The History Boys (2006)

The film is set in Cutlers' Grammar School, a boys' school in Sheffield in 1983. Eight boys have recently obtained the school's highest ever A-level scores and are hoping to enter Oxford or Cambridge, taking a seventh-term entrance exam in History. The General Studies teacher, known by his nickname "Hector" (Richard Griffiths) works alongside deputy head and regular History teacher, Mrs. Lintott (Frances de la Tour). The headmaster, Felix (Clive Merrison), hires young contract teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) to assist Hector and Mrs Lintott to prepare the boys for the Oxbridge entrance exams. Irwin's style is to put a spin on their historical analysis, and value originality above objective truth. Hector offers some of his students rides home on his motorcycle and fondles his passengers. The boys laugh off their teacher's advances and continue to take turns riding home on the back of his bike. Hector gets in trouble when he is reported by a crossing guard witness. The headmaster orders Hector to retire early, and also that Hector and Irwin share a class.

The boys receive their results and they have all gained Oxbridge places, except for the group's sportsman, Rudge (Russell Tovey). At the end of the term the students prepare to leave school, and Hector is killed while riding with Irwin on his motorcycle. The movie ends with a series of moments involving Hector, leading up to when a photograph of the entire class was taken at Fountains Abbey, a scene from earlier in the film. The photo fills the entire screen, and the closing credits are shown over the photo.

I've left out the gay sex parts with the boys because it is very complicated. This witty film with deadpan humour is a homophobic-free exploration of the joys of teaching and learning, in an atmosphere of adolescent homoeroticism. It was adapted by Alan Bennett from his play of the same name, which won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, who directed the original stage production at the Royal National Theatre in London, it features the original cast of the play. The students are played by: Samuel Anderson, Samuel Barnett, Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Sacha Dhawan, Andrew Knott, Jamie Parker, and Russell Tovey.

Les Roseaux Sauvages (1994)

In 1962, Maïté Alvarez (Élodie Bouchez) and François Forestier (Gaël Morel) are 18 years old each, living in a village in SW France at a boarding school. They are platonic friends who share a love of French nouvelle vague cinema. Maïté is interested in having a sexual relationship with François, but he withdraws from her when she mentions it. In François's classroom there are athletic Serge Bartolo (Stéphane Rideau), whose brother has just married to try to escape from war service in Algeria, and Henri Mariani (Frédéric Gorny), a pied-noir (Algerian-born Frenchman). François discovers he is gay one night when Serge seduces him. To Serge it is just a school age adventure, but for François it is love so intense he is transformed. They have a homosexual relationship and throughout the movie François tries to get a straight answer from Serge concerning the possible future of their relationship--but Serge remains evasive. Serge's older brother is killed in Algeria and his teacher blames herself for not helping him to escape his military service and suffers a nervous breakdown. Serge wants to marry his brother's widow Irène (Nathalie Vignes). However this sub plot is not well-connected with the rest of the film. Henri is a little older and more cynical, and finds heterosexual love with his enemy Maïté, a communist who doesn't seem interested in him. All these complications play out in the context of the Algerian War, with the characters displaying different sympathies for the opponents in the conflict.

This coming-of-age French movie revolves around an unrequited love quadrangle between four adolescents at a boarding school. What makes this film superior is the warm and honest way the sexual awakenings are dramatized and perfectly acted by a young cast. The slightly loose and episodic feel of this charming, sophisticated, blunt-but-gentle movie is perfectly suited for this tale of youthful gains and losses. Johann Strauss's "Voices of Spring" waltz, Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and some well-known 1960s American pop music are featured in the soundtrack. Written by Olivier Massart and Gilles Taurand. André Téchiné directed. At the 1995 César Awards, "Les Roseaux Sauvages" won Best Film, Best Director, Most Promising Young Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. In French with English subtitles, the English title is "Wild Reeds".

A Change of Heart (1998)

Dr. Jim Marshall (John Terry) is the perfect father and husband, happily married for 20 years to Elaine (Jean Smart). The couple have raised two well-adjusted teen-agers, Jesse (Phillip Geoffrey Hough) and Sarah (Shawna Waldron), and they are very respected and admired in their community in Oregon. Jim is a successful doctor, with a stable career, and his wife has worked side by side with him to found a medical institute. They have two houses, one in the city and one in the country. Elaine anticipates the worst when she goes to a hotel room where her husband is renting a room, expecting to catch Jim with another woman. She is shocked and shattered to discover he is having a gay affair with a man. Her husband is gay! There is pain, anger, and tears. The marriage explodes and after the initial trauma, the couple struggle to find peace, acceptance and to rebuild their lives. The movie shows all four members of the family trying to cope with this gay crisis. Although the last few scenes stretch credibility to the breaking point, Jean's spirit at the end will give a lot of viewers hope.

This is a Lifetime Network Original Movie, a drama made especially for the Lifetime cable TV network. The male lover is quite two dimensional, and seems to have a home of his own, so why were they meeting in a hotel? The Marshall teenagers are tiresomely belligerent, and Jesse attacks a young gay man because he can't bear the fact that his father is gay. It also becomes difficult to sympathize with Jean, who behaves like an insufferable bitch to everyone after her discovery. Aaron Mendelsohn wrote the script, Patrick Williams composed the music, and Arvin Brown directed.

Das Trio (1998)

Zobel (Götz George) and Karl (Christian Redl) are a long term gay couple who live together in a mobile trailer home with Lizzie (Jeanette Hain), Zobel's spunky daughter from a heterosexual misadventure. Together these three form a travelling trio of thieves who make a living as pickpockets. The relationship of Zobel and Karl has become stale, and Lizzi stands between the two men who have been father and mother to her. Team chemistry sours when Karl decides to live a more conventional and comfortable lifestyle. Because of an accident, Karl becomes unable to work, forcing Zobel and Lizzie to find a new partner. Lizzie recruits bi-sexual Rudolf (Felix Eitner), a boyishly charming misfit. Reluctantly, Zobel allows Rudolf to join them but warns him to never break the golden rule: "No exchanging of bodily fluids within the team." This dictum becomes increasingly difficult to live by as Lizzie's desires and Zobel's own passions toward Rudolf intensify. Both father and daughter have a strong sexual interest in Rudolf. Eventually, the golden rule is broken by Lizzie, then again by Zobel (unknown to Lizzie). An intricate love triangle soon develops among the three that is shaped by deception, desire, and betrayal. Lizzi leaves, accusing Dad of using her to procure younger men.The film resolves by the trio adjusting to this way of life in a fairly amicable manner, their love-triangle having been worked out.

Because all the characters are totally immoral without any conscience, it's difficult to sympathize with these pickpockets. Basically this film is a German update of "The Grifters", a sexually ambiguous family of thieves who don't trust anyone, not even themselves. Viewers have a wide range of opinons about "Das Trio". Some think it is a funny drama, others think it is boring, or they are put off by the immorality. As usual, many object to the German language with subtitles. There are a few brief scenes of full frontal male nudity. Niki Reiser composed the music score. Horst Johann Sczerba and Volker Einrauch wrote the screenplay. Hermine Huntgeburth directed.

Broadway Damage (1996)

Marc (Michael Shawn Lucas) is an aspiring actor in Greenwich Village who works a day job taking phone orders for tickets to the shows he wishes he was in. He searches the obituaries in order to find an apartment, but currently shares an apartment with eccentric, unemployed Cynthia (Mara Hobel), who wants to work for "Vanity Fair" and keeps leaving phone messages for Tina Brown that are never returned. Cynthia supports herself with the help of her father's charge card, but eventually is financially cut off. Robert (Aaron Williams) is another struggling actor who also dreams of getting a break as a writer and composer of Broadway musicals. Marc explains to his best friend Robert the concept of the "grand gesture". Its when you swallow your pride, buy flowers or something, and let that special person know you're in love with them. Robert is in love with Marc, but rather ordinary-looking, so he doesn't meet the standards of hunky Marc, who is looking for a perfect 10. Marc thinks he might have found his dream man in David (Hugh Panaro), a studio musician, until he discovers that David is not all he seems to be. When Robert finally makes his "grand gesture" to Marc, he does it with a sweet song. The film has a happy and warm-hearted ending.

This quirky romantic comedy about three recent college graduates is fun, improbable, and amusing. The complexity and frustration of finding true love in the gay community is explored nicely by the talented cast with a clever story and memorable music. Mara Hobel's more notable previous role was playing Christina Crawford in the film version of "Mommie Dearest", one of the great camp classics of all time. Cindy Soltoff and Elliot Sokolov composed the music score. Written and directed by Victor Mignatti.

おこげ (1992)

Sayoko Morohashi (Misa Shimizu) is a beautiful young woman who works as a voice-over artist for TV cartoons. She lives alone in a small flat in either Osaka or Tokyo, without a boyfriend or commitments. One day she notices young Goh Yoshino (Takehiro Murata) and his older gay lover Tochihiko "Tochi" Terazaki (Takeo Nakahara) kissing at the beach. Fascinated, she soon frequents gay bars until she finds the couple once again. The young man is a designer and the older man is married. Goh admits his homosexuality to his hysterical mother, his brother Toichi (Kyozo Nagatsuka), and sister-in-law after a meeting with a young woman they want him to marry. Their immediate response is to talk about something else. When Sayoko learns that Goh's mother Kinoe (Noriko Sengoku) has moved in with him, disrupting the couple's sex life, she offers them the use of her place. For a while things go well. As the two guys go at it upstairs, Sayoko merrily thumbs through art books of paintings by Frida Kahlo. Then Terasaki's wife Yayoi (Toshie Negishi) discovers her husband's gay activities and storms into Sayoko's home. Terasaki is forced to dump Goh, who becomes depressed. In an attempt to cheer him up, she tries to set him up with a hunky former sailor. Instead, the sailor rapes and impregnates Sayoko.

"Okama" is Japanese for a rice pot and a slang insult against gays. "Okoge" is the Japanese word for the discarded crust left at the bottom of a rice pot after cooking. It is used as slang for Japanese girls who like gay men--what gays in the West call a "fag hag" or "fruit fly". The last 30 minutes of the film has many soap opera elements, and one very unbelievable scene of violence which diminish this otherwise excellent movie. Vincent Canby wrote in the New York Times, "Very fine...As melancholy as it is wise and funny." Incidental music was composed by Hiroshi Ariyoshi. Written and directed by Takehiro Nakajima. In Japanese with English subtitles, the English title is "Okoge".

The Graffiti Artist (2004)

Nick (Ruben Bansie-Snellman) is a teen-aged post-modern graffiti artist who decorates exterior walls in downtown Seattle and Portland using the tag name "Rapture". He is a loner, keeps journals of his drawings, photographs of his graffiti, stays alive by shoplifting cans of spray paint and his vegetarian diet foods, and gets around on a skateboard. Nick is a man against the world and is arrested for his art. When released, he meets a fellow tagger Jesse (Pepper Fajans) and finally speaks--to this point there has been no dialogue from Nick--and follows him around, sharing art and tagging. A "tagger" is a graffiti artist who spray-paints his name or symbol on a public wall. Jesse has some money and provides Nick with food and shelter. They travel to Seattle to tag, create some beautiful grafitti art, and bond to the point where Jesse invites Nick into his bed. There is an impressive sexy yet understated gay sex scene. By morning Jesse has conflicts about the gay sex. Nick appears satisfied yet anxious about Jesse's response. They continue to tag, using their new partnered tag name "Elusive". Jesse eventually distances himself from Nick and returns to Portland. Nick tries to maintain his lifestyle but living in the streets and tagging in dangerous places results in problems with the law. But primarily because he misses Jesse, the only person with whom he has bonded, Nick returns to Portland, leaving tag messages signed "Rapture" wherever he sees Jesse's signature "Flip". At last Nick finds Jesse, who doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Alone again, Nick returns to his solitary life and the way he deals with his dream ends the movie.

There is almost no dialogue in this film. It relies on body language to tell the story of why Nick and Jesse like each other, what the sex meant, and what the long-term impact is likely to be. The magnetism of the actors' body language and especially eye language is more effective than dialogue. Ruben Bansie-Snellman creates a character so convincingly simple in his complexity that he pulls us into the strange world of the graffiti artist subculture. The music score is by Kid Loco. Written, produced, and directed by Peter Paige.

Say Uncle (2006)

Paul Johnson (Peter Paige) is a nerdy gay artist, innocent and reclusive, living in Oregon. He loves children and has a close relationship with his godson, the child of his best friends. When his godson moves to Japan, he attempts to replace the loss by baby-sitting, working in a toy store, and playing with kids in playgrounds. Paul is not a pedophile, but is playing with fire. His best friend Russell (Anthony Clark) advises caution, because people will talk and he could get into big trouble. Local mother Maggie Butler (Kathy Najimy) concludes that he fits the classic profile of a child predator. She embellishes the truth for what she considers the safety of innocent children. Together with some other mothers, Maggie starts a neighborhood witch-hunt to "bring Paul in" before he commits a crime. Because Paul is gay and kindly, we are supposed to regard him as the victim. However, his creepy Peter Pan complex, grossly inappropriate behavior, and his anger at the bad world of grown-up people does not arouse my sympathy. Why doesn't he grow up? Frankly, I have more sympathy for the parents, although the movie demonstrates that it is wrong to become hysterical and jump to conclusions without evidence.

Filmed in Portland, Oregon during the summer of 2005, "Say Uncle" had a production schedule of 18 days, and filming took place at 19 different locations. Production values are not the best. New York Times reviewer Jeannette Catsoulis wrote that the film's R rating is based on "two boys kissing, one naked-toddler photograph, some naughty words and a lot of bad art." Written and directed by Peter Paige, who also stars in the film as Paul.

Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema (1993)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Together Alone (1993)

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

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