This is a very unusual and a very personal documentary. New Zealand filmmaker Paul Oremland, now in his 60s, looks back on 40 years of gay history by interviewing men he's had sex with over the years. He decides to make a list of 100 men he has slept with, primarily in a chronological order that they appeared in his life, except for of course top 10, which were his real top 10.
Growing up in 70s in New Zealand, homosexuality was generally viewed as an aberration. But still mostly men found ways to find a sexual partner. And even in those less tolerant days, there were people who had happy stories to share. As Paul moved from NZ to London to film making to multiple trips around the world, he recounts and even tracks some of these men to give interviews for this documentary. While on the surface it’s a highly personal tale of one man’s liaisons, in the course of the telling, the tale encompasses profound societal and legal changes from the 1970s to the present day, and how quickly that history fades if we don’t keep the memory alive. The interviews are interesting individually, and are edited together in a narrative that holds your attention through to the end.
A competently made and fun documentary that struggles somewhat to find its focus. A much as the interviews were fun and personal, I was able to enjoy it and find a personal connection. There were years when I used to keep a list of men that I was hooking up with, so I got a little bot of chuckle myself seeing a documentary like this. Through interviews we hear stories about religion, AIDS, clubs, partying, sex, relationship, love, monogamy, pretty much everything. I would recommend this just as a harmless documentary trying to bring a spunk with a general exploration of gay history since the 70s, the film struggles to quite stick the landing and live up to the genuinely moving material it's working with. (6/10)
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