Lilting - beautiful BBC film

Exquisite cinema. Everyone involved on screen and off must be extremely proud of this quiet masterpiece.

That's not us

From the Huffington Post - they say it better than me. But I will say that I enjoyed this film very much, both times.

“That’s Not Us” is a compelling new film executive produced by and starring Mark Berger, who has previously worked as associate producer for the 2014 Broadway production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The film follows three couples — one straight, one gay and one lesbian — as they travel to Fire Island for a vacation during the last days of summer. What is intended to be a relaxing vacation swiftly turns into an examination of the nature of love and what it takes to make love sustainable in the modern age.

Nathan et Louis from Baisers Cachés

I can't stop watching this film. Who's got the time?
But it's multiple layers just keep exposing themselves with each viewing. It is so unremittingly beautiful.

Love Without Limits (Gay Short Film) 2016

Outstanding

Paradisco 2002 ( gay short film)

Mirror balls, sequins and feathers, pathos - the French manage to get it all into a faaabulous 17 mins. Touching.

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Desnudos

Gay Short Film (2013) with English Subtitles



 A fine demonstration of solidarity. And more.

LA DERADE with eng subtitles

Another fine French wine. I could taste the Bordeaux slowly making its way from the glass to my mouth and throat throughout the whole film.

Baisers cachés 2016 Gay Film

It just took one little photograph to set off a chain of reactions that are sometimes beautiful, sometimes downright scary, sometimes sad and sometimes romantic. Like lots of films about gay teenagers, it's all about the unfortunate consequences of being gay and interminably dour, but unlike many such films this one has got a big cast of fine actors performing a very well-written screenplay. The many scenes are each long enough to develop an idea, and the themes of parental and school support for children in danger are each approached from different angles. Congratulations to the director, Didier Bivel, and especially to the writer, Jérôme Larcher. And the boys aren't too hard on the eye, either.

Film not working? Try here.

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Mes chers parents - vidéo Dailymotion

One of the lovelist, warmest, 'touchuingest' short gay films I've ever seen. Believe me, I've seen zillions. An uncomprimising letter home for the oldest of reasons.


Mes chers parents - vidéo Dailymotion: Un jeune homme envoie un film à ses parents après douze ans de silence. Il veut leur montrer l'homme qu'il est devenu. Réalisateur du court métrage : Martin Amic - Acteurs : Florence Cabaret, Christel Martinez, Pierre Banderet, Julie Williamson, Patrice Boutin, Claire Caigneaux, Victor De Oliveira, Isabelle Gagnat. Sélectionnée par gaynormandie.com, le portail lgbt de Normandie : http://www.gaynormandie.com sur le blog de Fred : http://blog.gaynormandie.com/fred et le portail de la vie gay en France : http://www.guidomo.fr

Fair Haven - a very watchable gay indie feature film.

I've just watched this film and was at first a bit annoyed at its dour mood, so common in gay films. I want to scream, lighten up, at so many of them. A great tale can be told without it being a never-ending tragedy. But this film really cut it. It's sensitive and understated. The boys are lovely, and I wouldn't have minded a few more scenes of their intimacy. But it was above-all the father-son relationship under the microscope. Mother has passed away and Dad is dealing with his business, his widower status and his very un-chip-off-the-ole-block son. Do watch it.

Ben Whishaw interview PLUS partner from Down Under

Marvellous NY interview from 2010.
Stylised presentation.
Movement ... what's the word?

Elsewhere he speaks of the great difficulty it takes to come out.
And the immense bravery

He's now married to an Australian composer, whom he met when they were making Jane Campion's film about Keats, Bright Star.

Ben W also plays in Lilting, of which they write:

Coming to terms with his boyfriend's death, a young man forms a relationship of half-truths and unspoken feeling with his partner's mother in this deeply moving portrait of grief.

Oh, and B's husband? 

Mark Bradshaw.

Coming right up!

... about whom more can be found at Wikipedia, believe it or not.

Rumour mongering

This blog never set out to be, and has never been an instrument in rumour mongering. But the question of Leonardo di Caprio's sexuality came up recently and very little research takes you to names such as:

• Zac Efron
• Leo di Caprio
• Robert Pattinson
• Lukas Haas

In the Wikipedia entries on these big names, not one CTRL F turns up one hit for the words girlfriend, wife, partner, couple, marry, marriage in any of their entries. Dating seems a bit undergrad for grown ups, but these guys do date. Leonardo is roundly criticised for his string of short so-called relationships with models for the publicity's sake. 

I think that Leo is so greatly admired for his professional work and environmental support, that his days of disappointing teen mobsters is no longer a issue. If he is gay, which seems to be widely accepted, I hope his minders let him come out so that he can lead an honest life. It's many years since Rock Hudson died. It's many months since Anderson Cooper came out. 

Tom Daley did the right thing at the right time. He can't lose. And many people gain. Come on Leo, we saw those wonderful kisses in Total Eclipse, the romantic sacrifice of the great love. The erastes-eronemos relationship. One day, you'll tell us that that was the only honest film you did. 

Another British Triumph (not talking cars here)

Bad Boy Street needs to lighten up

This is not a good film. It could have been. Despite the plot being fairly predictable, and the characters and their relationships being rather cliched, there were enough moments that could have added up to a good film, if only ... 

Personally, I am no stranger to being the older guy "rescuing" the younger guy from the excesses of a Big Night Out. I can vaguely remember a few of my own BNOs. But once we know who the younger guy in this film is, we can only sympathise with his plight and understand why he would turn to alcohol and need rescuing. Being far from his natural habitat permitted him to live as he most wants to live. In gay Paree, no less.

A relationship with a fit older guy who didn't have much going for him. Except that they did have this top-bottom thing sorted. Did I mention cliche? He was humourless, resigned to a dull existence professionally and socially. A 40 something single gay Parisian who can't even cook! Quel fromage! He has two computers on his desk at work yet can't read text messages on his phone. Mon dieu!

It could have been snappy, funny, gently ironic, prankish, surprising, impudent, audacious. A little bit of "bad boy" wouldn't have gone astray. It was ponderous affair. The film, that is. 

Clearly a low budget film. Nice enough story and acting commensurate with the script. Already in the opening minutes the need for better editing was clear. How many minutes of a film do you want to see the leading man and his best friend - she can cook - ambling home from the cinema?
The whole project could been saved by a snappy script.

On the other hand, I Quit is 20 mins of relatively snappy. 

By the way, there is a Rue de Mauvais Garcons in gay Paris, which must have a history of bad boys. Not only the mind boggles.

At the time of writing, you can see even less about Bad Boy Street on Rotten Tomatoes.

Big Gay Musical sure is gay

Wow, this musical sure is gay, gayer than it's musical, even. Though she doffs her hat to God, a.k.a. Mr Sondheim And to Off Broadway and it's semi-professional stage, acting, dancing, audience participation, e-orchestra, and all that.

Maybe it's too long to embed here - 91 minutes. The trailer does it justice.

So here's a link to the full film with Arabic subtitles, or should you prefer, Spanish subtitles. Do let me know if you come across one with English subtitles as it would be really helpful for non-native speakers.

And there's always Wikipedia for stuff. But more than always is Rotten Tomatoes.

Say my name

Well, I can't say that the English was always comprehensible, but  and despite and nevertheless it was beautiful. Profoundly scripted, a little bit of Shakespeare and little bit of Pinter perhaps and plenty of the author stepping outside art. This filmlet is not for everyone, but I liked. Lots of love here.

The Visitor

Mother Serendipity strikes again. Here's an award winning Australian gay short film made in 2002 and I am seeing it for the first time in 2013. What's going on?

There are four in this series - the whole thing runs about 20 mins: The first bit (fun), the second bit (yum), the third bit (intriguing) and the last bit (sad). 

It also gets its own Wikipedia page with its slew of awards listed down below.

Calvin recommends ...

Eric Satie's Gymnopedie accompanying a bit of pussy play

The morning after (8 mins)

I think the film is missing something ... another 3 minutes beyond where one pretty young thing offers another pretty young thing a drink. It's nicely made but I think a lot of viewers have little sympathy for pretty young things who haven't sorted themselves out by his age, especially in an urban setting in the 21st century. This tale would be more credible set in a more conservative society, and with a main character much over 30.