Parting Glances (1986)

Michael (Richard Ganoung) and Robert (John Bolger) are a gay couple in NYC who separate because Robert is leaving for Africa for 2 years. Nick (Steve Buscemi) is Michael's ex-boyfriend with AIDS, and Michael still loves and looks after him. The film takes place over a two-day period, with many of the scenes at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend Joan (Kathy Kinney) and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer Cecil (Patrick Tull) and his wife Betty (Yolande Bavan), who have an unconventional marriage. Michael encourages Nick to attend Robert's going-away party, and tries to get Robert to stop avoiding Nick, the lead singer of a punk band whose video MTV has put into current rotation. Michael travels around town, visits a record store, is pursued by a cute young cashier, has dinner with the married couple, criticizes Robert for his callousness, and tries to nursemaid Nick--whose defiance against convention, pity, and nightmares makes him the moral center of the film, rather than a victim. As Robert gets ready to leave, Nick plays a prank on Michael to test his devotion.

This acclaimed independent drama is a realistic and honest look at urban gay life in the 1980s during the Nazi Reagan era and the height of the AIDS epidemic. Many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. It was one of the first films to address the AIDS crisis. Some viewers believe it is the best gay film and the best AIDS film ever made. It was the only movie made by writer/director Bill Sherwood, with a budget of "$300,000. He died in 1990. The film was shot mainly in his apartment and the actors wore their own clothes. There is plenty of humor, and Sherwood was a musician so there are many interesting selections heard in the soundtrack. Bronski Beat songs "Love and Money", Smalltown Boy", and "Why" are included. A restored print of "Parting Glances" received its world premiere at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles in 2007.