Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema (1993)

This feature-length movie showcases six gay shorts produced in the early 1990s. The program features the work of filmmakers from the USA, Canada, England, and Australia. First is "Resonance", directed by Stephen Cummins, a story of a gay bashing in the back streets of Sydney, using dance and music. It is obscure, difficult to follow, and 11 minutes long.

Second is "RSVP", directed by Canadian Laurie Lynd, a powerful and moving portrait of loss, punctuated by the haunting recording of "La Spectre de la Rose", performed by Jessye Norman. It explores the range of emotions felt by a group of people toward an AIDS victim, and is 23 minutes long.

Third is the American "Anthem", directed by Marlon Riggs, a collage of erotic images and a call to arms, with a feverish hip-hop energy that celebrates the lives of African-American men. It's a 9 minute long kaleidoscope of black gay expression, MTV style, with repetitive chants, male celebrations, and tribal scenes.

Fourth is "Relax", directed by Christopher Newby, an elegant film about one man’s fears and fantasies regarding HIV testing. Interesting not for what it says--that one can't relax in the face of AIDS--but for how it says it. Cinematic techniques reflect the protagonist's worries about his HIV test. For example, vigorous bathing becomes the flow of the bloodstream. It is 25 minutes long.

Fifth is "Billy Turner’s Secret", directed by Michael Mayson, an upbeat, slickly produced, energetic comedy about a young black man coming out to his homophobic roommate. A straight, homophobic black man asserts, "I will fuck a buck-toothed, bald-headed, stinky-breathed, 108-year-old, droopy-tittied bitch in her old crusty pussy before I get together with the bend-over boys," until his closeted black roommate enlightens him. Runtime is 26 minutes.

Last is "The Dead Boys’ Club", directed by Mark Christopher, a charming and poignant tribute to the 1970s world of promiscuity and glitter balls, firmly rooted in the American cinematic tradition and in gay life in the 1990s. It pays tribute to "The Wizard of Oz". An awkward young man coming out in the AIDS era gains confidence as well as gets transported to the freewheeling '70s whenever he puts on the shoes of his older cousin's dead lover's shoes. The runtime is 25 minutes.

The actors are: Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Norman, Scott Renderer, James Lyons, J. Evan Bonifant, Barbara Garrick, Julie Halston, Robert Pall, Daniel Schlachet, Craig Chester, and Michael Kirby.

Most viewers do not like this movie, usually with the exceptions of "Relax" and "The Dead Boys’ Club". The main comment is "boring"--"Very boring, it drags and it drags..." Another is, "Clearly well-intentioned, the films just aren't all that interesting. In mostly uninspired ways, it rehashes general aspects of gay life that most people are probably familiar with." A third comment: "A few of these directors have fallen into the arrogant trap of believing that their work is so good that it needs neither plot nor momentum. It's not." However, B. Ruby Rich wrote in Sight & Sound: "These works are irreverent, energetic, alternatively minimalist and excessive. Above all, they're full of pleasure."

Together Alone (1993)

Bryan (Todd Stites) is blond and gay. Dark-haired Brian (Terry Curry) describes himself as bisexual. They meet in a bar one night, go back to Bryan's place, have uninhibited unsafe sex, sleep for a short while and then wake up to get to know each other. The pair spend the entire evening in an epic conversation about: sexual identity, role-playing, homosexuality, heterosexuality, the gay liberation movement, feminism, loneliness, Emily Dickinson, philosophy, and so on. Ultimately, AIDS becomes the prime topic of the evening. Bryan and Brian debate their conflicting values, recall key events in their lives and slowly, reluctantly reveal themselves. Why was the sex unsafe? Bryan, who says this was his first sexual encounter in a long time, initially blames Brian for not taking precautions. Brian refuses to say whether or not he has tested positive. When Bryan ridicules Brian's claims of being bisexual, Brian expresses impatience with "militant drag queens" who insist on dragging everyone out of the closet. "People shouldn't be so obsessed by labels," he says. By the film's end, it's clear that Bryan is both lonelier and stronger than Brian. He doesn't fool himself about the way things are. At the same time he is a romantic, and says, "I like to think that every time you do the right thing, you become a little better." Brian, leading his double life, appears headed for disaster.

Bryan and Brian are different aspects of the same personality. This is reflected in their names and also in their having had the same dream while they slept. Though all of the sex occurs off screen, the sex-oriented discussions between the two are quite explicit. The carefully choreographed dialogue is set entirely in one room, probably because the film's budget was $7,000. Considering the movie's claustrophobic setting, it defines political positions, social questions, and emotional problems very nicely. Incidental music was composed by Wayne Alabardo. Written and directed by P. J. Castellaneta.