F. est un salaud (1998)

Clean-cut 16 year-old Beni (Vincent Branchet) is a Zurich high school student looking for a better life. That opportunity comes when he goes to a rock concert where he falls madly in love with Fögi (Frédéric Andrau), the handsome gay lead singer of "The Minks". The 26 year-old Fögi is also attracted to the cute youth. He hires him as a roadie and the two begin a wild sex affair that turns into love and devotion for Beni, but soon wears off for the jaded and bored Fögi. Beni is caught in a terrible situation where drug addiction comes into play. Beni, willing victim for his first love, is emotionally eaten alive by his slavish devotion, lust and eventual servitude to the increasingly indifferent Fögi.

The two stay together, but soon sink into alienation, drug addiction and self destruction. Sexual abuse follows as Fögi plays S & M games with Beni and eventually forces him into prostitution to finance his heroin habit. When "The Minks" start running out of gas, Fögi gets into conflicts with some other band members and decides to take a trip to Lebanon to get hashish for dealing. Beni feels lonely and lets himself be picked up by a psychiatrist. When Fögi returns, Beni is forgiven, but it gives Fögi an idea of how he can make money by renting out Beni. The teen must decide to venture into the dark inevitability with his love or jump off.

"F. est un salaud" chronicles the life span of a gay relationship and is quite complex. It captures the romantic, boldly explicit, honest details of two men inextricably intertwined to each other. The early sex scenes are tender and erotic without ever being pornographic, among the most sensual in a gay film. There's a lot of nudity and a lot of bed sex. One of the best scenes in the movie isn't in bed, isn't even overtly sexual, and both men are fully clothed. They're outside, walking together on a hill, enjoying a beautiful afternoon, just sharing their delight in being together. But their joy is drug-enhanced. The two leads deliver great performances, and all the supporting performers are good too, particularly Urs Peter Halter as Fögi's sweet bandmate Töbe, who may be in love with Fögi also.

This compelling Swiss film is electrifying, tender, gentle, and beautiful. Viewers comments are uniformly very favorable, such as, "I realized about halfway through that I was watching one of the greatest love stories ever filmed," and "I've never seen a better performance by any actor in any movie, ever." Rainer Lingk composed the original music. There are also songs from The Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. Marcel Gisler and Rudolf Nadler wrote the screenplay based on Martin Frank's novel. Marcel Gisler directed. In French with English subtitles. The English title is "Fögi is a Bastard".

Los Novios búlgaros (2003)

Gay Madrid lawyer Daniel (Fernando Guillén Cuervo) is a 40 year-old wealthy, spoiled, and attractive businessman who falls for 23 year-old Kyril (Dritan Biba), a hunky, muscular, sexy Bulgarian. Daniel frequents the Madrid party scene surrounding himself with a bunch of gay men who constantly camp it up, swoon over the Bulgarian hunks, and talk about their latest boyfriends. Kyril is looking for a wealthy sugar daddy, someone who will give him money and presents, and also "fix his papers" so that he can stay in Spain. He targets Daniel and after a night of hot sweaty sex, Daniel becomes hooked regardless of the fact that Kyril has a fiancée. None of Kyril's shortcomings seem to bother Daniel, who invites the Bulgarian into his life, and quickly becomes entangled in his new lover's shady business dealings.

Kyril is obviously hiding something. And Daniel begins to get suspicious when Kyril keeps asking for more money. Soon Daniel is forced to have surreptitious dealings with Eastern European mobsters and is asked to store a suspicious-looking black bag in his apartment. Daniel's emotionally masochistic tendencies become even more outlandish when he allows Kyril's beautiful fiancée Kalina (Anita Sinkovic) to stay, and even accompanies them to Sofia for their wedding while also paying for their trip.

Daniel's obsession with Kyril lands him in all sorts of trouble. Throughout the film he ruminates on the price that one must pay for love. He's part hard-core masochist and part impossible romantic, in love with a man who is a selfish opportunist merely out to make a quick buck by any means, including robbery and smuggling. But the twist is that Daniel is not the exploited, subjugated victim. He willingly chases after other boys, recklessly aids and abets his live-in stud, and even admits to his friends and the viewers that he does it because he can afford it.

This Spanish comedic thriller is seductive, mysterious and surprisingly funny, featuring the Bulgarian mob, bundles of money, and a chunk of uranium. The performances are excellent and totally believable. Romantic and sexual encounters between Daniel and Kyril--which include full frontal nudity--are more realistic than American films, gay or straight. The movie cleverly examines the interplay of sex, power and money with a breezy, almost comical attitude without being overly preachy. There's also social detail, which shows the relationship between the Spanish and the Eastern European immigrants. Dritan Biba as Kyril has sexual charisma and magnetism that helps viewers understand why Daniel becomes enamored with him. Antonio Meliveo composed the music. Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Antonio Hens, and Eloy de la Iglesia wrote the screenplay based on a novel by Eduardo Mendicutti. Eloy de la Iglesia directed. In Spanish with English subtitles. The English title is "Bulgarian Lovers".