Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This film definitely takes on a very interesting premise and tries to weave a thriller around it. Set in the 70s, it weaves the fascinating lives of cisgender men embracing their female alter egos under Izabel's guidance in a secluded retreat, offering a unique glimpse into Brazil's history and societal nuances with warmth and depth. There is a secluded house in middle of nowhere, called 'Casa Izabel', where cis gendered men come, disguise as women and spend their time. These are all socially well to do men and they live out their fantasies while no one judges them. It is a temporary escape, allowing them to become the glamorous women they desire to be. They don wigs, make-up, gowns, and aliases to live openly for their short stay — tossing back champagne, dancing, and even hunting wild boar in their pumps. This setting, managed by the transvestite Izabel, becomes a sanctuary for their unique escapades. But Izabel is extremely old now, so the things are managed by a car...

This documentary is about the life of the Brazilian transsexual singer Linn da Quebrada. Coming from an impoverished region of São Paulo, where she has to face many prejudices, among others, for being black. Her funk music sounds like a "gun" against machismo. With a really strong and daring stage presence, she constantly seeks to confront and fight paradigms and stereotypes. The titular star and her stage partner Jup do Bairro openly discuss what challenges they face from transphobia and racism growing up in the favelas of San Paulo, exploring how they use their music to give voice to the marginalized communities they fight for. The film shows her in performance, in the studio, reflecting on the nature of identity, hanging out with friends, and also affectionately chatting with her mum in the apartment where she grew up, arguing about the community’s defeatist habit of romanticizing poverty. She aligns the experience of being trans with the marginalization involved in having...

This is a mystery/horror genre of film. This one again, I would not call a gay film per se, since the focus is not sexuality. The lead characters just happen to be gay and even if they were straight, the film could still have been the same. The film was a straight forward one. Films in this genre usually need a lot more suspense/background and chills to scare the audience, which I thought was missing here. But given whatever little it did, it was fine. Thomas and Beni are a happy gay couple in Berlin. But Thomas is struggling with getting his residency papers sorted. Around same time he gets the news that his mother has passed away back home in Brazil, whom he had not seen in about 10 years. Once back in Brazil, he finds out that he has now inherited the country house that is being taken care of by two of his grand aunts. Beni and Thomas decide to visit the place is hopes to sell it, and also of course, Thomas craves for some family connection. Once in the house, Thomas, as expected, i...

OMG! I had no idea what this film was all about but I really really liked this film. Exploring the twisty, aching complexities of the men’s relationship and the demimonde they inhabit, this gritty yet very tender Brazilian drama focusing on survival of a gay teenager in the streets of São Paulo deserves a lot of accolades and merit. This mature story of queer love, friendship and more between an 18-year-old man and his 42-year-old father-figure-cum-lover really deserves to be seen by one and all.  After spending two years in a juvenile detention centre, Wellington, just turning 18 returns home only to find out that his alcoholic policeman father has left the city with this mother. With no place to go while searching for his mother, he is hanging out with his queer friends in an adult cinema where he meets 42 year old escort Ronaldo, who takes a liking to the younger man both personally and professionally. Acting in both a parental role and as a lover, he takes Wellington under his ...

This Brazilian murder-mystery thriller has a good story at hand and to an extent they have tried to do justice to it. But having said that the film's production is very independent-like and some of the acting leaves a lot to be desired. More on that later. It's great that we are trying to tell different stories around gay themes but unless we give a proper attention to the execution, these films will never make an impression like they should. The film starts with Victor bringing in Renan to a secluded cabin in the mountains and they son hear about the murder of the senator Arthur a turns out that Victor was the last person to meet him. The cops soon arrive and they both ar taken for questioning, Through flashback we hear the story of what transpired. Senator Arthur is leading a double life of a happily married man but is also enjoying an illicit affair with a young boy Renan, to whom he has given an apartment ad all luxuries as his keep. Through a common friend Renan meets a jo...

This was a simple film addressing the issues of homophobia that is still prevalent in many parts of the society but the film takes a very comical take on it. Some folks may find it demeaning or putting gay community down, but if we cannot take a joke on ourselves, then we have a problem as a society. So, I would say that to briefly enjoy this film, do not look for much logic, just sit back and relax and try and smile and laugh for few minutes. Carlão is a prejudiced man who works in a car dealership. Since he was a kid, he was engrained in his Brian by his father who being a 'fairy' is not what a man should be. So when he is with friends he is always making homophobia slurs and jokes around. In fact when the new manager at car dealership show up, they all do not take him seriously as well. He is also part of the football team and together they frequent a bar where a fem gay man work and they all make fun of him.  Carlão always boasts of being the greatest soccer and mechanics s...

A story of teenage love. We have another series from Brazil, which, by the way, I just slowly started to build up their backlog of BL/gay series, so you may find them amateurish at some point. This series is not set in Paris, but Paris here symbolizes a young man’s fantasy image of a faraway place of freedom where you are at liberty to be yourself. With 8 episodes ranging from 20-30 minutes, this show was an ok watch, primarily thanks to its very cute leads. A troubled teenage Noel comes to live with his aunt. Only much later towards the end we find out that he was beaten and kicked out of hime for being gay, which eventually led to their parents separation as well. His two cousins Carol and Leo are very welcoming and friendly and soon he starts to feel at home. Leo's best friend is Fred and they have been friends since kids and is considered part of the family. When Noel and Fred meet, they feel a spark but obviously neither of them is going to do anything about it. Also Noel find...

This films feels like another one of those breezy films lacking emotional depth, where the film maker is probably lost somewhere on trying to make a point. It's a shame because it's from the director who made one of my fav films "The Way He Looks". It's not that the film is bad but there is really not much memorable to take home with you once you are done watching the film.  Joao is a 32-year-old filmmaker living in San Paulo, who after ending his 10-year relationship with Hugo, turns to dating apps in search of another boyfriend. He believes that the relationship ended on a. High note which is good, because just like a TV series you don't wanna leave when things get boring. He throws himself on dating apps but doesnt jump to meet people. He wants to take things slow. meets up with a couple, Alexandre and Rodrigo, and his voyeurism leads to an unforeseen career flirtation. He also meets Viktor, whom he likes but after a couple of flings dthatfades away as well...

This Brazilian film centers around the trials and tribulations of a group of three queer individuals in the working-class suburbs of Brazil. The film tells the story of three young queer people in São Paulo – two of them residents, the third a visiting relative there for more sobering reasons than simply a casual stopover – as they spend roughly a day together traversing the bustling streets of a city they feel they can conquer, if they can muster up the confidence to emerge from the shadows in which they have found sanctuary from a hostile world that does not understand their experiences. We meet roommates Isabella, a student, Pedro, a sex worker and Jonata, Pedro’s HIV-positive nephew. Its just around the pandemic's fourth wave, the film moves into the three of them traversing through the city making astute contemplations about the society they live and what the future holds for them, in a Sao Paolo that is bled dry by a memory-easing virus and rampant capitalism. There is no sto...

This horror musical was definitely not my cup of tea. It is one of those productions that throws everything against the wall in hopes that something will stick and resonate with the viewer. In particular, the project attempts to tackle several different genres; romance, comedy, horror, mystery, and musical. The result, as is often the case with films bogged down in excess, is a bit of a muddled mess that is impressive one moment only to transition into aggravating tedium. Martin is on a quest. Long ago, before he understood his sexuality or what it could mean for him socially, he fell for one of his friends, a skinny blond boy called Daniel. Not so long afterwards, Daniel disappeared, and nobody knows what became of him. Sometimes he thinks he catches sight of him. He is now hiding in his aunt's coastal house away from everyone. There his cousin also shows up with her boyfriend and other friends. Martin meets Lucas, a neighborhood boy and together they wanna search for the mystery ...

This was more like an extended short film running to about an hour or so, which could easily have been squeezed into a 25 min film. There a re a few obvious scenes that can be eliminated and the message that this film is trying to say would not have been diluted. Story is about 18 year old boy who is obsessed with universe, space and astrophysics. He is also a religious boy thanks to his mom and how his knowledge of science and religious interferes with his confusion when he starts to have feelings for his friend. Thiago is a young man of 18 who is simple, Christian, and passionate about astrophysics. He lives with his religious mother and sister in a happy family. His best friend is Lucas, who is not very good at studies and Thiago helps him a lot. His life takes a turn when he realizes that he is developing feelings for his best friend. As their friendship deepens, Thiago is confronted with unexpected feelings that go beyond his comprehension. Intrigued, Thiago embarks on a quest for...

I am not sure how serious this film should be taken. It was an interesting idea likely in paper. Love will find you in most unexpected places and situations, but the way the treatment of the film is done, it came off to me as very amateurish, both from screenplay but also from acting pov. There were scenes that were unlikely supposed to excite the audience but somehow they just didn't work for me. A macho man Paulo is in an unhappy marriage with his wife and usually cycles around. One day after a serious argument with her, he gets lost while cycling and ends up in a forest like area known as the "Forest of whispers" a secret place where men meet for sexual purposes. Initially things around him, he finds it awkward. But he ends up finding himself drawn to a young twink blonde Luigi. Unhappy in his marriage, Paulo begins to frequent the forest often, and eventually gives into passion for Luigi's body. They connect every weekend in the forest and over the course of next ...

“Mango Yellow” is a provocative tale of low-rent losers set in the coastal town of Recife, Brazil. Like characters out of some Carnival hell, a macho butcher and his born-again wife, a forlorn barmaid, a sinister sadist and the gay manager of a flophouse called the Hotel Texas run in and out of each other’s lives in a film as sloppy, sluttish, scruffy and vital as they are. Though the film struggles to reach a meaning beyond its own shock value, it has the kind of in-your-face transgressiveness that some critics look for in a film so that it can make festival rounds. This is definitely not a gay film at all, but one of the main characters is gay and we see a bit of his mindset behind doing things that he does. We have a sexy waitress running a bar who regularly has to shoot down advances from various men. Issac, is one such guy, lives at the Texas Hotel, where Dunga, a gay man, works as a handyman. Dunga is attracted to Wellington, a butcher who delivers meat to the hotel. Wellington, ...

This intriguing documentary is a very affectionate profile of Brazil’s growing  gay leather community. Through a quick backstory and a highly amusing parody, we find how Barbudo became the very first winner of the Mr Leather title in 2017, and now the de-facto organiser of the second ever competition that is the subject of the film. The film maker uses an expressionistic approach to tackle the subject, making it quite different from a typical documentary. Thirteen years ago when the mysterious Mr D started the first leather night in Sao Paolo only one other person turned up.  Barbudo.  Now it is one of the most important leather parties in the country. It's time for the second competition in 2019 and we have 4 contestants. The documentary trails the four contestants vying for the title we  get the feeling that this is still quite an intimate affair where everyone knows everyone else. At the Leather Dinner that precedes the competition everyone is decked out in their ...

Set almost entirely in the confines of a low-rent dive bar, offers an enchanting tale of community, self-belief and belonging shot-through with very contemporary politics about government-backed gentrification and the displacement of non-conforming communities. The film is an ode on why community is important and a tender tribute to all those oddballs in the society. Whether, personally I liked the film or not is something we will see later. Unfolding almost entirely within the confines of the seedy, gay-friendly Brazilian bar called Inferninho, we meet Jarbas, a footloose sailor who arrives at the bar. The easygoing dude immediately catches the eye of world-weary transvestite proprietor Deusimar, who offers him a room for rent. Of course, they dance and love sparks from the very first night itself. Jarbas is welcomes by other members of this seedy bar including a man always dressed as rabbit, bearded Wonder Woman and a chubby Wolverine and such other characters. A nefarious developer ...

Greta is a very interesting film in more than one way.  The film gives us a very compassionate view on people willing to try be in love against all odds - their own convictions notwithstanding. Looking at marginalization through several lenses; including age, sexuality, gender and criminal life; this is a thematically ambitious but narratively very intimate and compassionate story of human relationships. Gay nurse Pedro is way past his retirement age but still goes to hospital everyday and takes pleasure in taking care of others. One night, his trans friend Daniela, who suffers form kidney failure, needs emergency bed in the hospital. But since doctors wont allow her in female ward , she doesn't want to go in the men's ward, which is the only place with some vacancy. So when a bloodied stranger is brought in at the hospital under suspicious circumstances, the supposedly morally upright Pedro helps to smuggle out the man who might be a criminal on the run from either a gang or t...

Brazil is trying top get into the BL zone but so far the couple of shows that I have been there have paper thin plots, shoddy direction and a long long way to do anything polished. Add to that list this show, which, admiringly is slightly better than the previous ones that I saw, but still it has a very very basic storyline. The show is done over 6 episodes with each being 24-30 minutes of duration. Davi is a young man who has been raised in Sao Paolo with his mother. This year for holidays he is visiting his father whom he hasn't seen in a long time in a small town. Davi soon meets young Theo, a boy who was raised like a son by his father after his parents passed away. Despite initially appearing to be different, the two end up getting closer, leading Theo to question his feelings. During the time they live together, the two discover themselves in love, at the same time that they need to deal with the differences between young people from the countryside and those from a big city....

Brazil’s trans community may seem more accepted or even established than others, but, as is often the case, it’s paper thin and probably not as acceptable in smaller towns and poo rural communities. This film about a trans woman's dream of getting her dream wedding in a church may feel simple and straight forward; but the film is about he journey of unmatched strength of one woman who dares to dream and would go to any lengths to achieve that dream. Black, poor and illiterate Paloma lives with her husband Zé raising Paloma's daughter together. They are in a very happy space. Paloma works at a farm, has a decent circle of friends and are getting by Zé loves her. Casual jibes and threats accompany her wherever she goes but her support system is strong; yet she feels and dreams of a white wedding in a church, which as per everyone could be a risky move. But she wants it. Her local priest refuses to do that , even though he respects Paloma and accommodates her. He eventually finds ...

The film making style and structure of this film was quite unique. A drama set in a nontraditional narrative structure, take son full steam when tragedy becomes real and expected. Characters aren’t developed or fully fleshed out in the usual fashion and seldom does the film consider a first-person perspective for the audience to emotionally connect with a character. This dramatic story of three friends in a small Brazilian town in 1983 at the time with the first wave of the AIDS epidemic takes hold in their community and they decide to form a chosen family of their own.  The film starts very interestingly with a 7-10 minute montage equating young boys with soldiers, a representation of the childhood memories of our lead character Suzano. It turns out he is talking out loud and his nephew feels he is being talked to. Cut to reality. It's new years eve 1982 and Suzano is visiting his small town after a long town where his very supportive sister lives with his nephew. We then meet Ros...

This feels like a very indie sort of film trying to make. bold new statement. There ia bit of historical, political context as well, that I important to understand to appreciate this film, which is clearly explained here. Billed as the ‘city of the future,’ Serra do Ramalho was constructed in the 1970s in order to rehouse thousands of citizens that had been forcefully relocated. The setting becomes an important backdrop for this elegant, gentle film which is full of hope for a new generation building their own family of the future. We meet our protagonists. Milla is a young girl, a school dance teacher who is bisexual (we are old later and it's being a girl). Her colleague Gilmar is a god friend of her, but it tuns out he is gay and is in a relationship with younger boy Igor. It feels everyone around knows about this but also still doesn't really acknowledge. Milla gets pregnant by Gilmar who promises to look after her. A hurt Igor visits Milla who assures her that the baby wil...