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Stop! That! Train!

By Golu
Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
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Hasahyan (Hebrew) [The Swimmer]

By Golu
Finally a different film from the usual stories that I have been seeing of late in LGBTQ genre. A film that explores the unsaid but very prevelant discriminative tendencies in sports against LGBTQ people is something I can't remember if I have seen one. This movie shows us, in a subtle yet string way, how a sportsman learns to accept and love himself despite that. I am not sure how much of this is taken from someone's personal experiences, but it sure seems like it.

5 swimmers have been shortlisted for an elite swimming training camp. Out of these 5, only one will be able to represent Israel for Olympics. Erez is the newest member of the team, whose father is friends with the coach Dima. Erez is actually good and very son becomes a string contender, almost a given for finale. Amongst the two other string guys, Erez soon develops an attraction for fellow teammate Nevo. Nevo is from England and had no family here but there is some sort of mutual attraction, clearly more from Erez's side. To keep up appearances, both of them have girlfriends who occasionally show up in camping but Nevo and Erez also become close friends. Dima starts to get a whiff of something might be going on between the two guys and gives Erez a warning to stay away from Nevo. They 2 boys spend a night together jerking of in their beds, neither making a move, until the very last day when disregarding Dima's warnings, Erez actually makes a move on Nevo and he runs away. But one thing is clear to him that he will never be able to get over the discrimination for him being gay. On the final day of the competition, despite him winning, he slows himself down anklets Nevo win the coveted position. But in his head Erez is happy for accepting and loving himself for who he is.

This small film is a gentle coming-of-age/coming out story as we follow a young man’s journey towards self-love and self-acceptance. The lead actor playing the role of Erez gives a good performance. He is hampered by a weak screenplay though. Even though the story was fine, some of the things made no sense. The random interactions of Erez with his father and other adults made no sense and added little to the overall proceedings. Was Erez always gay or was it the proximity to the charming yet aloof Nevo, that awoke feelings in him? Initially I actually thought Nevo was into Erez too but I guess he had more control over his feelings. The assistant coach was a hoot and she did well in her small brief role. The film was probably made on a very low budget just around a swimming training center which is evident bu a very small team of actors. Visually, it's a lot of eye candy, with 5 hot men in speedos pretty much throughout the film and some very homoerotic moments of sexual awakening and anticipation which never take on a full form. The opening sequence with shaving the full body for swimming was quite innovative. But I cannot say the same about the ending, where an interpretive dance to represent Erez's state of mind is something stood well with me. It was novel and new but I don't think it was effective. Overall a pretty decent movie. (6/10)
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