based in sea, essentially a sea trip (not a road-trip) movie of coming out and finding love along the way. Almost entire narrative happens in sea. The film is actually shot in a very documentary style like where even the conversation between the 2 characters is told to us as a monologue from one of the protagonists point of view. An interesting experiment I would say! Marek is helping out his mother on her farm an dreams of going to university to Berlin. But plans change and instead he decides to follow his dream of becoming a sailor. While waiting for his boat to sail, he meets Jean, a fellow sailor, youngest on the boat and they befriend each other. Marek’s first introduction to Jean is when he sees him getting intimate with another man. In the ship while Marek is training, a bond starts to develop between the two men which eventually leads to occasional sex sessions. But, alas, Marek is looking for a long-term boyfr...

Timothy Conigrave’s bestselling memoir Holding the Man, an intimate account of his 15-year relationship with lover John Caleo, was published in 1995 and adapted into an award-winning stage production in 2006. This time the script gets moved into a cinematic version. I have neither read the book , nor have I seen the play , so I will be able to judge the film as standalone. Even if I thought the movie was a little confusing, it does give you a feeling of what AIDS involves and how it effects loved ones. At 16, Tim, a budding actor has hots for his classmate John, who also happens to be this aggressive soccer player. This is in 1976 in Melbourne when being gay was probably not the easiest thing. Anyway the two start having an affair and are really too much into one another. Their parents soon find out, when John’s father discovers a love letter written by Tim to John. They are forbidden to meet each other but true love knows no bounds. Time moves and they are in college and are very...

An interesting idea and thought to showcase a day in the life of two closeted gay Muslim teenagers in Brooklyn. When I read this one-liner summary, I was definitely intrigued because there is so much that can be done in this subject and space. So I was really looking forward to it. I would summarise this film as a very simple indie film that gives you a glimpse into something that you may have not experienced first hand. Reserved Naz and outgoing Maalik have formally taken their friendship to the next level, though the religious teens have yet to declare their sexuality to family or friends. They make money by buying lottery tickets, oils and other small items from a local convenience store and hawking them on the streets for a profit. At the start of the day, an innocent encounter with an undercover cop selling guns catches the attention of a FBI agent. The outrageous unfairness of her harassment of them loops into the larger theme of Muslims in New York becoming accustomed to su...

Some of My Best Friends (a terrible name)was an American sitcom shown on CBS shown in 2011. The series was inspired by the film Kiss Me, Guido. The show was cancelled after season 1. Its a shame that it was cancelled because guess what, despite full of stereotypes and caricaturing every character, this is still funny. I personally would have been very interested in watching what happens next but I guess we will never find out. Warren is a gay man living in Manhattan. When his bf leaves him, he needs to find a room mate to pay bills. Italian guy Frankie replies to his ad for GWM looking for roommate thinking that it means ‘uy with money’ instead of ‘Gay while male’. The two end up sharing an apartment, alternately clashing and learning to respect each other. They are surrounded by an assortment of secondary characters who are all hilariously funny. Frankie’s pushy mother, his browbeaten father, his dumb straight best friend. Then we have Warren’s sister and his closets gay friend a...

The Image (UK) The image being painted by an artist comes to life to terrify the life out of him (and us). The imagery is stark and disturbing, & the sound effects oppressive. The film presents the shockingly homoerotic relationship between a painter and the young man who was his inspiration. An homage to the impossible love. Julekveld (Norway) [Christmas Eve] it is Christmas Eve and Emil is coming home for dinner with his family after a long absence. His family is in for a big surprise. The family is a mix of transexual, gay, transgendered. When Emil comes home with a biological female as his girlfriend, all hell breaks loose. De vuelta (Spain) [Back Again] Alex returns to his village after long absense and goes out with friend Jordi to celebrate San Juan’s night. In summer storm they take shelter in an old abandoned house where they used to play when they were kids. There they have to face conflicts from the past, where the games were also of sexual nature. Baby Cak...