Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This period drama set in the 80s in Chile battles bigotry with both vengeance and compassion. In the Chilean desert, eleven-year-old Lidia grows up in a loving queer family pushed on the edge of an unwelcoming dusty mining town. They are blamed for a mysterious illness that's starting to spread -- said to be passed through a single gaze. I guess it's a metaphor for AIDS pandemic but I am not sure tbh. There is a commune of transgender women who live in a Chilean desert. As a new plague begins taking hold, rumors run wild about how prolonged eye-contact or a loving gaze, shared with a gay man or transgender woman can lead to infection. Eleven-year-old girl Lidia is bullied about this by her male friends, since her mother Flamingo is a trans woman belonging to a close-knit community of “transvestites” and is sort of the beauty queen there. She herself is sick at this point. The girl take their revenge on the boys by beating them up. One night around cabaret performances, a man na...

This film feels more like a love letter and tribute to the beautiful landscape and country Chile, using a road trip theme of a grieving young man’s road trip through his native country. Treating the themes of grief and longing with a gently earnest obviousness, the film's heart is in the right place; but as an audience I literally get nothing to tale back home except how beautiful Chile is. The film starts with a handsome man Elias, in Atacama desert in Chile’s north, the place where his boyfriend, Sebastien, died a month earlier. Having borrowed his father’s big red truck without asking, he arrives in the pre-dawn darkness still in the suit that he probably wears for work; the job he told Sebastien he couldn’t quit. As he continues his joinery towards south passing Santiago, in bits and very very few flashbacks we see Sebastian and Elias meeting and Sebastian always wanting to travel south with Elias which they couldn't. The book of drawings and collages that Sebastien left El...

This film was such a half-baked slice-of-life drama intermixed with some sort of a ghost story. Now, my problem with films like this is also that should I really count this film as a queer cinema and review. Sure, our protagonist is a gay actor, but that angle has absolutely nothing to do with the story that this film is trying to say and this character could easily have been straight or trans or whatever and it wouldn't have made even an iota of difference. And to top that the story is weird and I am really not sure what the makers were trying to say. Pablo, handsome young man, is an aspiring gay actor. He has broken up with popular YouTuber boyfriend (but they are friends with boundaries now). To make matters worse his roommate also moves out without having paid last two months rent. Pablo is really struggling with money, so he takes up participating in clinical trials to make ends meet. But ever since the roommate left the house and left one of his sweaters behind, Pablo feels a...

I still don't know this film was actually fiction or a documentary. Either way I was hoping to see more content or drama to explore the purpose behind, but I saw neither of it. I would have liked to see the issues and lengths that our protagonist goes to get her sex change surgery, but instead all we get to see is her going about her daily life doing things that she likes to do. Meh! Thirty-year-old Yermén is a transsexual woman who works as a spiritual adviser and fortune teller. She enjoys filming her neighbors and street dogs in her neighborhood in the suburbs of Santiago de Chile. Her unclear identity frightens the people she meets. She dreams of  sex change but doesn't have enough money to go for it. When she hears about a reality TV contest, she signs up for it because  the main prize is the plastic surgery of your choice. There she meets an enigmatic immigrant who wants to get an operation to look like Naomi Campbell. Rest of the film is all focused on Yermen going abou...

Documentaries are a tricky thing. First of all, they are not everyone's cup of tea and secondly unless they make for an engaging viewing, a lot of time you question the content of such things. Sadly, this documentary falls in the latter category. Paco and Manolo are two Catalan photographers from the outskirts of Barcelona who have been together for thirty years. Both have managed to work as photographers and have captured their images in a Kink magazine, a very personal photography fanzine with a Mediterranean homoerotic aesthetic. They record the sex appeal of the working class with use of natural light, abandoned places and stark rooms. The artists become discreet witnesses of the subjects and intimacy of those men who want to be photographed. They contact the artists through social networks with the desire to be portrayed naked and in doing so not only bare their bodies but their inhibitions as well. The clothes fall, the bodies are freed, and the souls end up being captured b...

The film is a classic example of how the passionate chemistry between the lead characters can change the way you perceive the film. Right form when they meet, they sensuality, the chemistry, the emotions, everything is so palpable, you can't not root for them. This is one of the most beautiful and amazing love stories i have seen in a recent while that brought smile and tears both in my eyes. Special mention to the gorgeous and beautiful town of Valdivia where the whole film is so magically shot. A young handsome man Lucas, an architecture student, comes to visit his sister Catalina and her husband in Valdivia before heading to Canada on a scholarship. We soon find out that there is some stress with their parents, probably something to do with him being gay. There he meets Antonio, the grandson of Catalina  housekeeper, a strapping very very handsome young man, who is a fisherman by profession. Romance slowly blossoms between the two men. They don't display their love openly bu...

I have mentioned tis many times. Documentaries are not easy to make. Striking a balance between information and still making it interesting enough for the viewer to be interested is not an easy thing at all. In Chile, people living with HIV fear stigma, and often conceal their condition and remain silent about what they are going through. This is My Face explores what happens when a range of men living with the virus open up about the illness that changed their life trajectories. We meet 4 individuals who have secretly been living in Chile with the stigma of being HIV positive and have stayed silent about the issue. An 18 year old fine arts student, A president of a wellbeing group for HIV people, a wanna young poet working in a stationary shop, and finally a 45 year old teacher and a gay activist. Using autobiographical photography and reflexive techniques through cinematic storytelling, the maker takes us through the journey of these individuals. The photographic portraits rep...

This was a very interesting and different film. Set in 1970's, it's a dark story about affections and loyalties between prisoners, the search for sexual identity, love, violence, and the rise to power behind bars. Apparently, its based on a homo erotic novel of the same name. Neither the story or the treatment of people in prison will make sense in today's time, therefore, it helps that the film is set in 70s. Jaime is a blandly beautiful young man who’s thrown into prison after killing another handsome friend of his. He’s put in a cell with just one bunk bed already occupied by four others. They include the clear alpha male and oldest of the group, Stud, who orders his then young lover to sleep on the floor so that Jaime, who receives the nickname “the prince,” can serve as Stud’s new bed buddy. The 2 other cellmates are also lovers. stud tells him that to survive he needs to toughen up and eventually raping him at night. Another older guy and his extremely young love...

I am seeing a gay comedy after a long time and it felt good to laugh. Yes, the activists would feel hurt about stereotypes and that this is regression but you have to remember that you are watching a sort of satire. The film opens with a warning that opens with a mock advisory warning that its protagonist displays behavior that should not be repeated at home. And that pretty much sets the mood. And to top of it all, the film is not about gay love, but its about friends and friendship and how strong these bonds really are which can't easily be broken. Raul, Santiago and Eduardo have ben best of buddies since childhood and have led a very happy and "masculine" life. Raul is married and is expecting a baby soon but confides in Santiago that he actually sleeps around with other hot women but justifies that sex and love is different. Santiago is engaged to marry Raul's sister Nat, who complains that they havent had sex in the longest time and is a bit of a nutjob. Edu...

The title of the film as told to us in the film refers to a eggnog-like drink popular in Chile during the holiday season. Later we are also told that it could also be a homophobic slur about anal sex. A story of two teenage brothers, I had some hopes from the film, especially since it started off so well. But it went complete downhill before it regained in last 20-ish minutes. This could have been a decent low budget gay film but some things are not meant to be. Its Christmas eve in 1986. Borja is a loner teenager who likes to dream about films. Its his passion, just like his father. His elder brother Vincent is a reader and their mother is another oddball. They come together for Christmas eve dinner after which secrets come out. Vincent goes to his friend's home, a lie to cover the fact that he is going to a gay cruising park. While the drunk mother is sleeping, Borja goes through Vincent's stuff in his room and discovers his. gay porn books and jock straps which makes hi...

I had been meaning to this film for a while, even before it won the Oscar for best foreign language film; but after that it just peaked my curiosity. So a friend of mine and I decided to check it out in the nearest cinema. I am glad I saw it on the big screen, because somehow the impact was stronger. Also, since the pace of the film is a bit slow, I Have a feeling that I might have gotten uneasy at some points; which didn’t happen at the movies. This is a film about a trans woman fighting for simple human respect in a world filled with hatred. Marina, is a waitress and an aspiring singer. She goes on a romantic dinner date with hr much older boyfriend Orlando, who also happens to be rich. Later that night, Orlando wakes up feeling very unwell. Unable to stand up, he collapses and falls down a staircase. Marina rushes him to a hospital, but Orlando dies, apparently from a brain aneurysm. This is where the trouble begins where the cops and Orlando’s family both suspect her for foul ...

An interesting film that subconsciously debates love between two men; one a gay man for whom homosexuality is a black-or-white concept and the other who is not ready to choose a side because he needs to figure out the impact on not just him but people around him as well. I have been part of many conversations where gay men question the whole concept of ‘bisexuality and this film does a very interesting t make on the whole theme. Its a thoughtful, beautifully acted and nuanced film that makes you think. Bruno, architect by profession, has recently moved out of his home, leaving behind his wife and son. They are not separated. He just needs time alone to think and figure out what he wants to do with his life. He is hired by city commissioner to design a new monument in Santiago that would mean something to the city. The commissioner also introduces him to Fer, a free spirited tour guide who knows the city inside out so that Bruno can make a more informed decision. Fed is young, fun,...

Some films just surprise you. You hardly expect anything from them and then they spring out like something totally worth spending your time and money on. This Chilean drama is beautiful poignant and even sad. It shows what love is all about, it doesn't have to by mushy but it is all about what you feel internally. Hugo has just lost his mother and leading a very mundane life. He soon becomes captivated by a boxer Octavio who is diagnosed as epileptic. Although Octavio keeps his tough and masculine facade, it is he who make the first move on Hugo. Life in a small town in southern Chile is hard for the two, for they can never be accepted in their community, and work is very hard. After Octavio finds out that if he boxes again he might die, Octavio and Hugo pack their bags to start a new life in the capital of Chile. Octavio gets a job as a barber and Hugo also manages to get a job. There he meets this girl who gets instantly attracted towards Hugo. Meanwhile, Octavio get s a boxing g...

This film was so so heavy. Few minutes into the film and I realized that this is not going to be a simple regular watch. There was very thin line between real and surreal and acting vs reality. After a while I just gave up trying to understand where the whole film was heading and what was real and what was acting. I also gave up trying to figure out what they characters actually were. Three theater students, influenced by a charismatic professor and French theorist Antonin Artaud's acting technique, begin to experiment with their own lives, searching for real emotions and situations to bring onto the stage. Blond and bisexual Mateo, luscious Maria and conflicted gay Angel. Their obsession with becoming better actors leads them to their darkest sides, surpassing boundaries that neither they nor their teachers could ever imagine. The professor gives them various exercises which lead them to go to places in the city that they have not seen before. Each loves the other, and each urges...

Now this was definitely a "different" film. God or bad? Thats for you to decide, but for me it was pretty lame. You know how sometimes people make movies just for the heck of it. There is really no reason or motivation to make a film , you just do it. This is one of those categories. The film shows 5 stories told simultaneously is 3 different phases which according to me are the introductions, talk about going into sex and then finally the actual sex. We have a gay guy and his girlfriend who keeps insisting that he might be gay because he has never tried sex with a girl. She wants to get him out of routine. Second, we have a young married couple whose sexual life has become a routine. They are coming up with ideas and finally find something that they both like. Third we have 2 ex lovers. When they meet again, they start having these sexual feelings and each one thinks that the other one is trying to get him/her in bed. Whats the truth? Fourth is a hooker. She goes to this old...

I usually like these kind of films; a mix between comic, interest, a bit of romance and here and there awkward situations. This mix pretty much makes a viewable experience for me. This movie has most of it but some kind of zing was missing. Something that will hold on to your mind even after the movie is finished. Charly lives with his 9-10 year old son Pedro alone after his wife passed away. After a series of run-ins with the law when he has to spend few nights in jail, he is packed from Mexico city by his mother to go and live with his father whom he hasn't seen in last 38 years. Both Charly and Pedro dont know what to expect. When they reach, they meet papa Mario who is now out and openly faming gay and has a living partner Flavio who is more Charly's age. Viewers by now know that CHarly is homophobic but Pedro is cool with everything. Charly tries to explain him that they are just friends and working on a play together but Pedro knows that they are gay and are a couple and...