Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I can't imagine what it would have been like in 1978 to have a film about a gay man and a lesbian woman eventually falling in love and marrying. In today's time, it would be a scandal because it would probably be considered as "fixing" the gay disease. Having said that , watching a 40 year old film today does bring an interesting perspective. Handsome young gay man Albert has been lover of a successful pianist who dumps him when he find s a new lover. Stella, who happens to be the rich man's agent offers Albert to stay one night at her place when she finds him homeless. She leaves next day expecting him to leave, but instead he is ready with a fantastic dinner. Without verbally acknowledging it, they agree that Albert can stay longer and perform domestic duties while Stella continues working. Stella has a steady girlfriend and eventually Albert also finds a new rich older guy, but they stay together since they have become very good friends. One day when immigratio...

This is one thing that sometimes I don't understand about film festivals. All kinds of weird films get the kind of accolades which for a normal viewer like me shocks the hell out of me. A film like this with barely any dialogues and pretty much long shots of nothingness are a big yawn for me, especially when it drags on for 2 hours. And then i read critics going gaga over this film, and I am like what the hell am I missing. This was simply very boring. A kind of film which you can watch in a fast forward mode, finish in 15 minutes and would still not miss a single thing. An older man spends time in his home, who seems to have some sort of ailment. After almost one hour of nothingness, we see him getting treatments of acupuncture, mugwort burning and electrical stimulation therapy. Meanwhile we have a younger boy, who we watch as he cooks (pretty much for 30-40 minutes). Somehow the two men end up meeting a in a hotel room where the younger guy is giving massage to the older man for...

Ever since Yossi & Jagger, I have looked forward to Eytan Fox's films. The expectations are high and personally for me this film also does really well on my expectations. This film is a very touching and poignant story of an older American writer dealing with sorrow who is brought back some happiness and meaning by the company of a younger Israeli man. The film is slow but sensitive, respectful, thought through, even sensuality laced with amazing performances in a cross-generational emotional awakening. 50-something Michael, a travel writer for New York Times is traveling to Tel-Aviv for five days to explore the city and write about it. He has sublet an apartment in a hip neighborhood from film school student Tomer, who is as messy and spontaneous as Michael is buttoned-up and organized. Tomer has mixed up the American's arrival date but since he needs the money, he quickly leaves the place. When Tomer drops by next day, Michael invites him to stay for breakfast. The younge...

This was such a silly series to make. I am sure when this was scripted on paper, it would have sounded as path breaking, but OMG! the execution is so bad, you will be cringed. The crass so-called comedy does even worse. A potential decent storyline gone wrong with awful direction. At 16-18 minutes each, this series is 8 episodes in total. An athletic student Zach, is ordered by the school board to become an altar server as a punishment for an offense he committed so that he can stay away from mischievous activities. As part of this program he is put under Christian as part of the buddy program, who is a senior altar boy. Soon love starts developing between the two boys and Christian even tells the church about it. Just when things were going well, Christians' Best friend Wolf confesses his love for him. Zach always thought that Wolf has feeling for Christian and to prove to him that Wolf is also gay, he kissed him which Christian sees. The misunderstanding between the two boys keep...

An anthology of sorts, this film portrays love, loss and loneliness in a sense of community. The title of the film means Daddy (I have no idea why the name of this film, it makes sense only for one of the three stories). Anthologies are a hit or miss, and let's see where this one falls. The first story is about a grocery cashier in Iowa who watches helplessly as classmates conceal their act of sexual violence against his teenaged step-sister. The third story is about an older guy, for who the mortality compels him to leave his home and move in with his daughter. The second story is the most impressive and longest of them all. A good looking young man, struggling to make ends meet is lost on life. He also needs food and shelter during a cold winter in New York City. He is also sexually attracted to older men. And even though a young woman takes him in, nothing satiates his quest for love than older gay client. He meets a succession of them, most of them wealthy, and lonely. They all...

A teenage gay love, first love during the pre-technology times, the more innocent time when coming out meant something different and pure. Whats not to look forward to a film set in such times. An innocent gay summer fling that ends in tragedy (I wish that wasn't the case) but then ideas like these make a film even more interesting. The film starts with Alexis (who now prefers being called Alex) being taken in custody and us leading us to believe that he has something to do with the death of his friend David. He doesn't want to talk to anyone and it's through flashbacks we see what happens. David (18) and Alex (16) met when David rescues helpless Alex when his little boat capsize. David then takes him home to his mom who undresses and bathes Alex (like it happens with all of David's friends). The two boys come really close to one another and you can see Alex falling hopelessly in love with David, who is show to be equally into him but also distant. The only person who A...

This was such an odd film. Set in 1948, the so called golden age of Hollywood and set in the tinsel town and broadway, the film's primary focus is on relationship between legend Monty Cliff and upcoming film maker Sid. Although the film says that it is inspired by true events, I have no way to validate it. The story plot is very basic. Clift, a free-spirited lover of life and passion, draws Sid into untapped feelings for a man, while maintaining a relationship with “Hannah”, a blind woman who unintentionally opens the Pandora’s box. The film focusses on their summer romance while hiding the relationship away from prying eyes while making their way in the film world. You know there is a problem when you lose interest within first 10 minutes of the film. The dialogues are so theatrical, flowery and pretentious that its hard to explain. Also, why do the actors have to speak in this poetry tone? It just doesn't sound real. The only positive side is that the actors playing Sid and M...

This one according to me is yet another one of those series, where the primary idea is to show some soft porn , so a story is built up around a wafer thin idea. Get some amazingly hot looking actors, who can do a decent job and i am sure makers think they will find some audience at least. Ayden and Brent have been together for about 3 years. Brent is the more mature and older of the two with a stable job, meanwhile Ayden is impulsive and likes to party. Ayden's best friend is not a huge fan of Brent, so when Brent refuses to bottom for Ayden, his friend instigates him against Brent. But sanity prevails and Ayden suggests having threesome since he cannot just be a bottom. They try it but then as expected Brent has fun and Ayden gets even more jealous. But the constant bickering from Ayden is starting to get over Brent who ends up cheating when a male client of his hits on him. Ayden also has opportunity to cheat in the meantime but he controls. The couple splits eventually, hoping t...

When you are at a young impressionable age, there are myriad of complex emotions that you can experience. You sometimes take decisions that you are nit sure of, sometimes out of love, other times because of fear or anger. This Thai BL series clearly outshines every Thai BL series thats out here in terms of storytelling, acting, the plot, direction and everything else. Having said that I do have a few points that I will write up later that I had issues with. Teh and Oh-Aew were best friends and completely inseparable as kids but their same dream of becoming an actor tears them apart. They meet again 5 years later in their final year in school preparing for university entrance exams. Their animosity stays but slowly they forgive each other and mend their relationship. Teh gets into university in an early exam which leaves him free time. He decides to tutor Oh-Aew and in the process they both discover hidden feeling of love and confusion for each other. Even though Teh has a girlfriend, h...

I didn't realize till the very end that this film was actually a biographical film that chronicles the years gay English writer Quentin Crisp spent in New York City. I have to be honest that I know nothing about this man. Apparently, he is sort of a pioneer for gays as the man who dared to wear makeup in London even back in 30s and who has a way of saying things that just make sense.  Quentin Crisp decides to move to New York on 70s since according to him its the closest place to heaven on earth. He is embraced by celebrities and artists where he is picked up by an agent to make appearances and shows and his fan following starts increasing. Crisp's spontaneous words of wit and wisdom earn him an high place in the gay community with regular appearances on radio and TV. He even starts writing a column for newspaper and becomes real close friends with editor Tom Steel. When he makes a comment that "AIDS is a fad, his gay audience, now starting to really suffer from the epidem...

Seriously, wtf was this film about? I mean, what was the point behind making a film which was more like a series of monologues and long drawn scenes that go on forever. And to top that the film is almost 2 hours long. I am all for new age cinema, but in the name of art, please don't present us just about anything at all and expect the audience to lap it up. The main character of the film is Joao. The film is a sequential events of him interacting with various people where all of them indulge in extensive conversations talking forever about various topics. He meets his best friend Irene, who cannot let go of memories of her ex. Then we have long drawn scenes between him and his boyfriend. He then meets Matias, a young main subway and then they have sex and then again talk forever. These encounters affect him and slowly begin to reveal a play of time frames which blends together life and creative process, present and memory. The film ends as randomly as it started. Joao has a good sc...

Juan Gabriel Is Dead (Mexico) Best friends Beto and Daniel spend most of their time together. Daniel struggles with his gender identity just to hide his feelings for Beto. To be himself he has to overcome his fear by showing Beto what he truly feels. Plan Q (France) A curious guy hooks up online and asks the man to leave soon after. Only then we realize that he has a wife and its time to be "straight" again. Freunde (Germany) [The Whiz Kids] Two sixteen year old boys, Marcos and Johannes, spend their days racing, wrestling, hanging out, watching videos and playing hide-and-seek at nights. A closeness develops between the two of them, which soon starts to become a calamity to their friendship. Bore! Danny Wylde (USA) Discover the art of being a former porn star in this intimate portrait of Danny Wylde. Totita (Argentina) Toti, a Young college student will do anything in order to get the man of his dreams. With the help of his best girlfriend, he'll find out that within him...

I know very few film maker names in queer cinema, but for some reason the name Scud has stayed with me. People either love or hate his films. Hence I had my apprehensions when I started watching this film. The film has a LOT of full nudity, so be aware of what you are getting into to watch. Young college student Hins lives with his single mom and has a steady Catholic girlfriend Joey for three years now. When a new philosophy professor Antonio comes to teach the class, the very introductory lecture about homosexuality stirs something in Hins. He wants to get close enough to Antonio to understand him, who is more than happy to take him under his wing. Mysterious appearance of Swan, Antonio's research assistant adds to the intrigue since she promotes both Hins and his girlfriend separately to let their feelings go and believe in all kinds of sexuality and love. Finally Hins gives into Antonio's advances and they have sex but Antonio gets arrested for having sex with underage boy....

Whether we admit it or not, most gays have thought of stories involving prison. Some find the thought exciting, while others scary and repulsive. In fact, a lot of film makers have explored this theme to variety of degrees and I feel that this is the third film in recent times that I am seeing that explores the basic theme of sexual slavery to survive in the prison system. Young Smitty has just come to prison. His cellmates are Rocky, a "dangerous and unpredictable" 19-year-old; Mona, an 18 year-old, who is regularly abused by prison mates and Queenie, a flamboyant gay man. Rocky explains the system: Unless the kid places himself under the protection of a regular old man, in this case Rocky himself, who has a place in the power structure, he'll be the victim of gang rape by everybody else in the cell block. Queenie encourages Smitty to beat up Rocky and spread the news so he can win a better protector from amongst the "politicians" for his own benefit rather tha...

Personally, for me, documentaries have been a hit or miss. There has to be something interesting, attention grabbing for me to keep my focus on, otherwise I lose interest. For people who are familiar with Wigstock, the biggest festival and indelible part of New York’s drag scene in the ’80s and ’90s; this film would be jogging them back into memory lane. But in the spirit of honesty, it didn't do much for me. Club Pyramid used to be the biggest drag bar in town back in 80s. Wigstock was born when Lady Bunny decided to put on a show at sunrise mainly to show people that drag is perfectly suitable during the daylight as it is late at night. For some reason the festival ended in 2001, after it had grown bigger and better to a professionally-staged show. In 2018, Lady Bunny, along with Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, brought back Wigstock as a massive production on a rooftop at South Street Seaport’s Pier 17. Most of Lady Bunny’s contemporaries were there, as well as younger drag...