Films

GAY MOVIE: THE HAPPY PRINCE. Starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Directed by Rupert Everett. You may be biased by the fact that Oscar Wilde’s life and death have had a cinematic treatment before, but here Rupert Everett, who starred, directed and produced the film, focuses on the self-destructive final years in the author’s life after his release from prison. The make-up is outstanding (and may receive an Oscar nomination) as the star disappears beneath the aging wrinkles celebrating his eventful life. His obsession with the treacherous Bosie (a striking Clint Morgan) and his compulsive, detached and obsessive behaviour towards the end are examined in stark, often tragic terms. A new take on an old story.

GAY MOVIE: TAEKWONDO. Starring Gabriel Epstein and Lucas Papa. Directed by Marco Berger and Martìn Farina. Like in his previous ode to the admiring male gaze, Fulboy, Martìn Farina gives over to the beauty of the male body when various half naked Spanish men sit around talking about nothing. They are mostly straight, but two gay men must be satisfied with longing, unrequited stares. The film is about boredom, how gay and straight men can live in harmony, and some gloomy, woeful desire and fear of rejection bookending the intimate, erotically charged pauses. If you’re into the beauty of the male form, this one will fulfil your wishes. As a film it tends to get stuck.

GAY MOVIE: LOVE, SIMON. Starring Nick Robinson and Jennifer Garner. Directed by Greg Berlanti. It is finally on DVD – one of the best movies ever about a gay boy coming out and craving acceptance by his peers while falling in love with a male admirer on social media. Nick Robinson is superb as Simon, whose journey to acceptance and realising his dreams will touch your emotions and your heart. The film is focused, natural and spontaneous with a story that unfolds with the relaxed touch of a summer breeze. If you missed it on the big screen, this is your chance! Absolutely superb.

GAY MOVIE: THE YEAR I LOST MY MIND. Starring Alexander Tsypilev and Julien Lickert. Directed by Tor Ibsen. So much promise, so little delivery and narrative coherence. The film has undertones of roleplaying and masochistic voyeurism as Tom (a haunted Alexander Tsypilev) stalks a lecturer (Julien Lickert). There are several suggestive encounters as Tom breaks into Lar’s apartment and gazes at him in a Hitchcock style. But the encounters eventually turn into monotony as the writer isn’t ever brave enough to fully explore this grim and cruel obsession. There is a warning of strong sex on the cover of this ambitious film. Not in the version I saw. Unsatisfactory and not living up to its promises.

GAY MOVIE: FOUR MOONS. Starring Antonio Velasquez and Cesar Ramos. Directed by Sergio Tovar Velarde. This is something refreshingly original for a change. Four completely different love stories are told and interlinked through a sober, uncomplicated narrative. The film looks at fidelity as two lovers break up but conveniently make up, while another story relates the age-old tale of two men falling in love while their families provide some obstacles. The other two include painful situations involving bullying and prostitution. But in the end, it is the humanity and vulnerability that make up love’s responsibilities, as well as sexual identity and never entering a comfort zone, but always questioning before settling, that drive the film towards its satisfying conclusion. Strongly recommended.

GAY MOVIE: AKRON. Starring Edmund Donovan and Matthew Frias. Directed by Sasha King and Brian O’Donnell. How refreshing to say that an LGBT film that doesn’t deal with the issue of homophobia, sexual identity or AIDS. This one provides a new perspective as old sins from parents return to haunt two young lovers who have nothing to do with it. The story is a bit thin to stretch to 85 minutes, but the charm of the leads, especially Edmund Donovan, carries the film while the slow unfolding of two men surviving a tragedy from the past its more drawn-out, laboured moments.

GAY MOVIE: ALEX STRANGELOVE. With Daniel Doheny and Madeline Weinstein. Directed by Craig Johnson. Those hoping for this film to evoke the same emotions as Love, Simon will be short-changed. Although it celebrates confused and intimidated teens who have the courage to come out despite prejudice, some may find this one to be a slow-burning, often strenuous and exhaustive examination of discovering true sexual identity. Alex Truelove (the film’s title Strangelove is ironic) identifies himself as straight and tries to lose his virginity with a “girlfriend” (the excellent Madeline Weinstein), but when he kisses a boy, he is confronted by his own misguided prejudices and rises above his personal struggles. Decent, but with some missed opportunities that Love, Simon explored more convincingly. Often long-winded and self-conscious.

GAY MOVIE: TOMCAT. Starring Lukas Turtur and Philipp Hochmair. Directed by Klaus Händl. Understatement is one of the most powerful tools in cinema, and Klaus Händl uses it to great effect when his film about interrupted love rises above a simple recreation of domestic bliss. It adds layers of depth to its simple narrative as it examines what keeps a contented couple together who seemingly has it all. These two men are madly in love, but when tragedy strikes, their conflicted relationship becomes unbearable. A cat drives the plot to its conclusion and is instrumental in two men discovering the unselfish nature of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness. Subtle performances, a forceful subtext filled with compassion and sensitive direction make this one worth buying on DVD. Warning: there is a great amount of nudity.

GAY MOVIE: HOOKED. Starring Conor Donnally and Sean Ormond. Directed by Max Emerson. This rather mediocre film about a subject that needs a more vigilant and better analysis – homeless youths who must pimp themselves on the streets of New York and Miami to survive – was unsatisfactory. It’s rather fractured narrative zooms in on the interrupted relationship between a hustler (the good-looking and fairly convincing Conor Donnally) who cannot stay faithful to his boyfriend and takes up with an older man, rather like in the Gianni Versace TV-series. The outcome is shocking. Made on a shoestring budget, its restless style and curt, often clumsily directed scenes made it disappointing. It lacks the emotional directness expected from such serious subject matter.

GAY MOVIE: THE BOYS IN THE BAND. With Kenneth Nelson and Leonard Frey. Directed by William Friedkin. With the original play now back on Broadway surrounded by controversy, the DVD is currently in demand again. It was one of the first gay plays to shock Broadway out of its heterosexual bliss and told the story of a group of diverse gay men who assembled to celebrate a birthday with many pink skeletons tumbling out of the closet. The ruthless humour with quickfire verbal exchanges, wall-to-wall dialogue, a flirtation with stereotypes and a claustrophobic setting made it tough to watch. The film doesn’t necessarily open up the play, neither does it properly investigate the problems facing gay men in the sixties. But a tribute to the playwright, Mart Crowley, for daring to write a play about gay issues when gay cinema wasn’t even recognised as a genre. At times scathingly funny, it tried to serve as an act of cinematic liberation, but today seems a bit dated.

GAY MOVIE: BOY UNDONE. With Paul Act and Eduardo Longoria. Directed by Leopoldo Laborde. This latest addition to the gay genre is notorious because it is the most explicit love story since Shortbus. So, if graphic sex with poor plotting is your scene, there is plenty to feast on. There is a lot of simulated sex. Unfortunately, it plods along endlessly with low production values and lacklustre acting. A young man wakes up nude (and stays nude for quite some time!) in a pickup’s flat. Who is he? This kind of story has been told so often before, that you may see the end coming (in more ways than one!) before the final “revelation”. Drawn-out but daring.

GAY MOVIE: BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE). Starring Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel. Directed by Robin Campillo. A group of frustrated activists take action against the government and a pharmaceutical company. This red-hot angry and often inflammable drama, where a small number of people make a major difference, won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last year and only now receives a major cinema and DVD-distribution. It is realistic, although some scenes overstay their welcome, while the love scenes and drama that unfold have been skilfully directed. It is defiant, provocative and thought-provoking. Visually eye-catching.

GAY MOVIE: THE NORMAL HEART. Starring Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer. Director: Ryan Murphy. After witnessing the gruesome murder that Andrew Cunanan committed in the series American Crime Story, it might be good to check out this earlier Ryan Murphy made-for-TV film about a group of gay activists, led by a fiery group who, during 1981 – 1984, the darkest days of the AIDS-crisis, tried to force the government to admit there was a crisis. In between, many men died not understanding that the disease was transferred by unprotected sex. Great acting, especially from Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer, supports this compassionate and emotional tribute to the courageous people who made a difference. Comparable to BPM.

GAY MOVIE: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Directed by Luca Guadagnino. This film has already become a much-lauded classic in die LGBT-genre and is finally available on DVD. A 17-year old boy and his father’s associate fall in love in Italy and have an idyllic summer romance. The luscious cinematography reflects the joys of first love, the script has an underlying philosophy about the true nature of real love, the acting is understated and natural and the directing evokes a sense of nostalgia and beauty. Like God’s Own Country it has now become the kind of film that can be watched again and again, praised, admired, and finally evoking as strong an emotional bond as you can form with a film. Michael Stuhlbarg as the father is brilliant. Life-changing!

GAY MOVIE: HEAD ON (1998). Starring Alex Dimitriades and Damien Fotiou. Directed by Ana Kokkinos. This is quite a scarce film to get, and recently enjoyed the spotlight again after its star, Alex Dimitriades, played one of the leads in the TV series Seven Types of Ambiguity. A young Greek man from a very conservative family tries very hard to walk the safe heterosexual path. But he meets several gay men that he feels attracted to, and has a sexual encounter with one of them with a graphic nude scene that gave the film notoriety in 1998 because of its explicit full frontal nudity. After this provocative moment, the film, unfortunately, plods the predictable path of a man struggling with his sexuality and is not worth the trouble. Predictable and not gripping.

GAY MOVIE: BOYS ON FILM 18. Supporters of this series may find the latest collection to be uneven, although there are some informative and provocative shorts, like a transgender woman wanting to have sex with a curious heterosexual. An animated film from Egypt about how gays are treated there may be the first critical animation to come out of that country, while an excellent documentary about the experiences of doctors, friends and nurses during the AIDS-crisis in the ‘80s is an eye-opener. The best is an understated Dutch film where two ex-lovers talk before one gets an HIV-test, while a young man dreaming about a boyfriend in video-style form, where every shot has meaning, also deserved inclusion. But a Norwegian film about a boy and his mom arguing endlessly should not have made the cut.

GAY MOVIE: SUMMERTIME. Starring Jessica Rothe, Taylor Frey and Joseph Haro. Directed by Gabriele Muccino. This is one of those easy-going movies you watch on a Saturday night on Netflix when you don’t want to go out. An Italian couple (who aren’t necessarily involved) visits a gay couple in San Francisco. A friendship starts which none of them expected. What is so refreshing about this romance is that there are no big issues that are addressed with exclamation marks. The film also doesn’t walk a cliché-ridden path, is characterised by good acting from four charming actors, great scenery (it was one of the first American films to be filmed in Cuba) and an ordinary story. It gets a little long-winded towards the end though.

GAY MOVIE: GOD’S OWN COUNTRY. Starring Josh O’Connor and Alex Secareanu. Directed by Francis Lee. Together with Call Me By Your Name, this may be one of the best films ever in the LGBT-genre. It is tender, almost wordless, gut wrenchingly emotional without getting sentimental and soul-searchingly good and directed with great sensitivity. A young Yorkshire sheep farmer (the brilliant Josh O’Connor) needs help on his remote sheep farm. Support arrives in the complex, handsome form of a Romanian migrant worker, played by Alex Secareanu. They fall in love in a modern gay version of Wuthering Heights. It’s been called the British Brokeback Mountain, but is better than that. It is nuanced, doesn’t deal with the usual issues of gay identity, neither is it about homophobic prejudice. It is original, touching and a brilliant, balanced evocation of gay love.

GAY MOVIE: MY FRIEND DAHMER. Starring Joss Lynch and Alex Wolff. Directed by Marc Meyers. He came so close to death yet was perhaps saved by an unconscious decision to leave the notorious Jefferey Dahmer’s house. This rather cold yet disturbingly realistic film is based on the recollections of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s best friend, John Backdef. We see Dahmer as a strange nerdish psychopath who didn’t fit in at school and was fascinated by handsome men, dead animals and exploring the inside of corpses. He started his vicious killing spree shortly after matric. Fans of the handsome Joss Lynch might find him unrecognisably good as the young Dahmer, and we witness how the killer inside him was formed and finally started living out his fantasies. A tough but rewarding biography.

GAY MOVIE: BOYS ON FILM 17: LOVE IS THE DRUG. Starring Sebastian Deery and Ezra Fienemans. Directed by André D. Chambers, Brendon McDonnall and Dawid Ullgren. Have you always had a fantasy of getting involved with a handsome handyman who fixes more than a few loose screws? How does idealised sex on a beach sound? Readers may, by this time, be used to the experimentation of various cinematic techniques, nudity, how far LGBT-cinema’s limits can be pushed, and provocative experimentation. Since its inception, this series has become more and more daring and there is constant renewal with every new compilation of stories. This one is no exception. One of these directors may one day be responsible for the new Call Me By Your Name of which there is now a sequel in the works, if you are interested...

GAY MOVIE: I AM MICHAEL. Starring James Franco and Zachary Quinto. Directed by Justin Kelly. This one is quite taxing and, frankly, a difficult sit. It is based on the true story of Michael Glatze (James Franco) who has an intimate relationship with his boyfriend Bennett (Zachary Quinto) in several happy, often explicit scenes. But one day Michael begins to doubt his own sexuality upon meeting a beautiful girl (Emma Roberts from Nerve) and identifies himself as heterosexual eventually. Bennett is devastated and cannot understand that sexuality can change. This at times awkward and often preachy film explores Michael’s identity crisis. Only recommended if you have had serious issues with your own sexuality. It often feels patronising with heavy-handed direction.

GAY MOVIE: CENTER OF MY WORLD. With Louis Hofman and Jannik Schümann. Director Jakob M Erwa. This illuminating and captivating film moves at an unhurried pace juxtaposing the past with the present, as a young man (the very convincing, easy on the eye Louis Hofman) falls in love with a dream boat in class, Nicolas, played by the striking Jannik Shümann. But does Nicolas really love him back? The film examines the nature of adolescent fascination, sexual confusion and arousal, and the nature of love, self-centeredness and commitment. But can young love accommodate betrayal? With confident directing, a slightly melodramatic story and the most eccentric mother in the history of LGBT cinema, it provides not only an abundance of eye candy, but a pleasurable story that will keep your hands off your cell phone keys. Strongly recommended as a guilty pleasure. Warning: there is lots of nudity.

GAY MOVIE: TEENAGE KICKS. With Miles Szanto and Daniel Webber. Directed by Craig Boreham. The title is misleading. It is actually a very dramatic and touching story of a young man who felt responsible for his brother’s untimely death. His sexual confusion, guilt complex and search for meaning and belonging almost lead to his untimely destruction. Then he falls in love with his best blonde friend. The film moves swiftly, flirting with themes like misunderstandings, youthful anger, and frustration. The hero’s journey falls into a tailspin as his life spins out of control in unexpected ways. Although there are some sensual and sexy scenes, they are incidental. The tragedy of loss and guilt are the main issues here.

GAY MOVIE: BEACH RATS. With Harris Dickinson and Madeline Weinstein. Directed by Eliza Hittman. This touching, provocative and uncompromising view of sexual identity, emotional abuse, and trying to fit in, is a realistic, uncommercial portrayal of gay life. Much lauded at the Sundance Film Festival, it tells the story of a hunky young man, Harris Dickinson, who tries to fit in with a homophobic beach crowd in New York while cruising old, gay men on the internet and having sex with them. But he is also attracted to a girl – so is he gay or straight or simply confused? The clash of straight and gay desires, the pain of teenage angst and the futility of boredom mixed with a homophobic society’s reaction to gay life is told with realism and graphic, tough sex scenes. Strongly recommended if you take LGBT cinema seriously.

GAY MOVIE: JONATHAN. With Jannis Niewöhner and André Hennicke. Directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski. Apart from Call me by your Name, Jonathan is the best LGBT-film I saw last year. It is fresh, unaffected, emotional, beautifully photographed and touching without turning into a gay soap opera. It never gets side-tracked into sentimentality or overt emotion. An enigmatic young man, Jona, discovers that his dying father is in love with another man. How he handles this, especially upon meeting his dad’s lover, and how it affects his mother and his own life, form the backbone of an understated, low-key film in which images loaded with subtext are more important than what is being said. The power lies in the loaded silences. Niewöhner is a charismatic and brilliant find.

GAY MOVIE: THE ORNITHOLOGIST. With Paul Hamy and Xelo Cagiao. Directed by João Pedro Rodrigues. Although beautifully filmed, this is an extremely taxing film to sit through. It often strays into visual narcissistic over-indulgence and other confusing, lesser themes that delay the film’s outcome instead of punctuating a man’s journey with unpredictable adventures. Paul Hamy plays an ornithologist who gets lost and meets a mute goatherd with whom he has one of the most explicit sex scenes since Theo and Hugo. But the rest of the film borders on pretention, as if the director had no idea what he was trying to bring across. Demanding, taxing and exhausting.

GAY MOVIE: BEFORE THE FALL. Starring Ethan Sharrett and Chase Conner. Directed by Byrum Geisler. If the names Bennet and Darcy don’t give it away, the rest of the story might. This is a gay reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in which an arrogant attorney (Ethan Sharrett) falls in love with the macho Lee Darcy (the fetching Chase Conner) who allegedly injured his wife. In the process, the two guys fall in love. Don’t expect the gentle English manners of miss Austen’s novel. In this drama, the two men almost come to blows as the turbulent relationship upsets their lives. Don’t expect any six pack-flashes. This is about the hazards of falling in love with what could be the wrong, destructive person.

GAY MOVIE: MAN IN AN ORANGE SHIRT. Starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Vanessa Redgrave. Directed by Michael Samuels. This is a stunning two-part series based on a novel that tells the stories of two forbidden relationships. The first concerns two soldiers just after World War II and the second is about one of their offspring who falls in love with a good-looking man, but at first, they don’t seem right for each other. This is a gentle, nuanced and tender tale of love in which emotions and forbidden desires are presented in such a stylish way, and with so much empathy, that you cannot help but be moved. Sensitive, beautifully directed and with a strong, compassionate script – it is highly recommended.

GAY MOVIE: ANOTHER COUNTRY. Starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Directed by Marek Kanievska. This classic film, and one of the first films addressing an openly gay theme the time, (it debuted in 1984) and was based on an acclaimed stage play which I saw in the eighties in London. It is a subtle film with splendid performances from especially, at that time, newcomers Colin Firth and Rupert Everett. It condemned the strict, rigorous culture of the conservative British school system, as well as the repression of homosexuality, although it was rife in the schools. And free-thinking students who dared to go against the system of colonialism and capitalism were also victimised. It was based on the real-life story of Guy Burgess who defected to Russia. It is well worth getting from Amazon.

GAY MOVIE: DAVID’S BIRTHDAY PARTY. Starring Alessandro Gassman and Massino Paggio. Directed by Marco Filiberti. This is the dull story of a group of sexually confused guys (well, mostly) and barely clad girls who swim, and swim, and swim yet again for the entire movie. They are celebrating the birthday of a best friend of a family member called David. But there is a confused boy who is in love with David (Tyago Elves). He takes the entire movie (after swimming, and swimming, and swimming) to confess his love for David. In between many skeletons tumbling out of the closet, parents confront each other and a bisexual man tries to commit suicide. And yet they swim again. Don’t expect any eroticism. It is as empty as a swimming pool searching for a lost Kreepy Krauly.

GAY MOVIE: LIKE CATTLE TOWARDS GLOW. Starring Nicolas Hau and Gabriel Norman. Directors: Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley. Like David’s Birthday Party this was, again, a complete waste of time. Advertised as “several short films about troubled gay youngsters who attempt to resolve their psychological issues through bizarre fetish play or sinister self-expression,” this doesn’t begin to describe the confusion this film creates in the mind of the viewer, not even mentioning how boring it is. The films are badly constructed, and even though there might be some pretty characters for the voyeur to fantasise over, the films barely make sense and become extremely taxing. Not worth your time.

GAY MOVIE: BOYS ON FILM 16. Directed by amongst others Charlie Francis, Jake Graf and Andrew Keenan-Bolger. There are ten films in this much appreciated series where young filmmakers get the chance to make short films with a gay theme. Some of them are experimental and strange, like the puppet-film B from Germany where B realises her love for a woman and finds no satisfaction from a man. Other films include Follow Me from Belgium where eighteen-year-old Jasper falls in love with his art teacher which has thought-provoking consequences. Like with most editions in this series, this one is often riveting, sometimes surprising and not all the films succeed, but it remains a respectable introduction to the latest in queer cinema.

GAY MOVIE: BRIDEGROOM (Netflix). With Shane Britney Crone as narrator. Directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. This film may haunt you for many moons to come. It is a documentary, narrated by Shane Britney Crone, who wanted to marry his incredibly gentle, compassionate and handsome boyfriend Tom Bridegroom until a tragic accident destroyed their lives. But the worst was: Bridegroom’s family refused Shane entry to his lover of six years’ funeral, and that is what the film is about. The extreme prejudice from some parents against a happy relationship and the emotional cruelty Shane was subjected to. An excellent but shockingly disturbing documentary. Well made!

GAY MOVIE: HANDSOME DEVIL (Netflix). With Fionn O’ Shea and Nicolas Galitzine. It is the rage at all current gay film festivals – not only because of the good-looking (but slightly bland) Nicolas Galitizine, but because it addresses homophobia in a rugby mad Catholic school and how one boy, who didn’t play rugby, (the excellent Fionn O’ Shea) was victimised. Fortunately there was a Mr. Keating-clone, Andrew Scott as a sympathetic and kind teacher, who helped our hero through his ordeal, until he had to share his room with a handsome new young rugby player. It will inspire you and lift your spirits. It is on Netflix and may bring back some unhappy memories about when you were bullied, but also offers consolation.

GAY MOVIE: THE 10 YEAR PLAN. With Jack Turner and Michael Adam. Directed by J. C. Calacigno. That terrible movie cliché genre applies: grab a tub of popcorn and get a few friends together to celebrate a comforting, easy-going movie. This one is purely for eye-candy (without the usual splashes of excessive and cock-teasing nudity except in the beginning.) Two best friends decide to date each other again if they haven’t found the right mate in ten years’ time. In between there is much flirting on Grindr, bad dates and hard lessons to be learned about gay life, until the two men have to admit: True love is often right under your nose. Just recognise and accept it.

GAY MOVIE: PHILADELPHIA. Starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Directed by Jonathan Demme. With the recent passing of Jonathan Demme, it will be well worth your while to revisit this classic DVD in which an HIV-positive man (for which Tom Hanks deservedly won an Oscar as best actor) is dismissed from his job because he has contracted AIDS. The only person willing to help him is a homophobic lawyer who doesn’t stand a chance in hell to help him settle a law suit. But then things change. With Bruce Springsteen’s unforgettable theme for the film, which also won an Oscar for best original song, this film is strongly recommended as one of the best of its kind.