Sibak (1995)

Three young and good-looking brothers live with and support their parents in Manila in the Philippines . They dance at the male "Club Exotica" and work as homoerotic Sibak or "macho dancers," better described as hustlers or male prostitutes. Joel at 21 has a wife and child, plus a regular boyfriend. Dennis, the middle brother, likes the wild scene of pick-ups. He and Joel are saving money to buy back lost family land on the island of Cebu. Sonny is the youngest and has dropped out of university. He sees dancing as a way to make money and spends time with Michelle, a transvestite. Dennis and his pals steal car radios. When a homeless youth who is not what he appears to be moves in, a chain of events is set in motion that brings tragedy. The colorful gay world of Manila livens up the almost documentary-style story of the daily lives of these men and their families, and the tale comes to a sudden, dramatic conclusion.

Overall the film is honest, disturbing, but ultimately depressing. This movie is not a typical gay film, although there are predominantly gay themes in the story that are treated with dignity and sensitivity. As well, there are some sexually explicit parts and some poorly choreographed violence. "Sibak" has a strong plot and gives a gritty insight into the way of life some people must follow. It has drama, comedy, tragedy, romance and kinship. One of the most popular Filipino films abroad, this is an acclaimed semi-sequel to Lino Brocka's "Macho Dancer" (also scripted by Ricardo Lee). Directed by Mel Chionglo, the cast includes: Ryan Aristorenas, Perla Bautista, Noni Buencamino, Richard Cassity, Grandong Cervantes, Luis Cortez, Lawrence David, Alex Del Rosario, Gino Paul Guzman, Leonard Manalanson, John Mendoza, Cherry Pie Picache, Danny Ramos, and Gandong Vervantes Jr. Ricardo Lee wrote the screenplay, and Nonong Buencamino and Ramon Reyes composed the original music. In Tagalog with English sub-titles. The English title is "Midnight Dancers".

Where the Truth Lies (2005)

In the 1950's, Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth) are the most popular entertainers in America. Lanny is the comedian and Vince is the straight man. They know how to make audiences roar with laughter at their jokes, or cry at one of their polio telethons. The pair is a favorite of Sally Sanmarco (Maury Chaykin), a mob boss who owns nightclubs up and down the East coast. He makes sure they have anything they want. The "anyone they want" is handled by Lanny's man-servant, Reuben (David Hayman). At the top, wealthy, and powerful, then something terrible happens to threaten their success. A dead beauty Maureen (Rachel Blanchard) turns up in their hotel suite. Their reputations are tarnished, but with perfect alibis neither is charged with the crime. Their partnership, unfortunately, is destroyed. Lanny and Vince manage to create separate careers. As the years pass, neither speaks to the other or to anyone else about the girl's death. The reason for the break-up of Morris and Collins becomes one of show business' greatest mysteries.

Then in the 1970's, writer Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman) decides to turn this mystery into a hot story. Karen discovers a kinky menage-a-trois that may have led to murder, and unravels a shocking tale of love and lust, buried secrets, treachery, and betrayed trust. She persuades a publisher to offer Vince one million dollars to collaborate with her on writing the untold story of his life with Lanny. Karen hears that Lanny has written his own tell-all book, and flies to New York to meet her publishers. On the plane she comes face to face with sleazy Lanny himself and learns the truths are more complicated and dangerous than she thought. The story is fairly confusing and the movie is OK, but a lot of the plot is devoted to hiding the fact that Vince is gay. And the film is tepid, the sex is unconvincing, the mystery lacks a sense of danger, and the resolution is not shocking. The voice-overs and flashbacks are mostly confusing and distracting. Colin Firth is miscast, Kevin Bacon is alright, but Allison Lohman is a boring heroine. Mychael Danna composed the original music, Atom Egoyan wrote the screenplay derived from Rupert Holmes' novel, and also directed.