Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

A Crimson Mark (South Korea) This short film shows love in old Korea during the Chosun Dynasty. A secret relationship between two Korean government employees is complicated by the difference in the ranks. The 2 guys want the premier to act according to this individual suggestion and they are supposedly opposition members but they have a secret love going on among them. (4.5/10) Les puceaux (France) [The Virgins] A simple yet beautifully done story. 2 boys are sitting and talking. It turns out they are both virgins. One with boys and the other with girls. The pleasure, anxiety and fear of doing it with a virgin and teaching the ropes is shown very beautifully. The end was specially nice when one by says to the other that he wants to kiss him.  (6/10) Between The Boys (US) Two handsome easy going boys playing, giggling and tickling, the very erotic shower scene, and the snow fight -- and then BAM a twist to end all homo erotic twists. It turns out they are both brother...

This film is filled with great performances, a heart-touching plot, an underdog winning and the circumstances that feel too real. It will be wrong to categorize this film as strict gay-film but I think this definitely falls as a gay cult classic given the nature of the lead character and the storyline. 11 year old Billy lives with his widowed father and older brother, who work in a coal mine factory which in on a strike. One day when his father takes him for boxing class, he immediately dislikes it and chances upon a ballet class that issuing the same gym. Unknown to Jackie, Billy joins the ballet class. When Jackie discovers this, he forbids Billy to take any more ballet. But, passionate about dancing, Billy secretly continues lessons with his dance teacher. His teacher thinks that Billy deserves to study at the Ballet school in London but both his brother and father prohibit him from doing so thinking that everyone will think Billy is gay. Over Christmas, Billy learns his best f...

One very important thing to remember when you watch this film is that the film was made for TV way bak in 1985. That was the time when homosexuality was not widely accepted. In fact, it was not even openly talked about. It was some sort of disgrace to a family, so the reactions that you see in the film are more relevant.  Ken and Tess are a happily married couple and Ken is just fought cancer and is healthy. They have a son Jeff who studies in college and a daughter Margie who is expecting her baby. Both parents are very proud of Jeff. After having struggled very hard with himself and lying to everyone, Jeff decides to tell his mother that he is gay. Though his mom is unnerved by the revelation, she tries her best to remain supportive in front of him—despite insisting that he seek therapy to "fix" the situation. But for Ken, it is devastating for him to know that his only son is gay. Not knowing how to deal with the situation, he starts avoiding his son on purpose. Soon the v...

After watching this film, I asked myself whether this film was really a work of cinema or more of artistic pornography. I still do not know the answer. The film sourced from various studies of serial killers, goes all over the place. There should be a story that goes somewhere rather than just a series of incidents to make the audience gasp. Chris, a young man is a wanderer and likes to pick up people and have sex with them and kill them. He meets a young rebellious young French-American Aurore in a hotel bar and drives her out to the woods in his van, where they have lots and lots of sex. Instead of murdering her, Chris begins an intense sexual relationship with Aurore and the pair move into a flash apartment owned by her wealthy but frequently absent businessman father. They both start falling love. One day Chris picks up a male prostitute and accidentally kills him. Things take a dark ugly turn from there. What follows next is a series of events where Chris either by himself or wit...

Once in a while I do like to watch documentaries in LGBt cinema but sometimes they spring you a complete surprise. The title of this documentary was pretty catchy and I had to see this. 7 years ago, a 19 year old rugby playing teenager Kris snapped his neck while playing with his friends. He suffered a massive stroke and he woke up as a completely different person who is now ok. The documentary follows Kris' quest with his past, since he doesn't remember much of it, his trial to convince everyone that indeed the stroke made him gay and it was not how he was born. The documentary contains a mixture of one-to-one interview and video diary footage of Kris himself, joint interviews with him and his fiancé Jak Powell and others with old and new friends, and also follows him as he consults with a number of medical and academic experts, as well as another man who experienced significant personality changes as the result of a stroke. The documentary doesn't look to provide any an...

If you watch this film looking for entertainment, you will be thoroughly disappointed But have some patience and give it some time, you might start feeling what the characters are going through. There are long shots of silence in the film but they go with the characters, and their aimlessness. There is some mystery in the character's childhood and slowly, as the film progress, we will find out. Sam is traveling to south of France looking for his mom. On his way, he gives ride to siblings Lea and Jeremie. Lea is pregnant and it seems the siblings are also running away from something. Jeremie likes Sam a lot and has feelings for him , which Sam also does but there is something stopping Sam to give himself to the love of another man. They meet Mathieu who joins their trip on Leah's insistence because she now fancies the boy. The film now explores the chemistry between these 4 individuals and their interactions. They have happy times, they have sad times, they have times when hear...

There have been very few gay themed films which have highlighted the topic of chilld adoption in gay community. Thankfully most of them have been handled with sensitivity and maturity. This film can easily be added in the list of those few films. The best part of this film is that it has a light dry wit running through it with many little surprises along the way.  Manu, a gay pediatrician in his forties, lives with his partner Philippe, a lawyer. Manu loves kids and desperately wants to adopt one with his partner. The reality is that Philippe is pleased with his present life and will not have it spoiled by the invading presence of a wailing brat. They both try to reason on the argument and in absence of a consensus, the two lovers part. Manu's quest for a surrogate mother begins. He finds a young girl Fina, who is Argentinian immigrant, also looking for legal paperwork so that she could stay in France. They become friends and after Fina gets to know Manu better agrees to bear ...

This film could as well be an equivalent of a chick flick, except this one is for gays. A cute subject, a simple and engaging direction with pretty above average performances definitely make this film a good fun time pass. I saw this film about 5-6 years ago, before I started writing this blog, so I had to watch this film again to give a fresh perspective to the film when I write about it. The story is pretty simple. Anthony, a fireman is very much in love with Amy and they are gonna get married soon. Victor a neighborhood boy has a huge crush on Anthony (and I think Amy is aware of it). Anthony has always fantasized of Amy with another women for a 3some. Initially reluctant, Amy finally gives in on his bachelor party day but try soon there is a twist. She asks Anthony to do a 3some with a guy before she does that with a girl. Enter Victor, who is more than glad to help. Funny incidents happen leading to Victor going out on a 'date' with Anthony and his friends who after a per...

I am not very sure what was the point of the director behind this film. I mean this could have been an excellent play (which I believe it is based on) but from a theme perspective, it was a little confusing. The film is a commentary on relationships and sexuality. It did shows how a self-indulgent bisexual man restructures the lives of 3 people as he introduces them to new sexual adventures. 50 year old suave businessman Leopold picks up a shy 19 year old boy Franz and brings him back to his house. They both indulge in a verbal game of seduction. Their motive is clear but they play with words. Franz tell Leopold about his girlfriend Anna and how they are going to get married and Leopold tells him about his fiance. Act 1 concludes with Franz lying naked waiting for Leopold. Act 2 shows the 2 men living together, just like a married couple, fighting over every little thing. Franz is in stay home wife mode taking care of Leopold. Meanwhile Leopold is clearly a tyrant in his own plac...

It has been a while since I saw a really touching and heart warming, tender and electrifying, gay coming of age story done with such sensibility and sensitivity. An engaging story with superb performances, his movie stayed with me much longer after the film had ended. Pim, is a 15 year old boy living in a coastal town with his fading beauty queen mom. He is friends with a neighboring family and he is totally in love with Gino, 18 year old son of the family. Pim is a shy guy who doesn't talk much and lives in his own world where he like to paint and draw. He takes care of his mother and other household activities. Having played as kids together, Pim and Gino had been involved in some kid sex moments but things change when one night they get an opportunity to sleep together. They slowly start falling in love, at least Pim does. They do a lot of excursions on Gino's bike and make love to each other. Gino's sister Sabrina has a total crush on Pim. Totally oblivious of ...

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. This is a fascinating film about the danger of beauty : to sum it up, a young "ephebe"'s ethereal beauty spreads like a plague, infecting a whole company of iron hard men in the process. In this film the forbidden subject of homosexuality among Samurais is tackled and I can't even imagine how traditional people perceived the film. After a strenuous scrutiny, Tashiro, a low-ranking samurai and Kano , an effeminate 18-year-old rich man's son, join the conservative samurai military unit loyal to the Shogun. Deceptively demure at first, the boy Kano quickly proves his acumen for killing when ordered to execute a wayward samurai. Tashiro, struck by Kano's feminine beauty and odd power, seduces him and they become talk of the group although they are never shown together. Kano's silent, almost frail, pretty-boy ways conceal demonic i...

My Name Is Love (Sweden) When 'Love', a young college student, spends the night with another man, he surrenders to manipulation. Sebastian mocks Love for being a virgin and tells him to get out of there, as he has no interest in having sex with someone who doesn't know what to do. Love then affirms that he is willing to do whatever Sebastian asks of him which ends up Love being raped by Sebastian. What can happen when 2 strangers (denying homosexuality) come together for pure carnal desires. (4/10) Night Swimming (US) Otter and Darcy are best friends. Otter has a thing for Darcy but he just got selected to a college. On their way to a music concert, their car breaks down and they are forced t o spend sometime in the woods. After swimming naked in the river, things happen between them at night which will change their friendship forever. 2 best friends who could never be away from each other, now have this awkwardness. But this helps Otter to take a major decision.  (...

This is probably a great movie for teens but for people my age, this was not fun; at all. There were things which just did not make any sense, they did not keep you entertained and finally when everything is being given a closure , a lot of explanations are just not given. I have never attended a summer amp but maybe this is how the camps are. Weird things happen. This camp is different in the sense that this is for misfits, gays and drag queens. Camp is story of Vlad, a straight boy who likes attention and love; of Michael, who is a wanna drag queen and was bullied in school and denied access to his prom because he was in a dress and a couple of other misfits in the process. But central character is Vlad. Story is simple as to how kids interact during camp, play games with each other, even to hurt others but ultimately everyone here is to find their own identity. Nothing specific in trims of story. Vlad is used by a beautiful girl, she is mean to every other girl, Vlad will do anythi...

Like every film Clint Eastwood makes, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is fascinated by the mystery of masculinity: what it means to be a man, and what you have to do to be the kind of man you think you need to be. Based on a book by the same name, the film recounts a complex tale of murder, involving characters who seem your everyday people but carry deep difference underneath. Set in the beautiful town of Savannah, Georgia, the film focuses on a murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams: self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso a magazine reporter finds himself in Savannah amid the beautiful architecture and odd doings to write a feature on one of William's famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent, young and sexy lover, Billy. Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along...

Now this could be a controversial film in terms the content. This films on the borderline of gay cinema or regular cinema but either way the subject of the film is pretty controversial. The good thing is that it is handled with maturity and sensitivity. After his mother's death, 17-year-old Sven moves in with his dad Achim, a taxi driver, who had divorced his mother several years earlier. Sven hardly speaks to his father and prefers doing things on his own in his room. It is not easy for Achim to get used to an adolescent around the house. Achim has a girlfriend Julia who tries to come close to Sven but fails. After a while Julia starts wondering as to why does Sven always hang around young boys and not people of his own age. She suspects that maybe Sven is gay but the truth, when it comes out is much more chilling. Sven has pedophile tendencies. Proof is soon found on videos that shock and sicken Achim. Sven himself is shattered and regrets his actions. Julia suggests therapy, b...