Crustacés et Coquillages (2005)

GAY MOVIE GUIDE: Lone Wolf Goes Gay
© 2011 Lone Wolf Sullivan

This Guide was researched and written by Lone Wolf Sullivan. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright infringement is a felony. It is punishable by up to $500,000 or five years in prison for a first offense.




Crustacés et Coquillages (2005)



















A father, mother, daughter and son head to the south of France for a summer vacation on the Riviera. Marc (Gilbert Melki) takes his wife Béatrix (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and their two children to the beach home of his youth. The Mediterranean wind blows, the sea churns, and the heat of summer stokes their desires for a number of sexy liasons. Their 19 year-old daughter Laura (Sabrina Seyvecou) has a rendezvous with her biker boyfriend Michaël (Yannick Baudin), and their 17 year-old son Charly (Romain Torres) roams the beach with his best friend Martin (Edouard Collin), who is in love with him. Béatrix is sensitive to the undisclosed, erotically charged atmosphere that exists between the boys and imagines that her straight son is gay. She prides herself on being ultra-tolerant, so her reaction is not one of distress, but relief. Marc is somewhat bothered by this and by the open sexuality in the family, and especially concerned about being disinherited by his aunt. Béatrix re-encounters her old boyfriend, Marc's ex-flame pops up, and both former lovers express interest in rekindling affairs. Soon, the entire vacation becomes a hilarious erotic complication that collapses into chaos.

Arriving at the coastal villa Marc has inherited from his aunt, the family settles in for a long, lazy summer. Laura leaves for Portugal with Michaël, and shaggy rebellious Charly welcomes childhood friend Martin for an extended stay. Charly is not gay but Martin is fresh out of the closet, intent to cruise the beachside cliffs at night. While the two awkwardly renegotiate their friendship, the parents read every signal incorrectly. ''It's sunny, the house is divine, Charly is gay--what's the problem?" Béatrix says to her husband. She can afford to say that, since her lover Mathieu (Jacques Bonnaffe) has decided to vacation nearby and is constantly dialing her up on her cellphone for a quick romp in the bushes he pops out of in the nude. Marc gets turned on when he spies Martin pleasuring himself in the shower. Much of the drama comes from whether there will be enough hot water for everyone to take a shower and suddenly those long hot showers everyone takes in the film make a lot more sense. Hunky plumber Didier (Jean-Marc Barr) is called in, a grinning hunk of rough trade, and starts dispensing family secrets. He takes a liking to Charly, yet also is the ex-lover of Marc, having had a gay affair before Marc married Beatrix. Marc and Béatrix are indeed an odd couple who somehow make it work.

This light-hearted mix of comedy and drama smacks of a standard soap opera, but with motion picture length. It's a bawdy and silly farce. ''Crustacés et Coquillages" piles the farcical misunderstandings higher and higher, and just when you think it couldn't get any more absurd, there's a musical number sung by Marc and Béatrix to the two boys on a rainy day. It's called ''Crustacés et Coquillages" ("Crustaceans and Shell Fish"), which is also the film's French title. The characters are flat, rather predictable and undergo little development in the movie’s first hour. During the last thirty minutes, things speed up in order to tie up loose ends and finish the whole thing off with a happy ending. This film is cute, but totally forgettable, sexually frank without being dangerous, and that toothlessness is both a source of pleasure and a serious limitation. It's a movie where no one gets hurt, no matter how unseemly the revelation. ''Let's just say I find the situation a little tacky," Béatrix says about one particular turn of the plot. She's right, but you could say that about all summer houses. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Philippe Miller composed the original music. Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau both wrote the screenplay and directed. In French with English subtitles. The two English titles are "Côte d'Azur" and "Cockles and Muscles".

Dobro jutro! (2007)

"Dobro jutro!" is a feature documentary by Ante Babaja, one of the grand masters of Croatian cinematography. The director, screenwriter, and producer is depicted in an old folks retirement home. Using modern digital film technology to record the place where he lives and his everyday life, the film shows the facility's everyday routine. He wakes up when a nurse knocks on the door saying "Good morning", eats breakfast, visits a doctor, and rests in the afternoon. Everything is presented to us from Babaja's personal philosophic perspective--scenes from his private and professional life are mixed with those from the facility.

Ante Babaja's last film is a personal story about himself. He received a Sony camera as a gift and started to film things that happen in his retirement home every day, where he lives after two strokes and two cardiac arrests. While filming he decided to add to his reality some inserts from his favourite and most popular films such as "Breza" (1967) and "Izglubljeni zavičaj" (1980). In "Dobro jutro!" we see Babaja himself on the screen and the 80 year-old director's self-observation delivers something between a film legacy and a document of our times. It's a thoughtful study of life with quietly humorous undertones, a solemn depiction of growing old, a meditation on the transience of life, and of faith. "Dobro jutro!" is a very honest and hard story about being old, and the passage of time.

He was born the 6th of October, 1927 in Imotski, and studied economics and law while assisting many directors in Paris and Zagreb. His flms are meditative and cultivated. He founded and worked as a professor at the Academy of Theater, Film and TV in Zagreb. His most famous films are like movie screenings of literary works. He said, "Film has, for me, since the first day that I have been aware of it, always been art. Film as art, this is something that I have always emphasized. Naturally, film exists in a hundred different ways, but I am only interested in this one--film as art." About the documentary he said, "The primary thing always is to create the concept. Without establishing the concept, I'm incapable of shooting anything and due to my limited mobility and the fact that I am living in a retirement home I captured the world that surrounds me. In the scenes I inserted short fragments from my previous movies." "Dobro jutro!" translates as "Good Morning!". Ante Babaja wrote the script, directed, and was cameraman along with Goran Trbuljak and Tomislav Jagec. The runtime is 85 minutes. In Croatian.

Strákarnir okkar (2005)

Oáttar Thor (Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson) is the sexiest and most popular star of KR (Reykjavík FC), the Icelandic soccer team. When a female reporter tells him in a locker room full of naked men that her interview with him will be on the back cover, he announces that he is gay, much to the shock and amusement of the reporter and his team mates. He appears on the front cover, but coming out of the closet turns the sports world upside down. The news makes the owner of his team apoplectic, his teammates are nervous in his presence, so he is suspended from the team, sitting on the bench for most of his team's matches. His father Eiríkur (Siguröur Skúlason) (the team's general manager), his alcoholic ex-wife Gugga (Lilja Nótt Þórarinsdóttir) and his 13 year-old son Maggi (Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson) react with embarrassment and disbelief, thinking only of themselves. His bigoted brother Orri (Jón Atli Jónason) seems pleased to see all the anger directed at Oáttar.

Once out of the closet, Oáttar forms a team with other players who have come out. His "Eleven Men Out" team win game after game on their way to the championship. Maggi is not coping too well with all the attention Oáttar is getting, for all the wrong reasons. When tempers cool, his father tries everything to persuade Oáttar to return and play for his team, but he must go back into the closet. A struggle between father and son starts. He agrees to return only if it will play a match with the "Eleven Men Out" team. Oáttar finally has the opportunity to battle it out on the field with the KR team on Gay Pride Day. He decides to act on his attraction toward one of his teammates, but discovers that his dreamboat isn't much of a catch off the field. In one scene, Oáttar is having sex with his teammate on the living room sofa, when Maggi comes in and shrieks "f**king perverts!" Father just replies, "Hi son, what're you doing here?" The ending deliberately plays with audience expectations to deliver a low key, light, positive, and satisfying conclusion.

A sports star's career takes a sudden roller coaster ride when he makes a very unexpected announcement in this comedy from Iceland. Björn Hlynur Haraldsson is as good looking as he is talented. He performs very well in scenes where he is dealing with his rebellious teenage son who is humiliated by his father's decision to come out, as well as with his alcoholic ex-wife as they try to unite and work together as parents. There are good soccer scenes and great repartee with fellow players. Haraldsson's steamy sex scene with another man which is interupted by his son is an unexpected turn of events. It's a charming, delightful, and feisty comedy. However, caricatures play every scene straight and this makes it difficult to laugh with the characters. Instead we laugh at them. Viewers comments are mixed, and one reviewer wrote, "The film might be trying to push boundaries in terms of male nudity, but no amount of male penises can save this wannabe comedy that is just not funny." Barði Jóhannsson and Mínus composed the original music. Róbert I. Douglas wrote the screenplay and directed. In Icelandic with English subtitles. The English title is "Eleven Men Out".

Amor de Hombre (1997)

Ramón (Andrea Occhipinti) is a handsome successful gay lawyer in Madrid, but unlike most of his friends has not settled into a partnership. His closest friend is Esperanza (Loles León) who is a 40 year-old divorced school teacher in love with Ramón. She can't seem to meet or like any men unless they are gay, so she's somewhat of a "fag hag", and Ramón tries to help her find her right man. They party together with businessmen, doctors, and teachers, and go out together to bars. Ramón always brings a man home while Esperanza goes home to an empty bed. Promiscuous Ramón usually has a different partner every evening.

After an automobile accident in which Ramón is injured, Esperanza moves in to care for him, a care that includes asking one of her fellow Phys Ed teachers Roberto (Armando del Río) to give physical therapy and massage to Ramón. Esperanza becomes jealous of the "amor de hombre" (love for another man). Because Roberto seems to rebuff Ramón's growing obsession with an unattainable straight man, the therapy ends when Ramón is able to walk. A twist occurs once Ramón is well and Roberto changes roles and is seductive to Ramón, a romance that comes to a tragic ending. It is the quality of friendship between Ramón and Esperanza that provides the lasting nucleus of this tale. The movie ends with Esperanza and Ramon platonically kissing on a beautiful beach at sunset.

This colorful, tender and funny tale is about the intense relationship between a straight woman and a gay man. It has a smart script, and is well cast, acted, directed, and scored. A light and entertaining comedy drama with a message, the two leads may not appeal to everyone. Esperanza in particular is annoying to some viewers. One wrote, "She is a one of the most possessive, irritating and manipulative types of person that I have ever seen in a movie." The film won both the Audience and Jury awards at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Narrative Feature at the Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. José Manuel Pagán composed the original music. Yolanda García Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra wrote the screenplay and directed. In Spanish with English subtitles. The English title is "Love of a Man".

Carandiru (2003)

This episodic film is set in São Paulo's House of Detention, referred to as Carandiru, one of Latin America's largest prison systems. 7,800 men serve time in a facility built to house a maximum of 3,000 prisoners. An Oncololgy Doctor (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos) arrives in the jail to test patients for HIV infection. Seeing the disease, overcrowding, and rampant circulation of drugs, he notices the internal power structure among the prisoners. The doctor is moved to volunteer his services on a weekly basis. As his efforts begin to bear results, he gradually earns the respect of the prison community. Several narratives develop, including the attempted murder of Dagger (Milhem Cortaz), the solitary confinement of Chico (Milton Goncalves), and the romance between Lady Di (Rodrigo Santoro) and Too Bad (Gero Camilo). The doctor eventually establishes a routine and sees the prisoners as survivors. Tragically, everything leads to the violent conclusion: the October 2, 1992 prison riot known historically as the Carandiru Massacre. Policemen storm the prison and murder 111 unarmed inmates.

Based on a true story, "Estação Carandiru" (Carandiru Station), a memoir by Dr. Dráuzio Varella, the film's first moments are close-up and rough. The camera puts you inside the notoriously overcrowded and treacherous São Paulo prison, where two inmates argue over one's right to slit the other's throat. Dr. Varella said, "I have no right to tell a story like this, if someone's going to identify the person I'm talking about. This guy didn't tell me his story so I can use in a book. He told me because I’m a doctor and he trusted his doctor. However, the story should be told."

The DVD emphasizes the films historical context and political argument: in addition to director Babenco’s mostly narrative commentary, a "making of" documentary, it includes seven deleted scenes, and historical footage of prison activities from 1928 (when prisoners were enrolled in music and math classes, and rewarded for “excellent behavior"), as well as the demolition of the prison in 1993 in an effort to destroy the horrific memories it held. André Abujamra composed the original music. Hector Babenco, Fernando Bonassi, and Victor Navas wrote the screenplay based on Dr. Dráuzio Varella's book. Hector Babenco directed. In Portuguese with subtitles in English and other languages.

Blue Citrus Hearts (2003)

Sam (Joshua Peter Laurenzi) and Julien (Paul Foster) are high school best friends in Memphis who fall somewhere between the nerds and the losers. Sam has an abusive father (Mark Pergolizzi) and a cold-hearted mother (Lee Ann Roberts). Julien's parent is a single mom (Emily Fry) who provides him with an abundance of love. Both have girlfriends and neither has a job. Sam struggles against his father, his oblivious girlfriend, and thoughts of suicide clash while his affection deepens for Julien. He constantly writes in a journal he will not let anyone see and hopes to take guitar lessons. Julien haunts coffee shops and daydreams.

Both have come to realize something is missing from their lives, and this sense of loss is diminished only when they are together. Julien is a moody boy, and his girlfriend Arielle (Alex Booth) has just about had it with him. The only bright light in his life is his friendship with Sam. They go together to the café, show each other their secret places, and wrestle on the grass. It's obvious they're in love. But these are teenagers--and they're just not ready. Then one night Julien shows Sam a poem he's written called "Blue Citrus Hearts" and it's about his crush on his best friend. Sam and Julien struggle through this film, trying to communicate with themselves, with friends, and finally with each other--discovering what they fear most, that they are gay. The film ends a bit too quickly.

This is a bittersweet tale of two boys in love. It's a slowly paced, heartfelt, gritty, honest little movie that has the power to move you profoundly. Sometimes there is arthouse pretentiousness that is appropriate here, revealing a deceptively simple story with complex emotional issues. The teenage boys from extraordinarily opposite homes find their way through friendship and sexuality while dealing with the complexities of high school, teenage romance, angst, fitting in, the desire for popularity, and the need to be understood and alone. They are unremarkable, ordinary boys learning to cope with emotions they fear and possibly can't understand.

Experimental in style, with lines of poetry scratched into film stock, sometimes jarring editing and a non-linear story, it is a distinctly non-Hollywood experience. It has a freshness and an originality missing from most films today. The soundtrack is strong, and the local music certainly adds flavor to the movie, although it is too loud. It's basically a noisy film. The actors are pimply high school students, not 25 year-olds playing high school students. Another important statement it makes is in the new millenium it is still not OK to be gay. It may be fashionable to accept homosexuality on TV and in movies, but in the real world gay men are still shunned, still legislated against, and still murdered because of their sexual orientation. Viewers comments are mixed--some love it and some do not. Morgan Jon Fox wrote the screenplay and directed.

East Side Story (2006)

Diego Campos (René Alvarado) lives in a conservative suburb of East LA, and is in an unhappy relationship with his closeted real estate agent boyfriend Pablo (David Berón). The pair finally decide to split after Diego has had enough of playing a Mexican immigrant in Pablo's fetish games, only for Pablo to woo Diego's nymphomaniac aunt Bianca (Gladys Jimenez). Diego helps his grandmother Sara (Irene DeBarri) run the family restaurant and hides his gay relationships from his traditional Latino family. He plans to move away and open an upscale Mexican restaurant in Phoenix.

It's the perfect time to be single and out in East LA, as the neighborhood suddenly becomes the hot spot for young gay men, and soon Diego's eyes start to roam as an influx of gay white men move into the neighborhood and begin gentrifying it. When the dashing Wesley Henderson (Steve Callahan) and his outrageous boyfriend Jonathon Webber (Cory Schneider) move in next door, tensions start to grow. Jonathon is terrified by the Hispanic locale and makes ludicrous claims about his impending gay-bashing.

Wesley, meanwhile, falls head over heels for neighbor Diego. The attraction between Wesley and Diego is immediate and electric, forcing both men to reexamine their state of affairs. Serious questions arise about the pressures of an inter-racial gay relationship, including malevolent ex-boyfriends and the discouragement of disapproving family members. Hilarious, feel-good and scorchingly hot from start to finish, "East Side Story" tells an uplifting tale about loving thy neighbour--and not getting caught. It's a well-balanced movie and although the outcome is not certain until the end, everything works out.

This is an entertaining comedic drama, a creative and intriguing look at life in East LA that opens with a mouth-watering twist. The main character performs very well and there are some show stealing moments from the supporting cast: his over the top aunt, the Hispanic dog-walking homophobic chef, and the bigoted campy gay neighbor. One viewer commented, "Very enjoyable, well-acted, well-scripted romantic movie! It's hard to believe this is Mr. Portugal's debut film. It doesn't hurt that the movie is chock-full of really cute actors, with enough shirtless scenes and quick rump shots that titillate." Steven Cahill composed the original music. The screenplay was written by Charo Toledo and Carlos Portugal, who also directed.

Colma: The Musical (2006)

"Colma" refers to a northern California town built as a necropolis and still used as a burial place. It serves as the setting for the picture, but the meaning is expanded to characterize the small town as a place of boredom and spiritual death for its young residents. The teenagers at the center of the movie are Rodel (H. P. Mendoza), Maribel (L. A. Renigen) and Billy (Jake Moreno). The three rebel against the status quo by periodically breaking into musical numbers--songs original to the film done in the style of 1980s new wave rock. They dance around the cemetery and streets. Just out of high school, they are just beginning to explore a new world of part-time mall jobs and college parties. As new revelations and romances challenge their relationships with one another and their parents, the trio must assess what to hold onto, and how to best follow their dreams.

The movie opens with the three leads singing the rave-up "Colma Stays", which describes the anonymous small town with clever imagery. Lanky Billy is an aspiring actor who gets a sales job at the mall and also a supporting role in a local community theater production. He also finds a new girlfriend Tara (Sigrid Sutton) but can never quite manage to shake off the lingering memories of his ex-girlfriend Joanne (Kat Kneisel), much to the chagrin of his close friend Maribel. With a cheerful spark masking an uncertain melancholy, cherubic party girl Maribel is the glue holding the trio together. Her main concerns are getting fake IDs and looking ''f**kable''. Maribel's shining moment comes with "Crash the Party", very similar to Blondie's "Dreamin'", preceded by the film's funniest moment, a purchase of alcohol with fake IDs similar to the liquor store scene in "Superbad".

Rodel is the most challenging character, a gay poet and slacker, closeted from his traditional Filipino father and increasingly jealous of Billy's ability to move on with his life. He feels that he has to be a good son (his brother is in prison) and that means he must stay in the closet. Rodel provides the film's most painfully realistic moments, as well as the most lacerating lines. His rendition of "One Day" provides genuine heart to the story's climactic moment, but his nasal vocals are a repetitive monotone. The barroom shanty scene runs too long, especially in ¾ time, and the "Deadwalking" duet between Maribel and Rodel is marred by the artsy intrusion of ghostly couples dancing in the cemetery.

Filled with shots of San Francisco in the background, those in the Bay Area will appreciate the SF inside jokes. The first half dozen songs cover everything from the boring life in Colma to crashing college parties. However, the second half of the film tackles more serious and mature themes such as love, family acceptance, and becoming an adult. The acting feels stilted and the music derivative, but the film somehow makes it to the finish line through its honesty about how life is for social outcasts living in San Francisco's suburban necropolis. This coming-of-age musical had a budget of $15,000, but first-time director Richard Wong and first-time screenwriter, songwriter and co-lead H. P. Mendoza make something substantive from the premise of three close friends just out of high school. It's a funny, bawdy, real, stylized, quirky world in a bizarre setting.

Director Wong said: "It's a hard movie to market. All the gay distributors don't think the film's gay enough, all the Asian distributors don't think it's Asian enough. People like labels, and labels help sell. We didn't make it to sell anyways. And just the fact that it is gonna sell is pretty amazing. We never even considered submitting to queer and Asian film fests. It was always more about teenagers and the human experience. I would never take away what they have done for us, but that was not our original aim. We just set out to make a good movie." The DVD includes a commentary track from Wong and Mendoza and fifteen minutes of deleted and extended scenes. H. P. Mendoza composed the original music. He also wrote the screenplay from a story he wrote with director Richard Wong.

Beverly Kills (2005)

Beverly Jackson (Gary Kelley) is an aspiring actor who loses a role in a musical at the Pride Playhouse, a nude theatrical production of "Balls Out."--a revue that promises a same sex marriage ballet and gratuitous male nudity. Furious, muscular cross-dresser Beverly decides to form a cult of revenge after seeking advice from Rocco (John Marlo), his massuer. Meanwhile back at the Playhouse, employee Shane (Rick Sparks) is dumped by his boyfriend, then falls into the arms of Ray (Matthew Herrmann), a lighting designer, and the two are swept into Beverly's bizarre scheme. We encounter broken relationships, lonely guys, new relationships, arrivals to Hollywood from all over the country who long to become stars and end up being "stand-in celebrities" for the tourists along the Hollywood Boulevard.

Beverly gathers the guys and gals who have auditioned and plans a terrorist martyrdom attack at Hollywood and Highland as a means of making a statement about the unstable way of life and irony of the promised land of dreams. The tone changes a lot: it's a comedy, then a drama, then a love story. Of course it all goes awry, but it does so with some very attractive people and some impressive talent.

This very entertaining satire of Hollywood lunatics, fanatical doomsday religious cults, and oversexed gay community theater features lots of cuties, a hot romance and a twisted drag queen. There are plenty of laughs in this edgy comedy, and the over-the-top, silly, ridiculous situational comedies and parodies contain much social comment. All of the men in the movie are gorgeous and either wear absolutely nothing or next to nothing throughout the whole movie. Their nudity includes full frontals. The "Balls Out" musical number is great! Unlike most low-budget gay romantic comedies this one doesn't take itself so seriously, is quite witty, well-acted, and leaves you feeling good. If you are easily offended or don't have an absurd sense of humor, then you should probably look elsewhere as this one is scathing and out there. Viewers comments are mixed. The DVD includes the director's commentary track, which is very entertaining and helps appreciate this movie even more. For some great surprises, freeze-frame the Cult's CD multi-media presentation. A few single frames contain some startling images. Jeffery Alan Jones composed the incidental music, and Damion Dietz wrote the screenplay and directed.

Azuloscurocasinegro (2006)

Jorge (Quim Gutiérrez) and Israel (Raúl Arévalo) are two best friends living in Spain. Jorge wants a suit. Israel wants a van. Jorge's plans are put on hold when his father Andres (Héctor Colomé) has a stroke. For seven years he nurses his father and is forced to take over his job as a janitor while studying part time to get a business degree. When Natalia (Eva Pallarés), his childhood crush, returns from studying abroad, Jorge yearns for something better. He is desperate to find a better job, but no one will hire him because he only has experience as a janitor.

Antonio (Antonio de la Torre), Jorge’s older brother, will soon be released from jail. He is an opportunist who has never gotten along with their father. In prison Antonio meets Paula (Marta Etura), a beautiful young woman in jail on drug charges. Paula has a problem because she flirted with another inmate's boyfriend. Violently harassed in jail, she wants to get pregnant in order to be moved to the jail's safe maternity ward. Antonio just wants to have sex with Paula, soon falls in love with her, but he discovers that he is sterile.

Everything changes when Antonio gets out of prison. He plays on Jorge's good nature to get him to step in during conjugal visits and impregnate his girlfriend Paula. Jorge reluctantly agrees, even though it might get in the way of his long-term relationship with Natalia. Meanwhile, Jorge's best friend Israel secretly photographs men visiting an erotic masseur. He finds out that his father is one of the clients and thinks that he must be gay. Irritated with his father's hypocrisy, Israel starts anonymously blackmailing him. However, he later begins to question his own sexuality when he visits the erotic masseur himself.

Jorge's relationship with Natalia becomes difficult after she tries to get him a job where she works but he is only offered a position as a janitor. Then Antonio finds out that their father has an undisclosed bank account full of money. Jorge makes regular visits to the women's prison to carry out his brother's wishes and falls for Paula. Gradually, they develop an unusual relationship. She gets pregnant and through her, Jorge learns to stop feeling responsible for everything and finally confront his own wishes, ignoring what the world expects of him. He breaks his relationship with Natalia and decides to wait for Paula’s release. The relationship of the two brothers survives Jorge's emotional involvement. Antonio fails to retrieve the money his father has had in the secret bank account and is instead mortally attacked by his father.

Israel confronts both of his parents and his own sexual identity, finally achieving some degree of peace. Jorge and Paula have a baby daughter. He moves from the building where he has worked and lived for so many years, finding a new job as a janitor. When Jorge thinks of escaping his dead-end life, he dreams of a suit, which is dark blue, almost black. At the end, he takes Israel’s car, breaks the store window and grabs the dark blue suit.

These two stories are interwoven to demonstrate the struggle between family obligations and individual freedoms, especially at that point in life of coming into one's own. With its subtle wit and homoerotic curiosity, "Azuloscurocasinegro" is a fresh and vibrant discovery reminiscent of its Spanish-language forerunner "Y Tu Mama Tambien". The English title is "DarkBlueAlmostBlack", which is technically called "midnight blue". It's a state of mind, an uncertain future, and a color--a color that we don’t always recognize and which varies depending on the light, the medium and the mood. The DVD extras include interviews with the director and the lead actors. Pascal Gaigne composed the original music, and Daniel Sánchez Arévalo wrote the screenplay and directed. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Get a Life (2006)

"All I want is a straight guy who will be gay just for me," says Jaime (Brian Campbell) to his abusive psychiatrist. This is a statement that propels the plot of a disenfranchised homosexual looking for himself. Jaime desperately searches his hometown of Chicago looking for love, acceptance, and happiness in some interesting and surprising places. Along the way, Jaime meets some fascinating and colorful people, in addition to many hot and sexy guys, both straight and gay, all leading to surprising insights into his own life.

In the seedy Ram Bookstore he meets student Monty (Michael Gonring), a troll-loving bisexual with a girl friend in Boston who says, "I thought I'd take a walk on the wild side for a few months and then go back to her and all this will become a distant memory." Monty becomes Jaime's guide and conscience in a journey through the maze of his broken life. After the bookstore gets busted Jaime ends up in the same cell with his enemy Hal Stevens (Peter Marinelli). The two hate each other because Hal used to steal all his tricks in the bookstore. But they become the closest of friends and decide that there is an alternative to gay life. Hal says somewhere there is a twilight zone of the sexual fringe and that's where they belong.

After a visit to Miss Galena Chanel (Tina Stefano), an expert in making gays popular, they try a variety of gimmicks. From circuit parties decked in zoot suits, to dressing up in drag and trying to pick up gas station attendants, and all the way to a classic betrayal by his new found friend, Jaime is left twice as vulnerable and lonely. Vulnerable enough for Ray Milano (Matt Edwards), a coworker and homophobe, to step in and ruin his life completely. Jaime gets what he wants, including a lover, but not before a spectacular revenge climaxing in a fight in which he beats up Ray in front of all the coworkers. "I am a lowdown c***sucker who just beat the crap out of you! What does it make you Ray?" he asks him, his voice trembling while pinning him down. In the end, Jaime discovers the one person he never thought he would: himself.

Viewers unanimously hate this film. One comments, "There is nothing at all believable or coherent about the narrative of this video...I suppose the tone is supposed to be comic, but most of the humor is so over-the-top as to be unfunny. The only exception is a brief jaunt as desperate drag queens that manages some humor. The acting is mostly poor, the script worse." Another wrote, "It's so bad it's not even campy or laughable. It's just lame. And the acting is awful! And the direction is terrible! Don't waste your time. Or money." Another: "It's not even worth the time to watch the movie. Cheap production. Bad script. Something that one won't even watch if you get paid for it." Here are two more: "This movie is like one of the worst B movies with amateurs trying to act which they can't if their life's depends on it," and "It's just a lame movie with really overly bad acting. I mean, bad acting is actually a compliment for this because the acting is so awful. And no one wants to watch trolls in sex clubs hitting on young boys. No one! So really...don't waste your time with this one." Nick Monson composed the original music, and Toby Ross wrote the screenplay and directed.

บิวตี้ฟูล บ๊อกเซอร์ (2003)

Nong Toom (Asanee Suwan) is a terrific and talented Thai kick-boxer, a young man who is sensitive to the female side of his personality. As his mother says to her husband, "If my son turns out be a transvestite that is our karma. We must accept him for what he is." Born into a tough hard-working farm family in a small village, Toom was taught not to take any crap from anyone, even if it means using his fists to settle an argument. He embarks on his life with the psychological backing and support of his family, a life that places him in a kick-boxing match where he learns that he has a great talent for the sport. After a short stay at a monastery, he becomes a champion kick-boxer, mastering the masculine and lethal sport of Muay Thai.

Toom's gender bending becomes more and more apparent to his fans as his talent and stature rises in the Thai kick-boxing world. His fans take his wearing makeup and outlandish colored trunks as a gimmick, even when he takes to kissing his defeated opponents. But when Toom decides to pursue a surgical transformation some are outraged, but most see it as insulting and besmirching Thai manhood.

As he lives with his coach and other fighters, a situation that offers no privacy, Toom struggles with taunts that he is demeaning his sport, acting more as a clown, and becomes increasingly aware of people trying to manipulate him. Following a traumatic event in his life, Toom faces his greatest challenge yet, a high-profile fight with a much larger woman wrestler in Tokyo. Toom/Parinaya retires from boxing when he becomes more of a woman, a kathoey (male-to-female transgendered person). Her post-boxing career is acting and modelling.

Based on the true story of Thailand's famed transvestite kick-boxer Parinaya Charoemphol, "Beautiful Boxer" tells through flashbacks about her childhood and teen years before her sex change operation, when she was Nong Toom. This action drama is a touching, funny, ironic, graceful, gritty, and realistic high-concept movie. Shot in 9 provinces across Thailand and in Tokyo, the film also features a series of explosive matches where Nong Toom knocks out most of his opponents in Thailand and Japan. The fight sequences and location shots are beautifully photographed, with many special effects that add to the dramatic effect of the story. A fascinating transgender movie, it also contains lots of eye candy for gay males. It won numerous film festival awards, a GLAAD award, as well as a "best actor" award for Suwan from the Thai movie board. DVD extras include a "making of" featurette, info on the fight sequences, interviews, and a music video. Amornbhong Methakunavudh composed the original music. The screenplay was written by Desmond Sim and Ekachai Uekrongtham, who also directed. In Thai with English subtitles. The English title is "Beautiful Boxer".

Boys Life 5 (2006)

The fifth installment in the successful series of gay-themed short films anthology collects four short films produced between 1990 and 2005. This collection avoids the alternating callow humor and dull self-seriousness of previous installments. Each feels like a first-rate mini-feature rather than a student experiment or a Hollywood audition.

In "Fishbelly White", directed by Michael Burke, alienated rural youth Duncan (Mickey Smith) mistreats farm animals and explores his homoeroticism with a hunky older boy (Jason Hayes), only to learn some harsh lessons about nonconformity. With its rural setting, offbeat protagonist, and less-is-more approach to both dialogue and sexual tension, this entry could hardly be confused for a typical gay indie. It features subtle insights into adolescence and sensuality. Burke uses "Fishbelly White" as the basis for his feature "The Mudge Boy".

"Dare" was written by David Brind and directed by Adam Salky. Hunky high-school star Johnny (Michael Cassidy) has the lead in the school play "A Streetcar Named Desire" but is having trouble remembering his lines. Nerdy "Light boy" Ben (Adam Fleming) likes to look at the very popular boy, and to spotlight him on stage. The irritated female lead of the play refuses to give her co-star a ride home, and "Light boy" volunteers. Once there, champagne gets opened poolside and both boys are soon in the pool, and the daring occurs. The final shot is deliciously sly. "Dare" offers the most explicitly gay subject matter of the collection, yet it shares with the other films a tension between childhood innocence and erotic awakening.

In "Late Summer", written and directed by David Ottenhouse, photographer Adam (Augustus Kelly) recounts the genesis of one of his photographs, in the process revealing much about his adolescent self (Erol Zeybekoglu). It begins in an art gallery with a photo show of Adam's work and proceeds to a lengthy flashback leading to an image not for sale. The photo shows the photographer's older cousin Josh (Christopher Nee) with whose family the photographer stayed after his parents' deaths. The younger Adam is hero-worshipping and shy, but not a pushover. The cousin goes skinny dipping, and he doesn't keep his shorts on as the boys in "Dare" do. Josh appears totally naked in the swimming home scene. But the film is restrained, with its gayness a matter of sensibility and subtext rather than overt content. This short is a rare example of a flashback story whose framing sequences actually add to its emotional heft, providing an intriguing suburban contrast to the farmland lyricism of "Fishbelly White".

"Time Off" was directed by American-born Israeli Eytan Fox. A soldier receives some unexpected insights into the private life of his dictatorial lieutenant. The "Time Off" of the title is between the end of basic training and deployment to Lebanon during the First Lebanon War in 1982. We see a lieutenant (Gil Frank) putting his men through annoying exercises. He seems to be picking on a pleasant-natured sensitive recruit named Yonatan (Hanoch Reim). On leave in the city, Yonatan wanders into a known gay pick-up spot and guess what? It was shot in Hebrew a decade before any of the other films. With its military setting and political backdrop, "Time Off" engages with the real world rather than just its characters' inner lives. Yet its subtlety and ambiguity fit in perfectly. Fox would go on to explore similar themes with the full-length "Yossi & Jagger".

The fifth and most consistently rewarding entry in the "Boys" Life series of anthologies focuses on the inner contradictions and unspoken longings of their protagonists. These four films collectively explore issues such as unrequited love and allow the "Boys Life" series to grow up. The bittersweet featurettes offer homosexual men a chance to identify with non-archetypal characters instead of drag-queen confidants or suicidal closet cases.

Cachorro (2004)

Pedro (José Luis García-Pérez) is an attractive gay dentist who lives a cosmopolitan life in Madrid. He's a well adjusted, kindly, and independent "bear" who thinks nothing of having his two best friends have sex in his bed while he takes a shower--sometimes even participating in a threesome. His older sister Violeta (Elvira Lindo), an ex-hippie, leaves her son Bernardo (David Castillo) to stay with Pedro when she impulsively decides to take a two-week jaunt to India with her latest boyfriend.

Soon the two form a strong attachment and their life together seems to be going well. Bernardo cooks for Pedro, but his nephew's presence forces him to take a break from his otherwise extremely active sex life. Even his boyfriend Manuel (Arno Chevrier), who suddenly pays Pedro a visit and who shares his penchant for leather and latex, is basically rejected. But when Doña Teresa (Empar Ferrer), Bernardo’s paternal grandmother, arrives on the scene, she begins to resent Pedro's closeness with the boy. Doña is a lonely and embittered old woman who blames Violeta for her son's drug-related death. She's also eager to re-establish a bond with her grandson, who doesn't like her. She's concerned about the influence that Pedro may be having on the boy and wants to take over Bernardo's upbringing by sending him to a private school in Valencia where he can learn English. The boy, however, is reluctant to leave his uncle and vows to stay with Pedro.

News arrives that Bernardo’s mother has been arrested in India for drug smuggling. She may be facing a prison sentence of thirty years, and Pedro is just as shocked at this news as Bernardo. Nevertheless, he realizes that he is now responsible for the boy. There suddenly are so many things to organize, such as repairs to the house and finding a school for the boy, that Pedro hardly misses the life he used to lead. Gradually he succeeds in rekindling his sex life, but in a less excessive form.

Then Doña demands custody of Bernardo. After illegally obtaining his medical history revealing that Pedro is HIV-positive, and hiring a private investigator who obtains pictures of Pedro at a gay club, she threatens him with both. Pedro lets her put Bernardo in a boarding school. When his grandmother goes to visit him and reveals Pedro's HIV status, Bernardo says that he already knew and that his mother is HIV-positive as well. She then reveals that Pedro is in the hospital with pneumonia. He tells her that he hates her and that it's her fault that he's in the hospital, because he wasn't there to care for him.

Three years pass, letters go back and forth between Pedro, Bernardo, his mother, and his grandmother. We then see Bernardo and his friends at a funeral, and a casket being lowered. Shortly after, a cab pulls up with Pedro in it, out of the hospital and healthy, then revealing that it was the grandmother's funeral they were attending. After a brief conversation, Bernardo goes and hugs and kisses his friends goodbye, then he and his uncle reunite and ride away in the cab together.

"Cachorro" defies all expectations and never passes judgment on any of the characters, not even on the villainous Doña Teresa. And there's no puritanical scorn about Pedro's supposed inappropriateness as a guardian and role model. In fact, Pedro goes out of his way to live his life as he would a single man: We see him going to bars, cruising back rooms, flirting with shop attendants in front of Bernardo, and even inviting his friends over for marijuana and coke-induced gatherings. The film also explores Pedro's relationship with a flight attendant and part-time lover who wants a commitment that Pedro is unwilling to make. Throughout all of this Bernardo is either oblivious to what is going on, takes it all in his stride, or even offers Pedro romantic advice.

There's a lot of love among Pedro's "bears", and though the movie is occasionally over-talky and light on the drama, there's still lots of warmth and humor. It's an important movie, groundbreaking because we are given an intelligent and perceptive insight into a part of the gay community that has been marginalized by the wider gay community. Bears are a sub-culture that have received little or no recognition in gay-themed movies. However, one viewer commented, "Don't be deceived by the blurb, because this isn't a nice gay film at all. On the surface it appears frothy, but underneath it's a sleazy film of betrayal, deceit, and a man's lost love that he'll never get back. It has it's funny moments, most of which you'll have seen on the trailer, but the rest is a gritty, rather sad little down-beat film that'll appeal to those who like it real." Lucio Godoy composed the incidental music. The screenplay was written by Salvador García Ruiz and Miguel Albaladejo, who also directed. In Spanish with English subtitles. The Spanish word "cachorro" describes any young, furry animal such as a cub or puppy, and the English title is "Bear Club".

Cover (2007)

A young married couple and their daughter move to Philadelphia to build on their life together. However, once there, the father Dutch Maas (Razaaq Adoti) starts to have the moves put on him by his ex-girlfriend. Little by little, his naive church-going wife Valerie Maas (Aunjanue Ellis) starts to suspect, with the help of her protective friend, that Dutch may not be as faithful as he’s pretending to be.

When a man is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie, whose life unravels when she discovers that her husband of 15 years has been leading a double life. Dutch is actually a closeted homosexual. This leads to a great deal of emotional trauma for both the wife and the husband--as well as to a murder investigation subplot that's used to frame the story. Valerie is arrested and charged with murder. Things become complicated when its clear the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case doesn't care if she's guilty since he's looking to win the up coming election. Her strength of character and faith keeps the family alive as the investigation threatens to destroy all that they have known.

This is a well-meaning and well-intentioned film, but its attempt to deal honestly with a serious social issue often falls victim to slick melodramatics. Many scenes will have you rolling your eyes in disbelief, even while conceding that some of the points the movie is making are valid. The film does give a fair hearing to each of its torn and conflicted characters. It's like an urbanized African-American version of "Brokeback Mountain"-- only this time told from the viewpoint of the spouse rather than the two male lovers. There are many clichés and stereotypes, such as the cheating husband, the broken wife, and an angry female best friend. Plus, the acting tends to be over-the-top and there are too many "dark secrets". The redeeming aspects of this entertaining film are its twists and it adresses an important topic rarely talked about or shown in the cinematic world. Kurt Farquhar composed the music, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas wrote the screenplay, and Bill Duke directed.

Avril (2006)

Avril (Sophie Quinton) is a novice in a convent of "Baptistine" sisters, a monastic order which was officially dissolved at the end of the nineteenth century but is kept alive by Mère Marie Joseph (Geneviève Casile), the sadistic superior. The rule she imposes on the nuns is particularly strict but this is all Avril has ever known since she was born. She was an abandoned child raised by the nuns with the intention of making her one of them. Mère is unhinged and violent, and thinks nothing of throwing temper tantrums in chapel and even less of stabbing Avril. With the exception of Soeur Bernadette (Miou-Miou), a sympathetic sister, all the nuns are of pensionable age. While Avril is on retreat, locked in for a fortnight in a chapel prior to taking her vows, Soeur Bernadette discloses a secret to her: she has a twin brother and she encourages her to go looking for him.

She leaves the convent to find him and experiences secular life. Along her journey she meets people who open her eyes to the outside world. If that isn't enough, she falls in with Pierre (Nicolas Duvauchelle), a young traveling hardware merchant who accompanies her through most of her sabbatical and develops a crush on her. She finds her gay brother David (Clement Sibony) and his lover Jim (Richaud Valls) in the company of Pierre. The unlikely foursome form a tight bond during a vacation by the beach in a holiday atmosphere. Avril gradually discovers her body and ends up bathing in the nude, but vulgarity is never on the agenda. Pierre and Avril meet and mix with gays, but nothing "dirty" is ever shown.

This is a very good-natured charming film about a nun who escapes from her convent to spend a weekend by the sea with her long-lost brother, his boyfriend, and a handsome man she meets along the way. One of the themes is of a young nun awakening to secular life, which could have meant some smutty details, but this never happens. There are surprises throughout the story and we never know in advance where the skilfully devised plot is going. The characters are three-dimensional, and the beautiful Normandy locations serve as a perfect backdrop to the sweet narrative. Dialogue is natural, unrushed, unpretentious, and the lead character grows before you over a 2 week period in a completely believable way. The DVD includes a "making-of", plus two short films, including one that is not on the French DVD. Gérald Hustache-Mathieu wrote the screenplay and directed. In French with English subtitles.

Day Zero (2007)

Set in the near future where a state of global terrorism has forced the military to reinstate the draft, three young friends have just received their induction notices and have 30 days to report for duty. They must battle their political views before making a decision that will change their lives forever. Aaron Feller (Elijah Wood), George Rifkin (Chris Klein), and James Dixon (Jon Bernthal) learn what it means to "serve with honor".

Wimpy novelist Aaron prepares for the life of a soldier with the help of a Bowflex machine and therapist Dr. Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). Corporate attorney George (Chris Klein) wishes to stay with his wife Molly (Ginnifer Goodwin), a recent cancer survivor, rather than fight in a war that he believes is wrong. He has decided not to go, but avoiding service is not easy. Streetwise cabdriver James (Jon Bernthal) is the most fearless and free of doubt, raring to fight for freedom, but he falls in love with sociology student Patricia (Elisabeth Moss), and suddenly issues that always seemed black-and-white to him are not so simple. As reporting day, or day zero, draws nearer the three friends fight, fall out, come together, and comfort each other.

The movie takes place over 30 days and during that time, these young men and their loved ones experience a wide range of emotions, and each struggles to come to terms with the blow they've been dealt. Aaron makes a list of things he wants to do before he dies. George thinks of various excuses: cutting off his fingers with a meat cleaver, pulling favors with a family friend, and fabricating a gay lifestyle. He freaks out during a head-scratching trip to a gay bar because the Gays are all exempt from service, "just for having a sausage party!" He fights and gets pummeled. Aaron asks him, "What's a sausage party?" James ruminates in private.

In the final scenes the movie opens up, dropping the characters into what appears to be an actual anti-war protest in New York. Aaron goes to a roof, runs to the edge and leaps to his death. George and James meet at Penn Station. We never learn if they have come for induction or to say goodbye to each other. Neither knows that Aaron is dead. The unsatisfying conclusion is wrenching and shocking, and illustrates the real-life impact of the draft.

"Day Zero" is an intriguing concept with a message, but it's stuck in a film that rarely digs deep, and never quite hits the mark. It slowly gains a foothold as it moves along. The formula driven characters enjoy a bit more development, and the plot takes some simple turns from our expectations. It's somewhat melodramatic, too generic, serious, slow, shallow, but compelling and entertaining. There are some funny scenes mixed with emotional scenes. It is not a political film and relies too much on the audience being American, with the feelings that come with drafts, wars, and duty to country. Many viewers love it and it has great cinematography with a strong soundtrack. Erin O'Hara composed the original music. Robert Malkani and Tom Touchet wrote the screenplay, and Bryan Gunnar Cole directed. Cole said: "I think part of the fun of doing a film like "Day Zero" is that you get to stir the pot a bit. I don’t think it's a film that has a big red bow on it and comes neatly packaged and is digestible as the feel-good war movie of the year. I think that it’s got some heart, it takes you on an emotional journey...some people are going to love it, some people are going to hate it."

Férfiakt (2006)

Tibor (László Gálffi) is a frustrated middle-aged writer who leaves his actress wife (Éva Kerekes) for 19 year-old androgynous male prostitute Zsolt (Dávid Szabó). They meet one evening in a large library in Budapest, and Zsolt says he is Ukrainian and his parents died at Chernobyl. Inspiration finally comes to the older writer, but so do danger and despair as the boy skillfully insinuates his way into the writer's home and heart. His new life begins to unravel in sad and unexpected ways in this unusual character study. The relationship leaves him feeling heady with lust and his creativity re-awakens, but threatens to destroy his life.

Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" is the prototype for this affair between Tibor and the beautiful boy from another world who becomes a muse for the artist. Tastes in music, literature, and food remind us that age is not the only thing that separates the two lovers. Zsolt, it turns out, is also interested in girls, and will jump anything that moves: teenagers, johns, and even Tibor's wife. His friends are petty criminals, thieves, and blackmailers. Yet he is also seductive and very good at telling lies to the writer, who is inspired to restart his career. The author continues to pursue the relationship even after Zsolt becomes contemptuous of their affair. Tibor eventually confronts the reality of his own failed marriage and of Zsolt's criminality and unavailability.

Filmed in the streets of Budapest, "Férfiakt" is about the fate of two men in worlds and ages that separates them. It's a dark, sexy, and provocative drama, a curiosity with a somewhat incoherent scenario. There is some "nudity", consisting of a few bare torsos and buttocks. The soundtrack is classical music (Schubert, Malher, Verdi) embellished with rock. Károly Esztergályos wrote the screenplay and directed. In Hungarian with English subtitles. The English title is "Men in the Nude".

Save Me (2007)

Mark (Chad Allen) is a troubled man taking refuge in drugs, alcohol, and frequent gay sex with prostitutes. He feels his life is going down the drain, and at the end of a very rough night he attempts to commit suicide. When he wakes up in the hospital, Mark's older brother (Paul Scallan) tells him he is no longer welcome at home. His homosexual "lifestyle choices" have broken the heart of Mark's mother, and he will not be welcome until he decides to "get straight." At this point, Mark is checked into The Genesis House, a Christian organization dedicated to turning gay men into ex-gays.

The Genesis House is run by middle-aged married couple Gayle (Judith Light) and Ted (Stephen Lang). They attempt to welcome Mark, but Mark is suspicious. He says he is going to run away. "You're free to do so. We don't lock our doors here," they reply. Mark suspects that they will attempt to brainwash him. "We only want to help you overcome these problems through the love of Jesus Christ," they say. After a while, Mark slowly agrees to go with the program, and is surprised when he begins to feel like he is being "cured." However, are the positive vibes coming from the feel-good program he's participating in, or from his increasingly comfortable relationship with friendly Genesis House resident Scott (Robert Gant)? The next thing you know Mark and hunky Scott are enjoying cigarettes and gay sex.

"Save Me" establishes an agenda from the beginning, crosscutting between a day in the life of Mark and a group of Christians at Genesis House. The performances are all strong. Chad Allen is natural and convincing, Robert Gant has considerable charisma, Judith Light turns a potentially one-dimensional character into a real human being, and Stephen Lang steals every scene he is in. But the biggest stars are the ideas, which dominate the film in a powerful way and overwhelm the technical aspects. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was later picked up for distribution by independent studio Fine Line Features. It screened at over 6 film festivals and has drawn positive reviews from Entertainment Weekly, Variety, Time Out London and other publications. The DVD is available with two different covers. One features Allen holding a crucifix to his head as if it were a gun, and the second shows Allen wearing a shirt and tie with a heavenly light shining on his face. Jeff Cardoni composed the music. Robert Desiderio wrote the screenplay from a story by Craig Chester and Alan Hines. Robert Cary directed.

รักแห่งสยาม (2007)

"Rak Haeng Siam" centers around two boys and their families who live as neighbours in one of the suburbs of Bangkok. We meet them the first time when they're about 12 years old. Mew (Artit Niyomkul) is a stubborn kid who lives with his ailing grandmother (Pimpan Buranapim) and is a bit of a loner. Tong (Jirayu La-ongmanee) is an energetic boy who lives with his parents and sister. After accidentally spitting gum into Mew's hair, Tong wants to befriend Mew but is rejected. At school Mew is cornered by several other students who harass him until Tong comes to his defense. Tong was injured and apoligizes to Mew for the chewing gum incident. The two become good friends. Mew plays on his grandfather's (Surapol Chonwilai) piano and is joined by his grandmother. Mew asks her why she likes a certain song and she says his grandfather expressed his love for her with it and one day Mew will be able to do the same for the person he loves.

Tong's family goes to Chiangmai in the north of the country and returns without Tong's sister Tang (Laila Boonyasak), since she wants to stay with her friends a few days more. Tang calls her parents and tells them that she will extend her stay at Chiangmai until the 24th of December. Tong realizes that Tang will not be able to attend the Christmas play he is in. After the play, Tong receives a phone call from his parents telling him to stay with Mew and his grandmother. After spending the night at Mew's house, Tong awakens to see his parents along with Mew and his grandmother. His parents are going to Chiangmai to look for Tang who is missing on a trekking tour in the jungles around Chiangmai. Tong is depressed until his parents come back, only to learn that Tang may be lost. He is devastated and cries in front of Mew, who comforts his friend.

Months pass and Tong's family decides to move. On the day of the move, Tong finds Mew sitting on a ledge overlooking a pier. Tong says his final words and departs in a car, looking back to see Mew walking towards the car before coming to a stop and crying about losing his best friend.

Six years pass. The boys are reunited during their senior year of high school at Siam Square. The musically talented Mew (Witwisit Hiranyawongkul) is the leader of a boy band called August. Tong (Mario Maurer) has a pretty girlfriend, Donut (Aticha Pongsilpipat). The meeting stirs up old feelings of love for Tong. Mew's band has a new manager, June (Laila Boonyasak), who looks just like Tong's long-lost sister. After meeting June, Tong and his mother Sunee (Sinjai Plengpanit) devise a plan to pay June to pretend she is Tang, in hopes that it will pull Tong's father out of his alcoholic depression. Tang borrows a story from the Thai film "Ruk Jung", saying she has amnesia, which is why she has forgotten how to say her family's Catholic grace at the dinner table.

Mew is also the object of an unrequited crush of a neighbor girl, Ying (Kanya Rattapetch). But Mew has strong feelings for Tong, which has inspired him to write new songs. The manager as well as the entire band are impressed with Mew's compositions. The boys share a prolonged kiss in Tong's backyard one night after a party in honor of the return of Tang. Prior to that Tong also spends the night with Mew, which causes his mother to worry.

At Christmas time, as Tong and his mother are decorating a Christmas tree, they have a heart-to-heart talk about making choices, and Tong asks his mother to let him make his own choices. Tong then goes to Siam Square for a date with Donut. Mew's band is playing nearby, so Tong abandons Donut and tells her he cannot be with her. He rushes to see Mew play and is guided there by Ying, who has accepted the fact that Mew loves Tong. After the performance, Tong gives Mew a gift, a missing nose from a wooden doll that Tong gave him when they were children. However, Tong tells Mew he cannot be his boyfriend but that doesn't mean he doesn't love him. Mew puts the missing nose back on the wooden puppet, says "thank you" and quietly cries. The ending is ambiguous and begs for a sequel.

This movie is a sincere and convincing story about family ties and different kinds of love. It could have been a TV soap opera because it has several parallel subplots with weird twists. The performances of most actors, especially the pair in love, is realistic, balanced, and not melodramatic. When the film was shown on Thai TV the pivotal scene with the two boys kissing was omitted. Director Chookiat Sakveerakul admitted the film was marketed as a straight romance because he wanted it to reach a wider audience. "The movie is not all about gay characters, we are not focusing on gay issues, we are not saying, "let's come out of the closet", so obviously, we don't want the movie to have a gay label," he said in an interview. He may have been right in his tactics: by tricking the audiences he made them watch a different reality which isn't that different from their own.

"Rak Haeng Siam" was received with critical acclaim upon its release. Bangkok Post film critic Kong Rithdee called the film "groundbreaking", in terms of being the first Thai film "to discuss teenagers' sexuality with frankness". Nattakorn Devakula wrote, "The point that the film attempts to teach viewers--and a largely conservative Thai society--is that love is an evolved form of emotional attachment that transcends sexual attraction of the physical form." However, Gregoire Glachant of BK magazine wrote "The Love of Siam isn't a very well shot movie. Chookiat's camera only records his dull play with equally dull angles and light as it wanders from homes to schools, to recording studio, and to Siam Square without sense of purpose or directions." Kitti Kuremanee composed the music, and Chukiat Sakveerakul wrote the screenplay and directed. In Thai with English subtitles. The English titles are "Rak Haeng Siam" and "The Love of Siam".

Boys Briefs 5: Schoolboys (2008)

The fifth installment of the successful "Boys Briefs" series takes us in search of the best gay shorts in the world. 19 year-old Oscar Peralta, with his handsome good looks and charming personality introduces the six short films included in the collection.

First is "Kali Ma" a 14 minute film from India directed by Soman Chainani. A suburban food-loving Indian mom (Kamini Khanna) finds out her gay son Santosh (Manish Dayal) is the victim of a vicious bully and delivers her own brand of vigilante justice. Seeing him in anguish, she wants her son to be happy, regardless of what it will take. Her son is humiliated when he lusts for high school jock Peter (Brendan Bradley), and she heads to his house for a confrontation. This entry attempts to blend comedy and violence, but it's not funny, and any attempt at serious commentary is discarded in favor of cartoonish antics. The fight is too mean spirited to be silly, but too silly to be believable, and the ending is out of place. It doesn't make sense regardless of how you view its tone. However, "Kali Ma" has won awards and many viewers love it.

Second is "Flatmates" a 21 minute film from Norway directed by Magnus Mork. A young gay man is in love with his straight but playfully homoerotic roommate. It's obvious that the relationship between Bjorn (Sven Borang) and Hampus (Jonas Eskilsson) is unique. The two close friends move into an apartment together, and are comfortable with each other. That makes it increasingly hard for gay Bjorn to keep his crush under control, especially when straight Hampus has his girlfriend (Emilie Lidgard) over. One night he makes a move that is bound to have a serious effect on their relationship. This is a simple story about being in love with your best friend and about the dividing line between tenderness and abuse. It features natural performances and unforced developments, leading to a powerful end that isn't phony. Cinematically, "Flatmates" is dark and full of grain. It swept the 2007 Oslo Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, winning the Audience Award and the Jury Award for Best Short Film.

Third is "Secrets" from the USA directed by Jeff Warden. With a runtime of 15 minutes this brave and bold short shows us one night, five teens, a deck of cards, a secret gay crush, and a belt. Five friends--two girls and three guys--spend a parent-free night partying with booze, lollipops and a deck of cards that decides which duo gets some alone time. This is the most colorful, flashy entry here, and it sometimes feels like a music video. The performances feel genuine and real, which might scare a lot of viewers because some of the "games" the kids play behind closed doors get a little out of hand--such as exploring erotic asphyxiation. Danielle (Lindsay Gareth) is the troublemaker with a crush on Mike (Bryan Endress-Fox, now Ber Fox), but when she gets the sense he has the hots for Tony (Casey Graf), the night takes an unexpected turn. While the scary sexual games may make some of the characters less believable, the climax is played with such honesty you can't help love it. "Secrets" suffers from color imbalance.

Next is "Yeah No Definitely" a 14 minute short from the USA directed by Dave Snyder. Cam (Vincent Piazza) and Kiff (Alan Barnes Netherton) are two college students in an intense platonic relationship. While Cam is expert at suppressing his emotions, something is eating away at him. Denial proves deadly in this humorous and heartbreaking film about what happens when grief and passion collide. "It's a statement of pure equivocation," says director Dave Snyder in the bonus features. "Most of us speak like stammering teenagers, unafraid to say what we really feel." This entry follows Cam and Kiff as they hit the road for a house party. Snyder notes that he let the two leads improvise, and the interplay between them goes a long way in selling the material. The two leads are outstanding--they look and act like close friends, giving weight to the story. As the two settle into the night, we learn more about Cam's past--and get a window into his feelings. While the ending may not please a lot of viewers, it's refreshing that it doesn't play to our expectations. The film leaves you thinking, and--along with "Flatmates"--is the most realistic story in the collection.

"You, Me and Him" is an 18 minute film from Brazil directed by Daniel Riberio. This entry starts with lovers Danilio (Daniel Tavares) and Marcos (Diego Torraca) smiling in bed as they discuss their upcoming anniversary. Danilio plans to finally move out of his parents' home and into an apartment with his lover, with a honeymoon to follow. But when Danilio's parents are killed in an accident, he's suddenly forced into a new role with 10-year-old brother Lucas (Eduardo Melo). Now Danilo's biggest concerns are making sure a little boy gets to school on time and drinks enough milk. A touching story about love and responsibility, this story has the most potential as a feature-length film. The script is surprisingly mature and complex with such a short runtime, and all three actors turn in great performances. A scene between Lucas and Marcos is one of the most moving in the entire collection.

Last is "Benny's Gym" a 25 minute film from Norway directed by Lisa Marie Gamlem. A pair of young boys grow up fast in this very good film. Mild-mannered artist Alfred (Atdhe Belegu) is the frequent target of school bullies, including Benny (Kim Erik Tena Eriksen), who wants a tattoo. Alfred draws one on Benny's arm in secret, and this is the beginning of an eventually warm relationship between the boys, a relationship that must be kept secret, much to the dismay of emotional Alfred. If you can forget the sexual overtones of the other five shorts here and look at this as a tale of friendship, your discomfort will go away. A few of the developments are hard to take, and the story becomes more about co-dependency and violence. Although this is a memorable watch in a gut-punch sort of way, this last entry feels a little out of place with the rest, primarily because the two leads are a lot younger.

Most of the shorts revolve around the budding sexual attractions of young gay men, with similar structures leading to hopeful or heartbreaking conclusions. Nothing is unwatchable, but nothing really impresses. The total runtime is 109 minutes with a soundtrack in English, Hindi, Norwegian, and Portuguese. Subtitles are in English and Spanish.

Avant que j'oublie (2007)

58 year-old Pierre (Jacques Nolot) is a former hustler and lonely prisoner of his past. The film opens with a black circle as a dot on a white screen. Slowly the circle enlarges until it fills the entire screen, making the viewer see the kind of oblivion which Pierre is facing. Living off money provided by former wealthy lovers, he stays in his apartment, waits for inspiration, but can't write his next book. He resorts to prostitutes for sex and discusses at length the price of their services with his friends. Pierre reminisces about his youth, beauty and time as a gigolo. "I've stopped doing things,” he says, "I sublimate." Pierre is HIV-positive and has been taking medication for years. He is weary but begins a new therapy. Slowly he pulls himself together and finds renewed inspiration with psychiatrist Dr. Manosky's (David Kessler) help. Pierre spends his days meeting old gigolo friends, going to his psychiatrist, trying to write, hiring young hustlers, and watching life pass by at his local bistro over a beer and a sandwich.

Conversations with his friends are devoid of any passion or interest in what the others have to say. Everything seems to circle around the prices of rentboys and how poorly they are paid. There is no compassion or empathy in these conversations, so the only people who can tolerate Pierre’s complaining are his psychotherapist and the hustlers who treat it as a duty to listen to him. Pierre sometimes talks of suicide but listeners think he just wants attention. Death has never really been absent in Pierre’s mind. At the age of 25 he decided not to make any investments since he didn’t expect to live much longer. For the past 24 years Pierre has had his HIV-positive status hanging over him.

At the age of 25 former society gigolo Tountoune (Albert Mainella) became his lover and benefactor. Although they never lived under the same roof, they were together for almost 35 years. Tountoune had willed his entire fortune to Pierre but his will was never registered with a lawyer, so when Tountoune suddenly died on the day they were supposed to meet for lunch, Pierre was left with only two life insurances in his name. Pierre feels cheated out of his old lover’s inheritance, but the whole ordeal only seems to motivate him to put more effort into writing.

Pierre's inability to concentrate in order to read seems to be the same force that makes him write: his fear of the oblivion, the black circle which threatens to devour him before it’s too late to leave a footprint in the world of the living. Despite his talk of suicide he doesn’t really want to go yet. Although he claims that nothing interests him anymore, he resists a new HIV treatment since it may have side effects--loss of hair and looks. He still dresses elegantly and rarely lets his guard down in front of others. His obvious vanity at age 58 suggests he is still the same proud person behind his fatalistic façade. The final scene of the film, powerfully supported by Mahler’s music, shows his defiance of the oblivion he’s inevitably facing with all the dignity you can expect from an old unbroken gigolo.

This memoir told in the present tense is an appraisal of the indignities faced by a near-death homosexual with no money, mostly dead friends and only bitchy acquaintances to lend any comfort. Sex is paid for or stolen from delivery boys, prostates flare up, work dries up, HIV medication runs out, and the hot young gays look at him with pity. The film is a somber, intimate, authentic, profound, stylish, and existential rumination on homosexuality, aging, desire and death. This is the final installment of director Jacques Nolot’s trilogy about gay life in Paris, and he stars as the melancholy Pierre. He also wrote the screenplay. In French with English subtitles. The English title is "Before I Forget".