Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

A gay man, his lover, and a diverse band of friends learn to strike a balance between old-world and new-generation values in post-war Lebanon. This film that came out back in 2011 bills itself as the first gay film to come out of Lebanon.  I have no ways to validate the claim, but in my opinion, calling it a gay film might be a little stretch, but two of the main six characters are a gay couple and yes the story does involve a lot around their struggle in the society. Fun fact: The filming of this Lebanese gay-themed film was opposed vigorously by members of the conservative community in which it was shot, with threats and acts of violence a constant occurrence. The film was completed only because of the intervention of military authorities, and post-production had to be done in the United States. We meet 4 friends hanging out. Jason, still traumatized by the loss of both of his parents in a car bombing; Louis , devastated over his recent breakup with his girlfriend; the guitar-str...

I have very mixed feelings about this one. The documentary has received several noteworthy awards and it feels like a therapy session for our protagonist, but I was struggling to get a sense of where is it all going. It started off as a man's journey who changed his identity, moved from Lebanon to Spain and through this film he was trying to reconcile his past, but in the duration of over 2 hours, more than half the time is gone into taking about his sexual escapades, fantasies and tricks that he has done. And only sparsely do we see him an Thera him talk about his childhood, his memories of war which gets frustrating. Thankfully it all seems very honest and a charming lead makes us continue to watch the documentary. Miguel’s life story begins in Lebanon, where he was born in a conservative household. Eager to prove his toughness and escape from the shadow of his more traditionally masculine brother, he decides to enlist in the army during Lebanese civil war, where he possibly witn...

This is definitely not a gay film, but its for sure one of the more homoerotic ones, even though its set under the pretext of death. I know these both things sound oxymoron, but the way the camera lingers a lot longer on a single man's body and everything around it, the makers were clearly going for homoeroticism. There is no other kind of audience that would connect with the film. The plot os simple. Set in a poor section of Beirut, we meet Hassan who is aimless in life and sleeping at his parents house. Instead of looking for work, he spends the day with three other friends at the beach. A few conversations about life, work and friends lead the two of them  to climb up to a busy walkway and, before his buddies and a cluster of onlookers, take a fatal dive into this rocky bit of the Mediterranean. The dive is fatal for Hassan and his friends run around to save him but is too late. They take the body home to his parents where they discuss if he can be considered a martyr. There is ...