Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I wanted to like this film. I really did, despite its erratic direction, sometimes split screen visuals and scenes jumping from one event to other without sufficient explanation. The story was fine and after initial discomfort, you kinda get a hang of things but the end was so abrupt. The shock value in the end was interesting but a proper culmination was also needed. You can't just shock the audience and leave the story just there. Gil is a 20 year old young man who lives with her aunt and her husband, since his mother died at a very young age. Gil loves his aunt to death but cannot stand his uncle. Due to the differences between then, the uncle throws Gil out of the house. Gil's life style is all about smoking, guitar, music and alcohol. When even his girlfriend cannot accommodate him at night, he is at the beach looking for alcohol where he meets 40 something Otavio. We earlier see that Otavio is with his boyfriend and he still very much remembers his teenage years when...

I can't really remember watching a sequel of a gay film before. Either there haven't been one before or I have missed them. When I say sequel, I mean real sequel that takes the story forward and not just series like 'Eating Out'. Yossi takes the story forward from 'Yossi & Jagger', where the protagonist Jagger dies in a tragic military ambush and how Yossi is going on with his life. Its been about 10 years since the incident had happened. Yossi is now a doctor but a very very lonely man. His anxieties are pushing their way into lonely nights with internet porn and growing detachment from his hospital's job. Yossi is still in closet, doesn't like to talk to anyone about being gay. A chance encounter with Jagger's mother at the hospital check up makes him to go to their house to tell Jagger's parents who he really is and what his relationship with Jagger was. Jagger's father is ok but the mother doesn't take it all too well. Being ...

I saw this film first almost 6-7 years ago, just about when I had started watching gay theme films but not reviewing them. I am glad I did see it again because I had forgotten how good and emotional this film was and now I can also put in my views on this film on my blog. The movie although shot pretty much with hand held camera, is still strikingly beautiful. I think this film also features in one of the top ten best gay films of all times. I am not sure if I will put it there on my ratings but still this one is pretty darn good film. Yossi and Jagger are both in military. Yossi, the company commander, is an introvert guy and largely a man-of-the-system. Jagger, the platoon commander, is an open and much more liberated guy. He is the star of the company. Yossi is determined to keep their love in secret. Whereas, Jagger, who is about to finish the service, believes that Yossi should leave the army with him. We get to see how Yossi and Jagger steal few moments here and there to be ...

My first Vietnamese gay film and I must say it wasn't bad at all. I will have to look into my collection to see if there are more of gay films from this country. It had very interesting 2 semi-parallel stories which shows how individuals can get lost in the par aside of a big city. A relative persuasive story line and a believable ending makes this film worth a watch. Khoi, a 20 year old guy moves to the big city with dreams in his eyes. Dong, an attractive young man befriends him to share his apartment with him when he sees Khoi looking for a place. Khoi meets Lam when he goes to check out the place. Dong and Lam turn out to be boyfriends, prostates and crooks, who won and steal all of Khoi's money and clothes. Not too later, Dong also dumps Lam. Lam starts working as a prostitute again on the streets till he once again sees Khoi and brings him home with him. The two become very close and eventually becomes lovers. Khoi constantly wants Lam to leave his job because it sca...

This short narrative feature is directed by Eytan Fox, a famous Israeli gay director. The film is set in a small town in Israel. Mizti and Guri are friends. Guri wants to relocate to Tel Aviv before he's "outed". Guri is the only one who knows about him. We also meet the very obviously gay Nohav as well who likes Guri. They all meet at a dance class. Enter the hunk and macho man Merito. He seduces Mizti on the first day and she ends up having sex with him. Guri and Nohav get some to talk where Guri tells him that yes he is gay but he just wants to get out. Nohav tells him that his dream is to dance with the love of his life and win a local song contest. After getting Mizti in bed, Merito's next target is Guri, which is also a mission successfully achieved. The film ends with Guri getting into an art school in Tel Aviv and he decides to have a final dance with Nohav because he knows the latter has a crush on him. The music has been amply used in this film. This fi...

This film is Ferzan Ozpetek's first film. I have mentioned numerous time on this blog on my fascination for the films he has directed, so I was eagerly looking forward to watching this film as this was his debut. I must say, my expectations were completely met and I was again very happy and satisfied watching his cinema. There is some sort of authenticity, simplicity, complexity of relationships and the family values that make you watch his films and appreciate them. Francesco and his wife Marta live in Rome and they run a small design company. One day Francesco finds out that his long forgotten aunt Anita has died in Istanbul and has left him her house. When he reaches Istanbul, he discovers that the house is actually an old hamam, in an old original part of Istanbul. Due to the downfall of the tradition, the hamam lost its appeal and had to be closed down. Francesco also finds the letters that his aunt wrote to his mom but never posted. He meets the family who was taking car...

Another one of gay cinema coming out of our very own USA. Independent cinema sometimes  can spawn up big surprises but this film has no genuine artistic merits. Even the way the story is told, gets confusing after a while. And why would you even do that? There are so many things in this movie that are unbelievable but that is besides the point! Anthony comes to San Francisco following Stephen who is a therapist there. Anthony is a budding poet and they both are on the verge of starting life together. Every now and then Stephen gets angry for some small reason and then gets back to normal. After 6 months of a semi-abusive relationship, Anthony has had enough and he breaks up with Stephen and moves out and get an apartment of his own. Anthony now feels very very lonely and ends up striking a friendship with a 17 year old Gavin, a homeless street hustler, who has his own rough past. However Gavin enjoys con games and scams too much and the novelty wears off for him. They both lon...

A Norwegian gay themed film. Now this should be interesting. And interesting it was till I thought they spent too much time in detailing out the blackmailing and all that was going on in the movie. It feels that the film-maker wanted to cover every aspect of Sebastian's life, which is fine but then it becomes hard for the viewer to keep a track of everything that's going on. Sebastian had a poor childhood. When he grows up, money is always on his mind and he will do anything for it. His best friend is Moon, who was smuggled for sex trade from Thailand. They met and a gym and have become good friends ever since. Sebastian is in a relationship with an old powerful man named Wilhelm. Initially started for money, this relationship is all about love and respect for each other. But Sebastian wants more. He along with Moon chalks out a plan, where Sebastian will be an escort to famous, elite, rich and powerful men and then blackmail them. His plan goes ok for a few times. Despite...

A very catchy title and once again we have a movie for straight people classified as "gay" because it has a gay character in it. This one even has a gay/straight theme, but if it was made by or for gay people, then it is even more absurd. This one probably looked like a good idea on paper but does not come across as entertaining as it probably could have been. Tony, a macho straight guy and Steve, gay man with a boyfriend end up being co-workers. Because of a childhood incident, Tony has always been against gays. He is the classic case of homophobia. He can't stand Steve one sec. At a Christmas party, they both get into a verbal spat, which neither of their partners is able to stop. They both end up saying to each other that " I wish you were gay" and "I wish you were straight". Guess what! The christmas angel fulfills their wishes and both Tony and Steve start to notice changes within themselves. Steve suddenly starts finding himself attracted to...

'Welcome To New York' is one of the better gay short narrative features that I have seen in a while coming from USA. I always complain how, we get to see some really bad gay movies made in US, with some good exceptions of course. So I was pleasantly surprised with this film. The humor and bitchiness of the characters were just spot on. And being New Yorker myself, I know it. The film features Sherry Vine as a shrink and we are introduced to 5 of her patients who are new to New York and how they are coming to terms with this vibrant city. We first meet Cassie, who is a little neurotic, 'high on life' and finds weird when strange homeless people talk to her. She starts hallucinating about making it big in life like Oprah ( quite a funny dialogue interaction here). We also meet her room mate, good looking Scotty and a trick that he has at home. Second is Mick, a drag queen who works hard to keep up with city life. Mick is propositioned by a good looking dude at a club...

It will be wrong to completely classify this film in the gay themed category. This i smog alike a coming of age film, in which a group of teenagers discover themselves amongst things that are going on around them. 3 boy son the verge of manhood and a girl in between. The interactions between the 4 protagonists forms the crux of the story. Francois and Maite are close friends but not lovers. Maite likes him but she knows she is not in love with him. One night Francois discovers he is gay, when he is seduced by an athletic guy Serge from his class. Serge i snot gay. It is just a sexual adventure for him in school. But post this encounter, the 2 of them become good friends and Francois keeps hoping that something more will follow. We also meet Henri, who is originally from Algeria, a couple of years older than the others and is try cynical. He ultimately ends up falling in love with Maite, who is supposed to be his enemy and a hated communist. Francois is also attracted to Henri but ...

I have always ben intrigued by black gay culture, more so because I barely know much about it. African American men have always fascinated me, and I am not talking just sexually. So, I was really looking forward to this film. Unfortunately, there're not many gay films about Black men for Black men. This film exactly does that and to a certain extent also does a pretty decent job of it. We meet Magnus and his boyfriend Ryan. Ryan refuses to have sex with Magnus for 6 months so that they can get to know each other better and make this relationship special. We later find out about Ryan's secret life and what this was all about. $ of Magnus' friend arrive NYC for gay pride weekend. We then meet Langston, a British lesbian, who can’t quite seem to connect with a sexy bartender despite her obvious receptiveness. Joey lives in Atlanta trapped in a stagnant life with no men or means to escape. Kyle is the opposite end who whores around all day, loves sleeping with men and fina...

"Black Briefs" is a gay short-film compilation featuring films that deal with darker themes. Even though the films are dark, they make you think. It’s always good to be adventurous every once in a while. Although I had already seen 2 out of the 6 movies in the series, it nevertheless was a decent collection. Spring Read here Spring Remission Sam, in a long cabin home in the woods, is just getting back from his oncology appointment is sitting and talking to his boyfriend about the results. Something makes him feel that he is being stalked. Upon letting his dog out the next morning Sam notices a bloody gauze pad on the floor with a string pulling it towards the basement. And the end is chocking. The film was interesting but I felt it was way too slow for whatever was going on. Winner Takes All Ryker cancels his theater performance for the night and invites the two guys who has been dating together; Brian and Ernesto. Ryker confesses to both Brian and Ernesto that he...

Until I started watching this film, I had no idea this film was based on a true story. Now, whenever films are made on true stories, it automatically adds to the curiosity because there must definitely be something very interesting about that story that prompted a ilm out of it. This film is a portrait of Joao Francisco dos Santos, a flamboyant, fiercely proud drag queen with a hair-trigger temper, who became a legend in the clubs and slums and prisons of Brazil. Joao Francisco is an aspiring performer and general seeker of the spotlight in Lapa, Rio’s bohemian district. While managing a life helping out at a local nightclub, he actually earns the bulk of his income from committing petty crimes – mostly robbing unsuspecting young men whom he takes to his bed and schemes with Tabu, his brother/sister/whatever "limp fairy queen" as he calls. He is street smart, hustler but also has a soft side. He gave shelter to Laurita and her bay daughter. The 3 of them form an odd fami...

Gayby is strikingly similar to a Will and Grace plotline that never materialized, following a pair of best friends aware that their time for parenting might soon pass them by. Other than the standard rom-com misfortunes of relationship misadventures, the charm that Gayby offers is what happens when a man and woman don’t find each other sexually attractive but still want to have a baby. An interesting plot line, that I am sure has been handled before, although somehow I can't recall watching any. Yoga teacher Jenn and Matt are best friends. When her biological clock is ticking, she asks Matt if he would like to make a baby with her. Matt, who has recently broken up after 6 years in a relationship agrees because he likes kids too. Turned off by turkey basters and fertility specialists, Jenn insists they conceive “the old-fashioned way.” This "old fashioned way" makes some of the most funny moments in the film. While this is going on Jenn is trying to find a guy and so ...

I had no idea what to expect from this film but boy, was I surprised or what. Falling in the rom-com genre (which usually is done in a very bad way) among gay films, this film was pleasantly refreshing. A novel concept, dialogues where you could not stop laughing and chemistry between the actors which was exquisite. Doug is celebrating his 40th birthday when 3 of his closest friends come up with excuses to not attend his birthday party. Enter his next door neighbor Colton, whom DOug mistakes to be a stripper (planned by his brother). When confusion is cleared, the 2 men are instantly attracted and spend the night together. We also find out that Doug has also recently started seeing an older 50 yr old gentleman Jacob, whom he likes very much. So where is the complication? Doug is for a shock when he finds that Jacob is Colton's father. The comedy of errors begin and soon enough the truth is out to everyone. Unable to decide who does he want to chose, DOug suggests they all cont...

Ohad is a young attractive 20 year old Jewish guy who is studying in the special "Hesder" program for orthodox soldiers. He feels lonely while concealing about his homosexuality. When he calls a religious hotline for help, he is advised that forty days of fasting and repentence will extinguish his homosexual tendencies. Ohad takes the required steps, and after the proscribed period is convinced that he is "cured". Enter Ohad's best friend Nir, who returnsfrom the army, and Ohad realizes that he really has not been cured. All his feeling return back stringer than ever. He even risks everything when he comes on to his friend Nir, who shouts back in return and asks him to leave the school. Ohad is torn between the man he loves and God. He ultimately comes to understand that to struggle is useless and accepts himself as a gay religious man and makes peace with his creator and himself. The film is apparently semi-autobiographical by the director and it is inte...

After leaving football practice, college friends Seth and Charlie get into a fight with local thugs unexpectedly. Running from them, they end up hiding in a basement hatch. In the heat of the moment and adrenaline pumping moment, things happen between the two boys. They end up having sex with each other. Over the next few days, Seth is struggling with everything that has happened and whether he is gay or not. He can't stop thinking about Charlie. Risking his friendship, he ultimately asks Charlie, who is try surprised to hear that but agrees if he gets a chance to be the top. They both go home but since it is so planned, neither of them feels sexual towards each other. When Charlie is about to go back, he one last time sees Seth and something rises inside him again. The 2 best friends will hopefully now be 2 best lovers. The Print of the film that i saw was pretty crappy. I wish I had seen this in better quality. Th guys were hot, the subject pretty interesting and directed re...

Having seen 'Bear City' a couple of years ago, which I tremendously enjoyed, I was hoping to have a lot of fun in this film too. The film was not too bad but then it was stretched a little bit. ALthough, actually this was originally a web series and converted to a movie later, so I guess from that point of view, the makers tried their best to contain everything in a movie time, which wasn't bad. Remember, just don't put too much brain into what you are about to watch. Nelson, Wood and reggie are 3 bear room-mates. At Nelson's 'supposedly' 40th birthday party, one of their guests is found dead the next morning in the bath tub. The same night, a super hot guy Toddy has sex with Nelson which confuses everyone as to why would someone like Tod be with Nelson. The rest of the series follows these men trying to find who the killer is, them flirting with other gay bears, sleeping with them and questioning everything going around them. Woody is the brawny but br...

When the film started, it felt different; good different. I had the same feeling for almost half point of the movie, despite the fact that the movie was paced very very slow. Each scene lingered 10-15 seconds longer than necessary. Sometimes less is more, and certainly in this case I felt that throughout the film. Had it been better edited, it could have built the tension more effectively in a decent 60-minute film. Francois is a 40-something man living a unhappy married life. He sees Christian, a close friend's son, at his daughter's wedding and gets totally obsessed with him. We soon realize that Francois is a closet homosexual case. In a very small community of people, who belongs to a very very small group os closet gays who meet once in a while to fulfill their desires. Francois tries to control his obsession as much as he can but he finally gives up. He travels to Cape Town from his village to do something about this, hoping that Christian will have the same feelings ...

Abrupt Decision looks at how a gay couple are impacted by life-altering events. The thought behind the film was good but sadly the direction and the acting by its lead left a lot to be desired. There were moments when I could just not wait for the movie to end. It seemed it was going nowhere and at the same time it was going everywhere. The movie could have been a brilliant short film of 30 odd minutes but stretching it into a full length feature film was probably not the best idea. Dennis is having a bad day. He gets laid off from his job of 20 years. His relationship with his long term boyfriend is going through a rough patch for a while. The boyfriend, works (read blogs) from home, so dennis is the primary bread earner. They live in suburbs so that they can be close to Dennis' mother who soon gets ill. Not knowing what to do after he loses his job, he thinks of a couple of things but none of them goes anywhere. When his ailing mother suggests them to get a dog. He goes to th...

'Chitrangada' is very small story in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Born a girl but raised as a boy and a warrior, she falls in love with warrior prince Arjun, when she sees him. But she knows that he won't love her back since he thinks of her as a woman. She then gets a boon from the Hindu God of Love and transforms into a beautiful feminine woman. This short story serves as a backdrop for this film directed by ace director Rituparno Ghosh also acting in the film. Rudra or Rudi is a dance drama director and is working on adaptation of the story of Chitrangada on stage. He is gay and everyone knows it. One ay , the lead actress of the play introduces Rudra to Partho, a drug junkie but also a percussionist player. Rudra has instant attraction for Partho and hires him. Their love starts and blooms. There are various occasions of heartaches but they both stick to each other. Rudra's parents though very conservative, have no choice but to accept whatever is going on. One...

An interesting truly bi-lingual film made by an American director, this film does manage to keep you absorbed till the end. It might not excite you too much but at the same time, it does succeed in keeping you absorbed throughout, just to see what is going to happen next. Claude is a 40 something French guy. One night returning form clubs, he finds a guy passed out completely and brings him home and washes his clothes and just is nice to him. This guy Brad, wakes up in the morning and finds the gesture very nice and returns favor by a morning job. Brad realizes that Claude doesn't know who he is and he can be himself. We later find out that he is a famous American actor and that Claude hates American films. An unlikely bond establishes between the two and they hang out to get to know each other and possibly find love. Claude's best friend Catherine is very happy with this development. She wants best for Claude. All this while Brad has been successful to keep his identity sec...

A funny, over the top comedy, but still funny short film filmed in Fire Island. Anyone who has ever visited Fire Island can really appreciate the bizarre humor. Especially when they talk about high tea, low tea, dinner and other rules of hooking up. Mac is fresh out of a long term relationship and decides to go to Fire Island from Oregan for a change with his friends. He contributes to a share there with his long time friend Ito. We are introduced to other housemates; a couple Michael Yes and Michael No; Lex who is all about sleeping with men and Harold, a black gay queen. They all try to make Mac feel comfortable but he finds himself totally out of place. Stuff happens over the weekend with various parties, hook-ups, fights and love. Ultimately after the weekend, Mac finds himself in a mesmerized with the entire culture of Fire Island and being with gays all over the place and is ready and looking forward to the rest of the summer every weekend. Alec Mapa as Ito is spot on in his...

Wow!! I haven't seen a really heart touching funny gay film in a while and this one was thoroughly entertaining.A film about trials and tribulations of a gay couple is done with such fines and professionalism that you are bound to like the film. The film is very light hearted too. Ernst is your typical macho guy who works in a bank. His boyfriend is Tobias, which is your another stereotypical party guy, full of drama and just about happy with everything in life and does nothing for work. They are in a very happy space with each other for past 6 months. They hang out together and with Tobias's friends. Enter Uta, Ernst's friend from childhood who has come back from US. We later find out that she was Israeli spy agent. He always had hots for Ernst and start playing mind games with Ernst so that he can breakup with Tobias. Realising very quick what she is after, Tobias gets together with his friends to do anything to save their relationship but ultimately Uta wins and the c...

I am lacking so far behind on catching up on some of the films, it is getting a little tiring but I am gonna try my best to keep up with it. Released earlier this year, in this film the central relationship is between gay men but the film manages to touch on failing/toxic relationships in general and offers up some noteworthy and humorous ensemble performances. We haven't seen in many gay films how you would like to hold on to your true love and would be ready to do anything for them and to keep the love of your life close to you. Erik is in his 30s and is a documentary film maker. He is addicted to casual sex after breaking up with his long term boyfriend. A casual phone sex hook up leads him to meet Paul, who is initially closet. Friendship soon leads to love between the two men. Paul is a drug addict and self-destructive right from the beginning but Erik ignore these signs initially. When things get so bad and Paul stops showing up at home for days at a stretch, Erik decide...

A pseudo comedy movie, which also explores relationships like never before between brothers who have not met each other in a long long time. This movie is entertaining but stretched sometimes beyond a point, it still keeps viewers glued waiting to see what happens next. Francesco and Nicola are brothers who haven't met for over 40 years. As kids they were very closer and thick as thieves. Francesco left the small town, when he came out publicly that he was gay, to spare his family of the humiliation that might follow. Cut to present, when Nicolas' daughter is about to be married, the mother of the 2 boys dies and Francesco appears at her funeral after all these years. When the mother's will is read by the notary, both brothers are surprised to know that their mother wanted to be buried next to their father in their hometown. A road journey starts next between the 2 brothers, who can't stand each other and they will now have to work together to make up for all the y...

Elliot Loves is two stories in one:  present day twenty-one year old Elliot, and young eleven year old Elliot.  It is also a comedy with a few heartfelt moments of drama. The movie keeps going from present to past when Elliot tries to see how his present life compares to what he was going through as a child. Elliot, is someone who we call a serial dater. He falls in love with any man on the first date himself and starts dreaming of his wonderful life ahead. His latest adventure introduces him to Joe who is hot, attentive, pays for food and doesn't mind Elliot's non stop diarrhea of the mouth. But the next morning he fins that Joe is in an open relationship with his boyfriend. The movie then goes to his childhood days. Eliot lives with his single mother and her boyfriend, who does no work. Elliot and he do not like each other but hey tolerate each  other for sake of Elliot's mom. Elliot and his mom share a very very close bond. Though only a child, Young Elliot is force...

Having recently watched Amadeus, I was quite keen to see another autobiographical movie on the American composer Cole Porter. I had neither heard the name before nor did I know anything about his music but still I was looking forward to it. I must say that I wasn't disappointed. Embellished with great performances and quite high production values, the musical with a unique narration style, did keep my interest alive in the proceedings and overall the experience was very satisfactory. When Cole Porter is about to die, his life flashes before him in a form of musical. It goes back to the time when he meets Linda, a beautiful attractive woman, whom he ends up marrying later. Linda is aware of Cole being gay and interest din men but her love and devotion is very strong and she choses to overlook that and even is ok with is flings outside marriage. She is the woman behind his success , who constantly reminds Cole how talented he is and even arranges for meetings with various bigwigs ...

I watched a gay film after a really really long time. And I am glad that it wasn't a bad one. I was hesitant on which movie to pick up, since there was long break but thankfully, this film almost met my expectations. I guess the trick is not to have huge expectations in the first place. The film with hits Turkish background became even more appealing to me for reasons known to people who know me. The film deals with social and religious equality for gays, religious fundamentalism and about divided identities. Film's protagonist is Ibrahim, a Turkish origin guy in Belgium who would rather be called as Bram and identified as Belgian. He is Muslim and is gay. With this the platform is set. He is smitten by Kevin, the son of a woman running a local diner. They become friends but soon we also find out that Bram is all set to marry his cousin back in Turkey. Bram's family is traditional Turkish family. His younger brother Furkan is an angry teenager, who skips school, commits ...

Kampvuur (Belgium) [Campfire] A coming out story summarizing itches of love, pain and relationships. A young boy falls in love with his best friend who reciprocates one night in camping but things take 180 degree from there. The friend totally ignores him and things at the camp become very awkward. The guy's "girl" friend is the only one who supports him at this time. (5.5/10) Matroos (Belgium) [Sailor] A teenager adores his sailor friend. He dreams about the exotic countries, starry skies and the inevitable homesickness that would bring his friend back to him. In a colorful series of referential images, his fragile dreams get so unreal, that the enthusiasm for seeing his friend again turns into anxiousness. Weirdly shot film. I honestly did not get it. (1/10) Diccups (USA) What happens when you dick gets hiccups? Extremely funny short short film just for the concept alone. (7/10) Le Marais (France) A young male customer finds himself attracted to a young print...

Following the lives of the famous trip of Spain; artist Salvador Dali, filmmaker Luis Buñuel and writer Federico García Lorca. this film takes us back to the early 20s in Madrid when it was a ripe time to live at the Students' Residence in Madrid and study at the School of Fine Arts. The film focusses on Dali and his unconsummated attraction towards Lorca and how Dali started to confuse sexuality with artistry. In 1922, Madrid is wavering on the edge of change. Salvador Dali arrives at the university; 18 years old and determined to become a great artist. His bizarre blend of shyness and rampant exhibitionism attracts the attention of two of the university's social elite - Lorca and Luis Bunel. Salvador is absorbed into their youthfully decadent group and for a time Salvador, Luis and Federico become a formidable trio, the most ultra-modern group in Madrid. However as time passes, Salvador feels and increasingly strong pull towards the charismatic Lorca - who is himself obl...