This was the first big Brazilian drama that HBO worked on, and it’s a five-episode miniseries that lasts almost five hours in total. It’s a really emotional and political story set in Rio de Janeiro during the late 1980s, and it does a great job of showing what that era felt like while the country was dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. Since the world feels so divided today, the show is a beautiful reminder of how queer people can find power by standing together when things are hard. The story is actually based on real things that happened, specifically about flight attendants who smuggled AIDS medicine from the US into Brazil in the 80s. It works as both a history drama and a strong political message. The show is mostly about three people: Nando, his best friend Lea (they both work as flight attendants for Fly Brasil), and Raul, who is a performer and an activist. A lot of the story happens at a club called Paradise, which was one of the few open gay clubs back in the 80s. Nando is a h...
This is strictly not a gay film and definitely not a film that's for everyone. Even for me, who does appreciate offbeat films, I found the film extremely slow and boring and unsure of where it was really going. 2 couples - one straight and another gay couple come for a retreat in Catskills mountains to work on this relationship. Through questions and workshops that ask “What do you need?”, “Who are you?”, and, of course, “Why are you here?”, the couples hope to sort out their issues. We are slowly told that both the couples are dealing with sexual intimacy issues. Through these sessions they hope that amicably they will be able to accept the issues and maybe work through it. The film is just a miss mash of random things and events where protagonists are going kayaking, jogging, hiking etc. The actual sessions where the issues are handled are very limited and even in that, it never goes to the depth that I would expect for someone dealing with issues. The gay couple figures out that...