Coming Out (1989)

High school teacher Philipp Klahrmann (Mathias Freihof) during his first day at work collides with female teacher Tanja (Dagmar Manzel) in one of the school's corridors. As a result Tanja and Philipp get to know each other and develop a romance. While going out with Tanja, Philipp gets dragged into a gay party and meets Matthias (Dirk Kummer), a shy 19-year-old who becomes interested in Philipp. After they meet again by chance, Matthias invites Philipp to his birthday party that evening. After some hesitation Philipp ends up going and the two of them go back to Philipp's apartment and sleep together.

The situation with Tanja deteriorates as Philipp becomes distant and worried, as he begins to come out to himself. He is forced to come out to Tanja, after he and Matthias embrace during the intermission at the opera. Matthias is distraught upon learning that Philipp is married and runs out of the opera house. Over the next few weeks Philipp searches for Matthias, until one night he finds him in a bar with another man, one of Philipp's students. Matthias, still very hurt, pushes Philipp away. Philipp goes to another bar and becomes aggressive with an older gay man. He calms down and tearfully listens as the older man explains that he understands what Philipp is going through, because 50 years earlier he and his boyfriend were arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in a concentration camp. In a speech designed to please the SED and DEFA, the older gay man explains how the communists helped him through his struggle.

The film ends with a scene in the classroom, as the headteacher--who obviously has discovered Philipp's sexual orientation--says that she and a group of teachers need to observe his classes to see if he's still suitable to teach. Philipp is quiet for a long time and this prompts the headteacher to say "Kollege Klahrmann!" to which Klahrmann simply replies, "Ja." Actor Mathias Freihof claims that this single utterance signifies the recognition by Philipp of his sexual orientation and all its baggage. In a depressing classic German cinema ending, Philipp loses his boyfriend, his girlfriend, and his job. The film closes with a shot of Philipp leaving his apartment block on his bicycle.

This is a predictable, drawn out, but good film--the first and only film about gay life produced in the former communist East Germany. "Coming Out" debuted the night the Berlin Wall fell. Stefan Carow composed the music, Wolfram Witt wrote the screenplay, and Heiner Carow directed. In German, available with or without English subtitles.

Victor Victoria (1982)

Set in 1934 Paris, starving opera singer Victoria (Julie Andrews) is helped by gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston). When Victoria wears Toddy's ex boyfriend's clothes and then sends the abusive ex away with a loud shout and a right hook, Toddy is hit with inspiration: he'll pass her off as a female impersonator. She asks, "You want me to be a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman?" With the help of the flamboyantly gay nightclub singer, she invents her alter-ego "Count Victor Grezinski", a female impersonator who is hired to sing at a fashionable night spot. Interwoven throughout the comedy and musical numbers are some astute observations about gender perceptions, discrimination and the battle of the sexes. It all goes well until Chicago mob boss King Marchand (James Garner), starts to investigate, sure that a man like himself could never fall for another man. The revelation of King's infatuation with Victoria brings his gay body guard "Squash" Bernstein (Alex Karras) roaring out of the closet and sends his spurned moll Norma Cassady (Leslie Ann Warren) off to Chicago to take revenge with King's other "business associates". Victoria must decide what she really wants: to be true to herself by giving up her career in Paris to be with her lover, or to continue with her show biz career and risk losing Marchand.

This classy slapstick musical farce involves transvestism and sexual identity as central themes. It's a character driven film where everyone is allowed to shine. Musical highlights include Victor/Victoria's "Le Jazz Hot" and "The Shady Dame from Seville"; Toddy's ode to "Gay Paree"; Warren's funny burlesque number, "King's Can-Can"; and "You and Me," done in a small club by Toddy and Victor in tuxedos. Legendary composer Henry Mancini won his last Oscar for the music score. Blake Edwards wrote the screenplay derived from Reinhold Schünzel's 1933 script, based on a concept by Hans Hoemburg. Blake Edwards directed.

Kiss Me Guido (1997)

Frankie (Nick Scotti) is a young macho, homophobic Italian-American living with his family in the Bronx, New York. He works in a pizza parlor but, inspired by Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, he wants to be an actor. After catching his fiancee cheating on him with his brother, Frankie decides the time has come to move out and pursue his dream. He starts by checking the classifieds for roommate ads. He finds an ad from a "GWM." In classified-speak this stands for "gay white male", but Frankie and his friend Joey (Domenick Lombardozzi) interpret it as "guy with money." The GWM in question is Warren (Anthony Barrile), an actor who's recently broken up with his director boyfriend, and is five months behind in his rent. Frankie and Warren each have some initial misgivings--Frankie over Warren's being gay, Warren over Frankie's being a "Guido" or stereotypical Italian--but Warren lets Frankie move in.

Warren's ex, Dakota (Christopher Lawford), returns and offers Warren a part in his new play. Warren initially accepts but after being injured in an attempted gay bashing, has to withdraw. Frankie has the chance to take his place on stage--but only if he can play a gay man in a kissing scene. Frankie replaces him, but the kissing scene makes him nervous. At the premiere Frankie gives a good performance, although he hesitates on the kiss, leading his scene partner to hiss "Kiss me, Guido!" for an audience that includes his family. His father leaves in disgust, and his mother faints, but they come to understand and accept his decision to become an actor.

This fast moving and entertaining comedy is quite a good movie. The bitchy and witty criticisms of some of the gay characters are a treat, and manage to transcend the stereotypes because of the humor. You have to suspend your disbelief regarding Frankie's incredible naivety and ignorance of the gayness he encounters. In other words, the plot is not very realistic, but it is funny. The soundtrack includes 13 songs, but in the opening credits of my video there is a disclaimer that some of the song titles had been changed. Tony Vitale wrote the screenplay and directed. CBS brought "Kiss Me Guido" to TV in 2001 under the title "Some of My Best Friends". It was not a success and was cancelled after one season.

Licensed To Kill (1997)

Attacked by gay bashers in 1977, filmmaker Arthur Dong probes the hearts and minds of murderers convicted of killing gay men. He interviews them in prison cells and asks them directly: "Why did you do it?" The seven convicted killers are diverse in race, sexuality, sexual experiences, and abuse. Additionally, there is a range of feelings about the crimes. One person says, "I regret it." Another says, "At least this created a hate crimes law in my state." But one murderer basically says, "So what?" One man says, "Is it better to rob a convenience store for $20 and get caught or to rob a homosexual for hundreds of dollars knowing that he won't go to the police?" The most popular reason was that "God told me to". Many of the interviewees purposely targeted gay men. Some claimed to be harassed, but using the victims' credit cards contradicts that claim.

An important problem is misinterpretation or misunderstanding. In many instances gay men mistook straight men's friendliness for flirtation and paid for it with their lives. Some killers showed no remorse whatsoever while others felt completely disconnected from their crime. Most of them hate homosexuals and this they claim gives them a license to kill. These inmates include a wide range of distinct profiles: a young man who claims he justifiably killed as protection from his victim's sexual advances--a defense known as "homosexual panic"; a self-loathing, religious gay man who killed because of his own homosexual tendencies; a victim of child abuse who feared losing his manhood; an army sergeant angry over the gays in the military debate; and a self-described homeboy looking for easy prey. The film ends by covering each interviewee's sentence and the sentences are long.

The central theme of this documentary is in the title and the criminals rationalize why they believed it was OK to kill gay men. This film provides interesting insights into the motivations for sexual orientation crimes, and shows just how deep and fierce anti-gay sentiment is. Miriam Cutler composed the incidental music, and Arthur Dong wrote the script and directed.

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005)

Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a 12-year-old effeminate gay boy who lives in the slums of Manila with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. His world revolves around his family, who love and protect him in return for Maxi's devotion to completing domestic chores (his mother died) and covering their tracks when they commit crimes. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his puppy love for handsome young police officer Victor (J. R. Valentin), and his family's illegal livelihood. He behaves like a girl, wearing clips in his hair, bangles on his wrists, even lipstick. He is teased by neighbors and former school friends, but his sexuality is fully accepted by his two brothers and by his father. One night he is accosted by two men who attempt to molest him, but he is saved by the appearance of Victor, who does not have a girlfriend and his sexuality is never revealed. He rebuffs Maxi's advances, even when the boy steals a kiss, only affectionately stroking the boy's head. The two become fast friends and Maxi learns he can have a better life, which incurs the disapproval of his family. Victor's relationship with Maxi and his family has an unexpected and tragic result.

After Maxi's father is killed by Victor's boss, Maxi resists Victor's attempts to renew their friendship. The closing scene shows Maxi walking past Victor who has parked by the roadside on Maxi's way to school. He ignores Victor as he passes him, hesitates momentarily as he crosses the road, then goes on his way. This last scene is a clever homage to the final scene of "The Third Man".

This neorealist film is a tale of lost innocence and redemption amidst the poverty of Manila's slums. It's an expertly structured coming-of-age story with dramatic momentum, complicated motivations, and surprising outcomes. The digitally-shot feature made its U.S. debut at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was the official Philippine entry of the 2007 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film. It has also garnered several film festival awards including the Teddy Award at the 2006 Berlinale Film Festival and Best Asian Film at the 2006 Rotterdam Film Festival. Pepe Smith and Mike Villegas composed the original music, Michiko Yamamoto wrote the screenplay, and Auraeus Solito directed. In Tagalog with English subtitles. The English title is "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros".

The Lion in Winter (1968)

In this 12th-century version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) on Christmas Eve 1183 has summoned the following people for the holiday: his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn); his mistress Princess Alais (Jane Merrow), whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of France (Timothy Dalton). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake, he hopes to name his successor, and everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their claim. King Philip insists that Alais marry John as agreed years before, or he wants back her dowry, the lands of the Vexen. Eleanor has already given the province of Aquitaine to Richard, so the outcome of this may decide the very future of England. Each of the sons has some flaw that makes the decision to name a successor difficult. You won't want to miss the famous homo-erotic exchange between Philip of France and Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins). Both actors were making their feature-film debuts.

"The Lion in Winter" is fictional. There was no Christmas Court at Chinon in 1183, it was at Caen in 1182. None of the dialogue and action is historic, though the outcomes of the characters and the background are historically accurate. In reality, Henry had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. The "Rosamund" mentioned in the film was Henry II's mistress until she died.

James Goldman won an Oscar for his screenplay, based on his Broadway play. The story is mostly in the speeches the people make, and the action is kept to a minimum, but the dialogue is sharp as daggers. The humor is wicked and black and delivered with dry precision. Sparks fly and the screen sizzles whenever Hepburn and O'Toole tango, which is often. Both were nominated for Academy Awards for their great performances. (She won, but he didn't.) John Barry composed the original music and won an Oscar for Best Music Score. James Goldman wrote the script from his stage play, and Anthony Harvey directed.

Der Bewegte Mann (1994)

Axel Feldheim (Til Schweiger) is a handsome, open-minded heterosexual whose girlfriend Doro (Katja Riemann) has just thrown him out for cheating on her. Seeking a new home, Axel is introduced to Walter "Waltraut" (Rufus Beck), a homosexual who finds Axel quite attractive. Walter takes Axel to a gay party where they meet Norbert Brommer (Joachim Król), who has a big apartment and is more than willing to let Axel stay for a while because he thinks he can seduce him. Preening cross-dresser Walter and sad-faced Norbert offer us a choice of gay stereotypes. Suddenly, Axel goes from hunter to hunted as he tries to fend off the advances of Norbert and a host of other homosexual suitors. But as Axel becomes closer to his new friends, they think that maybe he is gay, maybe not. This gives room for a lot of funny incidents between the gay world and the so called "normal".

Meanwhile, Doro finds out that she is pregnant from Axel and she tries to get him back, not knowing that he now lives among homosexuals. Doro shows up at the apartment and is not amused to find Norbert, naked, hidden in a wardrobe, but Axel manages to convince her that nothing happened. Axel is very happy about becoming a father and getting back together with Doro and forgets about his relationship with Norbert. Doro goes into labour and Norbert drives her to the hospital, explaining everything to her. Unfortunately, just when you think the film is liberating and subversive, the finale ends up endorsing the heterosexual couple it's been trying to undercut.

Billed as the most successful German comedy of all time, much of the dialogue in this funny film was taken directly from the two gay comic books "Der bewegte Mann" and "Pretty Baby" by underground cartoonist Ralf König. Though the comics were written from a gay perspective, the film is slanted towards heterosexual couples. Torsten Breuer composed the original music, and Sönke Wortmann wrote the screenplay derived from Ralf König's comics. Sönke Wortmann directed. In German with English subtitles, although there is a dubbed English version available. The English titles are "Maybe, Maybe Not", "Most Desired Man", and The Turbulent Man".

Sordid Lives (2000)

As the film begins, Sissy Hickey (Beth Grant) is awaiting the funeral of her sister Peggy Ingram (Gloria LeRoy), who recently died in a motel room after tripping over the detached wooden legs of her adulterous lover G.W. Nethercott (Beau Bridges) and smashed her head against the bathroom porcelain. As if Sissy doesn't have problems enough in the wake of five failed marriages, she's struggling to quit smoking, popping Valium like candy, and having to cope with a dysfunctional family. Niece Latrelle Williamson (Bonnie Bedelia), whose husband is off with Jimmy Carter building homes for the poor, is in denial over the homosexuality of son Ty (Kirk Geiger), an aspiring actor in LA, and contesting the decision of her sister LaVonda DuPree (Ann Walker) to clothe Mom in her favorite mink stole for the burial in 110-degree Texas heat. Latrelle thinks her brother should be released from the institution and has a perfect right to attend their mother's funeral. Meanwhile, Peggy's son Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram (Leslie Jordan), a homosexual transvestite, has been confined to a mental institution for the past 23 years. In LA, Ty is suffering a sexual identity crisis, and is on his twenty-seventh therapist. Striving hard to accept his homosexuality, he realizes that there is no way he can return home for his grandmother's funeral without coming out to his mother.

This mixture of white-trash comedy and coming-out melodrama starts out as a farce, then midway the emphasis shifts to a drag queen unfairly held in a mental institution and the dead woman's grandson, an actor in Los Angeles who hasn't come out to his mother. The tone shifts wildly, and the humor depends on the viewers' taste for the white-trash genre. This politically correct film espousing gay rights won't appeal to everyone, but several of the performances are surprisingly good. Jordan is great as Earl, who spends his life dressed up as county singer Tammy Wynette, and has a permanent gig entertaining his fellow inmates in the asylum. Sometimes the movie's humor becomes shrill and a little forced. The film is followed by the 2008 TV series "Sordid Lives: The Series". George S. Clinton composed the original music, and Del Shores wrote the script from his own stage play and directed.

Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)

The story is set in the early 1950s in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a waterfront town of boarded-up storefronts and striking factory workers. Harry Black (Stephen Lang), a machinist put in charge of the local union strike office, suddenly finds himself one of the most important men in town. But for all his sudden power, there's something disturbing Harry. He rejects his wife's caresses and discovers himself infatuated with a frail young man who calls himself Georgette (Alexis Arquette), who has a crush on well-muscled hood Vinnie (Peter Dobson). But Harry doesn't confront his problem head-on until he falls in love with Regina (Zette), a local transvestite only interested in money. As the strike becomes more intense, Harry sinks deeper into an obsessive affair with Regina, using the strike fund to shower Regina with personal gifts. As Harry sinks into obsession, other characters float through the decaying streets. There's the attractive prostitute Tralala (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who falls in love with a young lieutenant from Idaho about to be shipped overseas. There is also an agreeable young man named Tommy (John Costelloe) who is beaten by his soon-to-be father-in-law Big Joe (Burt Young) for making his daughter Donna (Ricki Lake) pregnant. Everything comes to a tragic conclusion as the workers' strike escalates into a violent confrontation.

This depressing, violent, and haunting movie is as noirish as they come. It features good performances, including the scene of Tralala raped by dozens of men in an abandoned car. It's a sad and moving mix of union dispute, confused sexual identities, anger, and misplaced love--a good film, but not really a piece of entertainment. Filmed at Bavaria Filmstudios in Munich, the German title is "Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn". Hollywood does a more realistic job of making movies set in NYC. This film doesn't look exactly like 1950s Brooklyn. There is no New York skyline, the streets tend to look European, but the actors are very American and the vintage cars and props look impressively authentic. Mark Knopfler composed the original music. Desmond Nakano wrote the screenplay derived from Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel. Uli Edel directed.

The Angelic Conversation (1985)

An unseen woman recites 14 Shakespearean sonnets as a man silently seeks his heart's desire. The photography is stop-motion, the music is ethereal, and the scenery is often elemental with boulders and smaller rocks, the sea, smoke or fog, and a garden. The man is on an odyssey following his love. But he must first, as the sonnet says, know what conscience is. Before he can be united with his love, he must purify himself. He does so, bathing a tattooed figure and humbling himself in front of this being. He also prepares himself with water and through his journey and his meditations. Finally, he is united with his fair friend. This experimental film at first appears to be the internal fantasy of one man. In reality, the story is about the love between two gay men (acted by Paul Reynolds and Philip Williamson), seen against a backdrop of bleak industrial cityscapes or abstract landscapes. The sound of a ticking clock, and the voiceover of Shakespearean sonnets add poignancy and a sense of the brevity of life to the relationship of the two men.

If your idea of a good time is watching a bunch of men dressed in bed sheets dragging logs through a stream in slow motion, while listening to Dame Judi Dench intone Shakespeare's sonnets, you're in for a treat. Alternately, several segments take place in a cave, wherein several young men seem to be annointing another young man sitting on a throne. The symbolism is implicitly homoerotic, as is the entire subject matter of the film. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets are presumed to have been written to his young lover, Harry Wriothsley, Duke of Southampton.

"The Angelic Conversation" is an arthouse drama with its tone set by the juxtaposition of slow moving photographic images and Shakespeare's sonnets. The film consists primarily of images of homosexuality and opaque landscapes through which two men take a journey into their own desires. Furthermore, the image of two men wrestling, groping and kissing will confuse many viewers since they do not understand that these images are symbols of the attainment of True Self-Knowledge, the Twins Conjoined. They won't understand the eerie symbolism of the preparatory anointment of the tattooed man which refers to the preparation of the body for the Enthronement of the Realized Self. They won't cry in recognition of the Rising Sun on a male figure because they have not done the "wet work." And they will fail to understand the seabathing sequence as a metaphor for Baptism.

This is not a movie for the masses. But those prepared to view it will be overwhelmed by the harmony and balance of the film elements and will be deeply moved. There is a market for this kind of film, for those who are fed up with the decline in culture and education, with the stupefaction that ordinary movies provide. Director Derek Jarman described the film as: "A dream world, a world of magic and ritual, yet there are images there of the burning cars and radar systems, which remind you there is a price to be paid in order to gain this dream in the face of a world of violence." The soundtrack to the film was composed and performed by Coil (John Balance, Peter Christopherson, and Stephen Thrower), and it was released as an album of the same title.