Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2004)

Set in the fictional working-class town of Inniston, Canada, this film is about Marc Hall (Aaron Ashmore), a popular student who manages to avoid harassment as a gay teen in a small town. However, when Marc decides to take his boyfriend Jason (Mac Fyfe) to the prom, he finds he has stepped over the line at the Catholic school he attends . Suddenly, with the spotlight of the nation's media on his struggle, he discovers he is battling not just for his right to date, but for the rights of gay people everywhere. The battle reaches all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court. We hear of Mark and Jason's breakup, but we never really see it, and the eventual court ruling comes via fax. The soundtrack often doesn't suit the dialogue, and the dance music sometimes is too loud and annoying. Based on a true story, this made for TV movie with a limited budget explores the clash between religion and sex, and shows gay teenagers are coming out at earlier ages, becoming increasingly politically active, and are more accepted by their peers. Gary Koftinoff composed the incidental music, Kent Staines wrote the teleplay from a story he wrote with Michael MacLennan, and John L'Ecuyer directed.

Morte a Venezia (1971)

In director Luchino Visconti's adaptation of the Thomas Mann novella, composer Gustave von Aschenbach (loosely based on Gustav Mahler) travels from Munich for a rest cure in Venice in 1911. He is suffering from a heart condition. In the lounge of the Lido hotel he spots a Polish family, headed by Mrs. Moore (Silvana Mangano) and finds himself attracted to her beautiful 14-year-old son Tadzio (Bjorn Andresen). Gradually his obsession increases while a cholera epidemic threatens the city. The pestilence represents the corruption that compromises and threatens his ideals. There are long periods without dialogue, and much of the story is told visually, with Gustave's lingering looks at Tadzio, crowds at the beach, and hotel dining rooms.

The film is elegant, sumptuous, lush, moody, and slow-paced, with little emotional center. Mahler's music is used in this film, although he was not homosexual as far as we know. Thomas Mann is alleged to have been gay or bi, and much of the storyline is supposedly based on Mann's own experiences. Dirk Bogarde portrays Gustave as an aging homosexual voyeur rather than Mann's disturbed artist struggling with an attraction to a boy that he does not understand. Not all of the dialogue is in English. Tadzio's family speak in Polish, and some of the minor characters speak in Italian. Subtitles are provided in ten languages. Luchino Visconti and Nicola Badalucco wrote the screenplay derived from the novella by Thomas Mann. Luchino Visconti directed. The English title is "Death in Venice".

Leather Jacket Love Story (1998)

An 18-year-old aspiring poet named Kyle (Sean Tataryn) leaves West Hollywood and relocates to Silver Lake where he meets hunky 30-year-old carpenter Mike (Christopher Bradley). An intense sexual relationship begins, crossing the complicated terrain of intergenerational love, class differences, and long term relationships. The dialogue is smart and colorful, the eccentric Silver Lake characters interesting, and the full frontal nude scenes are impressive. Jack (Nicholas Worth) plays a theatrical gay poet and steals every scene he appears in. His poetry readings are quite funny. Drag queens defend the community. There is a memorable stripper (Dennis Larkin) and cameos by Mink Stole, gay activist Morris Kight, and Bob Prest as a doctor who pierces nipples and other body parts for a living. Geoff Moody plays Ian. He was supposed to play Kyle, but refused to do a full frontal nudity scene.

This 83 minute b & w film was shot in ten days for $60,000 in 16mm, with the same camera used for "Medium Cool" (1969). It does not have the best picture quality and there are no captions or subtitles. The DVD includes commentary and 37 minutes of "erotic" material--all the footage they shot of the various sex scenes. Jeremy Jordan composed the incidental music, Rondo Mieczkowski wrote the screenplay, and David DeCoteau directed.

Boys Life (1995)

This three story anthology explores the reminiscences of directors Brian Sloan, Raoul O'Connell, and Robert Lee King. "Pool Days" and "A Friend of Dorothy" deliver the most fun about coming out of the closet. "The Disco Years" details the heartache and self-deception that is often a part of struggling through high school for gays. The protagonist of "Pool Days" is portrayed by Josh Weinstein , in "A Friend of Dorothy" it's Raoul O'Connell, and Matt Nolan plays Tom in "The Disco Years". Basically it's more "gay coming of age" stuff, too familiar but done quite well. Each 30 minute short is presented full frame only.
"Boys Life 2" (1997) is a 4 story anthology. Three are about homophobia, and all 4 are artistic, realistic, and episodic. "Must Be the Music" is about 4 gay teens; in "Nunzio's Second Cousin" a NYC cop takes a gay-basher home for a family dinner; "Alkali, Iowa" is about a farm boy who discovers his father was gay; and "The DadShuttle" centers on the communication breakdown between a father and his gay son.
"Boys Life 3" (2000) is a compilation of five short films that deal with coming out and the trials and tribulations of being gay in America. It includes: "Inside Out" with Jason Gould satirizing what happens when you come out in Hollywood, "Just One Time," a fantasy involving a groom-to-be; "Hitch" about sexual discovery on a road trip; "Majorettes in Space," a witty French spoof of post-modern sex; and "$30", centering on a closeted teen's experience with a prostitute (Sara Gilbert).
There are also: "Boys Life 4: Four Play" (2002), "Boys Life 5" (2006), and "Boys Life 6" (2007).

Fresa y Chocolate

In 1979 Havana, David (Vladimir Cruz) is a student and hard-core Communist whose personal life is in something of a slump. His girlfriend left him to marry another man, then he meets Diego (Jorge Perrugoria), a flamboyant gay eating strawberry ice cream, even though it's one of the rare days when chocolate is available. David is not impressed with Diego's criticism of Castro's regime, especially the government's persecution of gays, but he accepts his invitation to visit his apartment. David realizes that Diego has seduction on his mind, but this is outweighed by the fact that Diego's flat has forbidden things such as Time Magazine, American record albums, and Johnny Walker Red scotch. Miguel (Francisco Gatorno), David's friend, is convinced that Diego is a dangerous dissident and urges David to spy on him and pass along his findings to the government. But David enjoys spending time with Diego and also likes Nancy (Mirta Ibarra), Diego's sexy neighbor. This is a story of friendship and love between two men that overcomes prejudice and intolerance.

In 1993, "Fresa y Chocolate" swept the awards at the Havana Film Festival. The film won the top overall prize (the Coral), the Popular Choice prize, Best Director, Best Actor, and the International Critics' Award, among others. It's from the short story "The Wolf, the Forest and the New Man" by sceenwriter Senel Paz. José María Vitier composed the original music, and Juan Carlos Tabío directed. The English title is "Strawberry & Chocolate". In Spanish with English subtitles.

Amnésie: L'énigme James Brighton (2005)

Gay American James Brighton (Dusan Dukic) is found naked and amnesiac in a vacant parking lot in Montreal in 1998. He knows his name, but the only thing he's sure of is that he's gay. Based on a true story, the film's first half covers Brighton's months in Montreal trying to rediscover who he is. Volunteers from S.O.S Gay organize a media campaign to help him recover his forgotten past. After three months no one has claimed him. Then his Tennessee family find him when his brother, a Pentecostal minister, recognizes him on TV. Except his name isn't James Brighton, it's Matthew Honeycutt. He is arrested for committing fraud by faking his amnesia, but many are uncertain about the truth of his claims. A year later a student in criminology named Sylvie (Karyne Lemieux) begins to study it, only to discover that her own identity is becoming elusive. The second half of the movie picks up the pace, focusing on Brighton's adjustment to life in Tennessee and director Denis Langlois' disturbing fictional explanation about what led to Brighton's traumatic memory loss. Slow-paced and probably better suited to the small-screen, "Amnesia" is a reminder of the ravages of homophobia. John Lunn composed the original music, and Chris Lang wrote the screenplay. The English title is "The James Brighton Enigma". In Québecois, French, and English with variable subtitles.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

This story of a gay man in Savannah, Georgia who shot his working-class lover focuses on the murder and the subsequent trial of Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). He is a self made man, art collector, antiques dealer, and semi-closeted homosexual. John Kelso (John Kusack), a magazine reporter, is in Savannah to write a feature on one of Williams' famous Christmas parties. He is intrigued by Williams from the start, but his curiosity is piqued when he meets Jim's violent and sexy young lover, Billy Hanson (Jude Law). Later that night, Billy is dead, and Kelso stays on to cover the murder trial. Along the way he encounters Lady Chablis (Chablis Deveau), a drag queen, Sonny Seiler (Jack Thompson), lawyer to Williams, and Minerva (Irma P. Hall), a spiritualist. Becoming Jim's friend, cuddling up to a torch singer, meeting every eccentric in Savannah, participating in midnight graveyard rituals, and helping solve the mysteries surrounding Billy's murder, makes Kelso very busy.

The movie is loosely based on the first book by John Berendt, which became a New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks. Fans of the book are generally disappointed with the film, largely because of changes made by screenwriter John Lee Hancock and director Clint Eastwood. Lennie Niehaus composed the original music.

Le Fate ignorante (2001)

Antonia (Margherita Buy) is an AIDS doctor, has a stable marriage, and lives happily with her husband Massimo (Andrea Renzi) in an upscale district of Rome. But when he dies in a car accident, she falls into a depression and begins to recover when she finds out that Massimo had been unfaithful to her in a gay relationship. Massimo had a secret lover for 7 of their 15 years together. She's also surprised to discover that he and his lover Michele (Stefano Accorsi) were part of an extended "family" of gays, transgenders, and other social outcasts. As Antonia begins to understand her husband's secret, she becomes accepted into the commune. This film puts love and understanding before judgment or disapprobation. The Italian title means "The Ignorant Fairies" and refers to a painting that was given to Massimo by Michele. Andrea Guerra composed the original music. Gianni Roli and Ferzan Özpete wrote the screnplay, and Ferzan Özpetek. directed. The American title is "His Secret Life" and the international title is "The Ignorant Fairies". This Turkish-Italian production has Italian dialogue with various subtitles.

No Se Lo Digas a Nadie (1999)

This film is based on the autobiographical novel of gay Peruvian talk show host Jaime Bayly. Joaquin Camino (Santiago Magill), a young man from the upper class of Lima, deals with problems concerning his sexual identity as a child, then as a teenager pressured by his macho father Luis Felipe (Hernan Romero), then as an independent lazy pot-smoking college student, and later as a cocaine addict in Lima and Miami. The movie is a complex character study about the duality of most gay young men in Peruvian society, how they feel about casual sex, and their search for sexual identity in a country intolerant of open homosexuality. It shows the absence of a gay subculture in an honest and bittersweet story about the painful "coming-out" process. This unconventional film starts at the beginning and ends at the end with an ironic surprise, appropriately incomplete and somewhat ambiguous. It is well written and acted, with good production values and a great soundtrack. Giovanna Pollarolo wrote the screenplay from Joime Bayly's novel, and Francisco J. Lombardi directed. Dialogue is in Spanish and the English title is "Don't Tell Anyone".

The Boys of Cellblock Q (1992)

Timmy (Andrew Addams) is a cute convict in Australia's Sunnyvale Labor Farm, where all the prisoners are gay. The film's concept seems to be a gay spoof of the the 1950's women in prison B movies. Without the presence of women, the muscular prisoners indulge in regular steamy shower time trysts with one another, make full use out of the jail's supply of priests, turn the eyes of several handsome policemen, and help a young convict learn the ins and outs of the prison community. There are cop fantasies, and a slobbering priest who enjoys conducting in-depth strip searches of the hunky young inmates. The film seems like the intro to a hot porno flick, but nothing happens--it's like porn with the sex edited out.

This movie is so very bad it's good, or so bad it's funny. It's low budget, with terrible acting, poor lighting, bad sets, a horrible script, and viewers' comments like, "By far the worst movie I have ever seen. It looks like it was filmed in someone's garage." Another: "The storyline is simply corny and the cast is so pathetic. It is like a stage play gone bad with only one type of setting." The DVD has a photo gallery option that has almost nothing to do with this film. Out of 75 or so shots, only a half dozen come from the film--the rest are of naked men, probably from other videos. One reviewer wrote, " This video is a great, hot, 'boys in prison' spoof." Shaun Guerin composed the original music, and Ralph Lucas wrote the screenplay adapted from John C. Wall's stage play "Cellblock Q". Alan Daniels directed.