Larry re-reads the letters he didn’t dare send to his imprisoned lover, remembering how sensual & beautiful life with Richard once was. Richard, behind bars, yearns for Larry and imagines him near. Now Richard is being released. Together again, will Larry and Richard find the love they once shared?
The reason Larry doesn't send the letters is for the fear that they could mark him for abuse inside the prison. Larry has been counseled to type his letters and sign a woman's name to them, but he doesn't want to do that; he prefers to pour out his honest feelings in his own voice, and save his letters as a homecoming present for his man. In between all this, of course we have more than plenty of sexual encounters like sensual picnics, fantasies about joining Richard in jail for simultaneous episodes of onanism in adjoining cells, and a swaggering daydream in which Richard approaches from a desert landscape before pleasuring himself. Maybe there is a much deeper meaning to these letter exchanges and how the two men are feeling but so many sex scenes, IMO, take away the essence of the storyline itself. The film eschews the crude fetishization that many porn films have of the prison and prisoner, Richard is fighting against the mundane with his memories of Larry being the only thing that carries him through the days. I can see why everyone keeps saying that these are important pieces of film making for anybody who wants to fill in the blind-spots of queer film and queer filmmakers who emerged during gay liberation; but these are just not for me. I am curious what others think. (3/10)
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