Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

These short films are all less than 4 minutes in duration. Therefore, I am combining these all here. Dear dad, love Maria (Spain) Maria, a young male-to-female transsexual, writes a letter to her disapproving father the night before her gender reassignment operation. An exploration of memory, loss of innocence, growing up, and being who you are. Seven sins: Greed (Canada) A young couple sings from their apartment windows about the unshared bagel that ended their relationship. And the guy finds a male lover. The Wedding dance (USA) Guests are leaving their love message for the newly wed couple specially groom, when he invites his parents for the first dance. The parents happen to be a gay couple. Fantastic ! Ageless (USA) Love, sex and relationships are seen through the eyes of two men; one in his 50s, the other in his 20s. Their common struggles about wanting just sex or something more emotional, prove to be ageless. The Closet (USA) An old man recalls the moment that d...

This was a very confusing film for me. I read this film has been featured in many comedy film festivals, which is weird because there is not a single comic scene in the film. I still am not very sure what was the point of the film and what was the exact message that the makers were trying to make in the film. Fred is a widower, devout and religiously conservative Dutch man. Being a good Christian, Fred decides to help reform a homeless man Theo and teach him a few things about responsibility and the importance of work. Theo seldom talks or initiates conversations and is more like a slow-witted robot—doing things Fred tells him but seeming to have little in the way of intellect. Sometimes he makes animal noises and is more interested in hanging out with farm animals than people. And, sometimes Theo puts on Fred's deceased wife's clothing. Despite this, both men come to care for each other over time. In fact, eventually Fred comes to love Theo and is convinced that God has a...

I think I am having a few good days here where I am getting to see more and more films that spring a peasant surprise. From a story point of view, this film would have seen yet another one of those late coming-out stories but I am so happy to see the maturity in the way the whole subject was handled in the screenplay and of course in subsequent direction. I will talk more on that later. But I have to admit, this film had everything in it, simplicity, family, love, emotion and wanting to do the right thing that is expected of you from each character's point of view. Weichung, an optometrist, lives with his wife Feng and son. They have ben married for 9 years. At his sister's engagement party, Weichung bumps into an old friend, Stephen, a wedding photographer who, though also married, is living the high life of a younger, single gay man. When Stephen teases Weichung for his newly straightlaced lifestyle, dormant emotions are awakened in Weichung. Meanwhile Feng's paren...

An intense and alluring film, it manages to hold viewers interest till the end. Running with a perfect length of 80 minutes, it never gets boring or over the top. I think this would be a good film for anyone to watch because just replacing the mysterious man writing letters with a woman would make this film probably more accepting but it loses the tension that gets created in this scenario between a straight couple and mystery letters. A dense and captivating drama of how sexuality and love or not being loved affects people. The story is set in 1989 (not sure why). Boaz is a very charming and beautiful young man who lives with his girlfriend Noa. He is a student at the university of Tel Aviv studying linguistics. He goes to the post office to check status of his scholarship but instead one day sees a letter from a secret admirer. The letters keep coming with more and more details about Boaz's life which makes him realize that the person is somewhere close to his everyday life....

Having heard such good things about this film in critics reviews and all, now I have many questions. Firstly why is this a comedy/drama film? It is just "whatever". Secondly why is this a gay film and being promoted as a gay film. The lead character may be gay. He never even admits to being one. We never see any real sexual tension or desire in this young man.I kept waiting for the entire duration of the film that something interesting is gonna happen but it never does. Not one character in the film seems real for some reason. THere is so much more left to be desired in the film. Sure everyone is going gaga over the fact that this is first adaptation of writer David Sedaris's (whoever that is) work but big fucking deal. For those who read his piece may enjoy is but what about the others? the rest of us !! Phew !! Yale grad David wanders away from his parents to work on an apple farm in Oregon. ON his way to Oregon from Connecticut, he meets one strangely disruptive c...

A romantic comedy is exactly the right phrase to describe this film. The film is about gays and friendship and how a group of gay friends deal with their day to day life dealing with friendship, love, drama, acceptance, family and romance. Not to be taken very seriously most times, the film does manage to send some messages across as well but in a very subtle way. Because it is an ensemble film, it never really focuses on one specific character. Petty much every character gets ample scope and hence it also does give a soap opera feeling sometimes. The film is set in gayville, West Hollywood and follows life of gay friends. They hang out at coffee shops, clubs and each other's homes. We meet Dennis, a photographer who often holds the group together and hosts a lot of parties; Cole, a very handsome, charismatic actor and room mate with Dennis who often ends up with other people's boyfriends and can't stick to a guy for more than 2 weeks maximum and breaks their heart; Be...

I can't believe that this film was made for TV. Although these days you can reach out to a much larger audience through TV than films. Its a funny, lovely, touching love story about a God-fearing rural small-town Midwestern couple and the film manages to capture the nuisances of small town life very well. Its definitely a sensitive topic that the makers have tried to deal with and they really need to be applauded for that. And Tom Wilkinson for being so brave to take up the main role and portraying it so beautifully and with respect it deserves. Roy and Irma have been married for 25 years and have a son and daughter together. After their 25th anniversary, Roy tells Irma that he has long felt that he is a woman trapped in a man's body, and wishes to do something about it, no matter the consequences. Irma, an avid member of the church choir, naturally finds this a little disconcerting. She feels as if she has been lied to through out the whole relationship and her life is fa...

After weeks of waiting and mentally preparing myself to watch a hectic film, I finally saw the film. Based on Larry Kramer's play by the same name. Showcasing a man's struggle to the rising HIV and AIDS epidemic in New York City in early 80's, this is a gut-wrenching film that shakes you up completely. I have seen a couple other movies on AIDS epidemic that have hit me harder, but this film also leaves a very very strong impact and makes you think that to wasn't too long long (almost 30 years) when all this was happening. It gives me shivers to even think what people in those days must have been going through seeing their near and dear ones die because of it and they being completely helpless. Ned Weeks is an openly gay writer from NY. When he sees an article in New York Times about "Rare Cancer diagnosed in Homosexuals", he meets Dr. Emma, who ha sheen seeing many patients unexpectedly afflicted with this rare disease that compromises immune systems of t...

The Language of Love (Australia) This film is about a schoolboy coming to terms with his sexuality while in the middle of a French exam. It sees Charlie wake up to his feelings when tasked in the exam to "describe your best friend ... write your response as a letter to your friend, in French". Charlie talks viewers through what is going on in his head as he struggles with the question. The truth is, he is in love with his best friend Sam. In a moving monologue Charlie reveals his worries of being bullied by classmates and rejected by Sam if he were to reveal his feelings. A beautiful ending that says "It’s not because he’s a boy, he just happens to be one. ... You always hear people say it's weird and just not normal, but isn't that the point of love? To transcend normalness and become something special?" Loved it. (7.5/10)   Belle Salope (France) [Beautiful Bitch] Being with one of his clients, young male prostitute Cédric receives a voicemail ...

Wow!! It was so refreshing to see a romantic gay film from 90s. The fashion of those ays, the humour of those days and the NYC of those days. Gosh! I miss NY so much. I am really looking forward to being there again asap and live there exactly how I used to. Won't that be interesting !! There was a time when I was a huge fan of rom-coms and somewhere down the line, my fascination for them went down. But I do not regret watching this film. Surely, I am not gonna apply too much logic into the story and hows and whys. After all, the movie ultimately entertained me and brought me some glorious memories of my favorite city. Cynthia, Marc and Robert are young friends in New York City. Marc is a struggling actor, Robert is an actor/songwriter and Cynthia is desperately trying to attract the attention of Tina Brown to break into magazine publishing. All of us who have lived in NYC know all about apartments in New York. Cynthia and Marc luck out when they find an apartment to share in ...

Its always good to see when organizations come together to promote to message of healthy sex, specially in gay community. Something that is meaningful, entertaining, touching and most importantly send out a clear message on why it i important to be very safe with your life. In view of the record high number of newly reported HIV infection in 2013, the Red Ribbon Centre collaborated with the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival to explore an innovative and gay friendly means to promote HIV prevention and hence this beautiful piece of a short film. Jun is a reckless, rebellious young man. His now deceased father, threw him out of house when he found out that Jun was gay. Now he lives with his mother, who works very hard but is also struggling to accept his homosexuality and hence they barely communicate with each other. Michael is an honest, stable young man who works in a bank. Michael meets Jun and two lonely souls fall deeply in love. Jun’s mother initially disapproves their r...

Not many films have focussed on the loneliness in a gay man's life. This loneliness is much more manifold if you are stuck in a small town Texas. Unfortunately, since the focus of the most of the film is on this aspect, it misses addressing some other fun important issues and fails to rise above getting sympathy for gay men in a small town in Texas. The film follows parallel lives of 2 single gay men. Gabe lives with his daughter and ex-wife to support raising their daughter. They broke up after Gabe had an affair with a married man and it ended up badly. Neither seems superbly excited about any activity in other's love life but they both try to be supportive. Across town, we have Ernesto. He spends his evening take care of an old friend who is in coma after an accident. He recently broke up with his Boyfriend Luis, a younger guy but still lets him stay at the house till he finds a place. Soon his patience runs out when he sees that Luis is not even trying to find a place ...

A tout thriller and a crazy head spinning film are some of the words that I read and was told by some of the people who saw this film. These words do describe what the film is about but maybe they are a little too strong. I would describe the film as thriller with surprises and a twist that you did not expect or see coming. Unfortunately I missed out on some of the german and Spanish being spoken in the film but I am pretty sure that I didn't lose much in the film. Luis is a young Spaniard who travels to Berlin after a break up with his boyfriend to get lost in the city. He immediately goes out to experience the nightlife in the city, meets a girl outside a club and hangs with her. He also eventually meets a mysterious man Victor and instantly take a liking for him.We also meet a girl Elena with her cousin who are looking for their lost brother Dmitri, who has been missing for a few weeks. He takes up some drugs in the cob and is warned that he will lose his head. Luis soon re...

A collection of gay short stories before year 2000. Un arrangement (France) [An Arrangement] A man and his son come to terms with their sexuality in their own different manners: while the father painfully hides his secret from his family during night tricks, the son progressively discovers a more open sexuality. Very very interesting film. Dizzy (Canada) Written on a flight to Australia and intended as a speech for Hull’s brother’s wedding, Dizzy is a story of one man’s attempt to come to terms with his fragile balance in the modern world. Strictly time pass. Pracht (Germany) Two guys sitting across each other on the train fantasize about having sex. Interesting piece and something that can probably tun u on Une nuit ordinaire (France) [An Ordinary Night] A young French man bicycles across town after an evening out to spend the night with his boyfriend. The twist in the tale is that the bf is probably dying of AIDS. America the Beautiful (USA) Short video transforms ver...

I wanted to like this film. I really did. Having heard so much about it and reading critics positive reviews, I was almost sure that this movie is going to be great. And of course, what happens; After having sat through 4 sessions and finally finishing the film, I was glad that it ended. Another example for me on how expectations really burst your bubble. I think I need to rethink these true autobiographical kind of stories because there is so much there that the makers pack in them, and if you do not have the context of who's who before watching the film, you will be completely lost like me. The film chronicles early life of the famous poet Allen Ginsberg. He gets a seat in Columbia University and soon meets Lucien , a rowdy, anti-establishment student in the college. Ginsberg discovers that Lucien's papers are all written by David, who is older to him and also probably an ex-lover. David loves Lucien and but the latter is just using him. Rebellious writer William and a s...