A concise synopsis of gay-themed movies and gay interest films. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

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".

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