Category Archives: Gay theme

2012, Crude Talk, Depression, Drama, Gay theme, Hebrew, Jewish Culture, Medical Theme, Military, Nudity, Quiet, Unrealistic

Yossi (2012)

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From Netflix:

While driving through a remote part of Israel, a closeted gay doctor crosses paths with a group of soldiers who inspire him to live life in the open. Ohad Knoller reprises the title role in this sequel to Yossi & Jagger.

Before seeing this film, you should watch the first of the 2-film series entitled Yossi & Jagger. Briefly we recall the plot of this first film: Jossi and Jagger are two (male) Israeli soldiers and lovers at their war front. Jagger is killed in action. For me this film was a chance to experience some of the life of the men and women in the Israeli army.

In this second film and 10 years later Jossi is a cardiologist. He is overweight, closeted, still in mourning, and leads a dismal, inactive, non-life. In one sense, what kept the movie interesting for me was Jossi’s refusal to react to any stimulus or friendly offer of some activity. Supposedly the “happy” ending is his finding someone to love. HOWEVER (and other critics disliked the same things) his new love, Tom, is a much younger, fitter soldier who forces Jossi to react to his overtures. Tom says he is attracted to Jossi’s intelligence. They have a one-night stand after which Jossi proposes that they spend their life together. None of this is realistic and seemed to me almost silly.

In summary I was moved by Jossi’s suffering (probably clinical depression) and waited hopefully for some solution. If only that solution had made some sense.

Instead, why not watch a wonderful film by the same director called Walk On Water ?

2012, Based on a Book, Fantasy, Gay theme, Human spirit, Nuclear energy, Optimistic, Sci-Fi, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Violent

Cloud Atlas (2012)

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From Netflix:

In this star-studded drama, six seemingly disparate stories take viewers from a South Pacific Island in the 19th century to 1970s America to a dystopian future, exploring the complicated links that humans share through the generations.

In Mitchell’s novel each of the various episodes, all of which are related one to another, continue uninterrupted up to a cliff-hanging point of the episode near its end. At the end of the novel each of the episodes concludes.

In the film, on the other hand, those episodes are shuffled like a deck of cards. You constantly and abruptly flit from episode to episode.

Story alone will get you through the 172 minutes, even if not all the actors (some quite well known, but mum’s the word) excel at their craft.

For me the most unsettling thread was the account of Corpocracy. Could that really happen? In the book names of objects are replaced by their brand names. For example, the word “Lipton” is used instead of the archaic “tea”. Also I found the costumes for that portion eerily appropriate.

Believe it or not, I preferred the film. Enjoy!

1994, British Mystery Series, Child Molestation, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Gay theme, Gritty, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Rugby, Small Town, Violent, Wales

A Mind to Kill (1994)

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From Netflix:

Homicide detective Noel Bain (Philip Madoc) specializes in solving crimes the old-fashioned way: with keen intuition and deductive reasoning rather than high-tech gadgets and forensics. A prickly widower obsessed with his work, Bain always nabs the bad guys. His workaholic tendencies infuriate his teenage daughter, Hannah (Ffion Wilkins), but he strives to protect her from the relentless brutality he witnesses every day in his beloved Wales.

Available from Netflix only on disc (no streaming) with subtitles, this gritty detective series occurring in Wales is well-written and well-acted.

Add this to your list of gritty British detective TV series and enjoy. In this gritty category I would rate this series DO NOT MISS!

2013, Alcoholism, Car Chase, Complicated, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Gay theme, Political Suspense, Politicians, Revenge, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

Broken City (2013)

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From NetFlix:

After private detective Billy Taggart informs the mayor of New York that his wife is having an affair, the woman’s lover turns up dead. In short order, the PI learns that his mayor boss is at the center of some very shady real estate dealings.

Once you start watching you will be glued to the screen. Russel Crowe is the perfect smooth talking corrupt mayor of New York. He makes such a good villain that you can’t wait for Mark Wahlberg to render Crowe his just desserts.

And just when you think Mark has him it turns out to be not that easy, which makes the final 10 minutes really interesting. But if you were “Billy” (Mark Wahlberg), what would you do ?

Hold on tight!

1994, British, Catholic culture, Child Molestation, Drama, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Religious Theme

Priest (1994)

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From NetFlix:

Director Antonia Bird’s film centers on Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache), a devout Catholic priest who struggles with a love for his church and congregation — and his secret life as a homosexual with a gay lover (Robert Carlyle). After hearing the confession of a young girl in his parish, who tells him her father is sexually abusing her, the priest is torn between the laws of the church and his need to choose one life over the other.

When this film appeared in 1994 the reviews were a mixture of praise and condemnation. Here the thesis is that the Catholic church is out-of-date and needs to change. No matter your opinion in this case, from an artistic standpoint many viewers, myself included, found the film often preachy, overly melodramatic, and driven by a prejudiced agenda. Still, the film held my attention throughout.

Three separate issues run through the film: Father Matthew Thomas (Tom Wilkinson) is living with the housekeeper, Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache) is gay, and a parishoner is sexually abusing his young daughter. With this last item the problem is that due to the “seal of confession” Father Greg feels he cannot tell anyone.

Some sex scenes between Father Greg and his male lover Graham (Robert Carlyle) are explicit.

In watching an old film it can be fun seeing actors that you know from films and TV closer to the present:

  • Linus Roache played Michael Cutter in both “Law and Order” and “Law and Order SVU”.
  • Tom Wilkinson has a huge acting resume. You may recall him as Graham Dashwood in “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
  • Robert Carlyle also has a long resume. You may remember his as Gaz in the 1997 film “The Full Monty”.

My strongest reaction to this film was: “Here we are 19 years after the film was made and there have been no changes in the Catholic church”. Surprise!

2012, Clever Plot, Conspiracy, Crime, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Gay theme, Lawyers, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Murder Investigation, Plot Twist, Political Suspense, Religious Theme, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, TV Series, Wonderful acting

Scandal (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Olivia Pope leads a team of Washington, D.C., lawyers who specialize in making scandals disappear. As they secretly handle crises at the highest levels of government, the dysfunctional team must also cope with problems closer to home.

Another TV series that can be streamed with NetFlix, “Scandal” is a fast-paced, well-written, well-acted page-turner that reminds me of the excellent House of Cards but in my opinion is better. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright carried “House of Cards” just as Tony Goldwyn (President Fitz Grant) and Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope) carry “Scandal”. Both series involve the politics in Washington D.C.

Season one is a series of episodes all related to one another. In addition to individual clients there is an ongoing story line involving Olivia Pope and President Fitz Grant. Along the way there are many plot twists that keep the story fresh and insistent. As you finish one episode you will be sorely tempted to immediately watch the next episode.

Emphasis throughout is on the interaction of personalities rather than details such as police procedurals. In fact, the acting is good and there are some very tender moments between people who love each other.

Season one ends satisfactorily with justice meted out to almost all the bad guys, but the ending also is a cliff hanger just crying for season two.

If you enjoyed “House of Cards” you will like “Scandal” even more. DO NOT MISS!

2012, Could be boring, Could Be Sad, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Love Story, Nudity, Quiet

Keep the LIghts On (2012)

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From NetFlix:

The physical romance between a gay filmmaker and an attorney soon evolves into a more complex relationship, laced with conflicting desires. Over several turbulent years, both men struggle to build a true acceptance of the other’s strengths and flaws.

That the two protagonists happen to be two gay males is almost beside the point. Suppose they were a straight couple. Suppose they “hook-up” casually. Suppose they develop a friendship. Suppose A falls in love with B (and suppose B also loves A, but in this film that is questionable). Suppose B has a serious drug problem. Suppose the friends of B stage an intervention and B agrees to accept treatment. Suppose for awhile A and B are happy together. Suppose B falls off the wagon and disappears for awhile. If you were A, what would you do?

Forgive my hard heart, but if I were A I would run as fast as I could from the relationship. Now you have to watch the film to see what happens.

Perhaps this warning is unnecessary, but there is a lot of explicit male with male sexual activity. It might just as well have been male with female activity. And the sex is somewhat besides the point. Tough decisions is what this film is really about.

Some parts are boring or overly long. Some parts ring incredibly true to life. There is a lot of quiet conversation. Think of the plot as an ordinary story that is enacted over and over in much of the world and we are invisible spectators. Sometimes I yawned but for much of the time I was drawn to real people going through some really rough times.

1980, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Dark, Detective, Gay theme, Grim, Mostly About Sex, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Plot Twist, Psychological Drama, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Transvestite theme, Violent, Vulgar

Cruising (1980)

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From NetFlix:

After a serial killer brutally murders several gay men in New York’s S&M and leather districts, cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) goes undercover on the streets, where he must learn the complex rules of the underground gay subculture if he’s to catch the psycho. Karen Allen co-stars as Burns’s girlfriend in this gritty 1980 thriller, which sparked protests from gay rights groups at the time of its release but has since developed a minor cult status.

“Lurid” is the first adjective that comes to mind. The Stonewall riots occurred in 1959. By 1980 the gay movement was strong enough to protest this film which depicts an aberrant side of gay culture. Indeed the strong gay protests are described in the Wikipedia article about the film.

Expect “grungy” scenes in this cult classic with a wonderfully ambiguous ending.

2006, Arab Culture, Crude Talk, Dancing, Explicit sex, Flirting, Gay theme, Hebrew and Arabic, Jewish Culture, Love Story, Military, Nudity, Political statement, Race Relations, Suicide, Suspense, Violent, War, Wonderful acting

The Bubble (2006)

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From NetFlix:

When a young Israeli named Noam (Ohad Knoller) falls for a handsome Palestinian (Yousef “Joe” Sweid) he meets while working at a checkpoint in Tel Aviv, he recruits his roommates Yelli (Alon Friedman) and Lulu (Daniela Virtzer) to help find a way for the two to stay together. Director Eytan Fox’s poignant film offers a glimpse at life inside the tumultuous borders of Israel, where everyday people are constantly surrounded by conflict.

Two themes run concurrently throughout this film: The difficulty of being gay in the Arab world (Israel is very accepting) and the constant wearying and dangerous conflict between Jews And Arabs.

Previously I reviewed Yossi and Jagger which was written and directed by Etan Fox. Ohad Knoller who was the lead actor in that film is also the lead Jewish character in “The Bubble”. He again plays a Gay Jew who this time falls in love with a Gay Arab named Ashraf. Arab culture is strongly homophobic so that Ashraf’s life becomes not only difficult but dangerous. Much film footage is devoted to the perilous border crossing where several sad scenes are enacted.

Realize that the cast of characters are young adults and as such spend their time talking about romances and popular music. But the entire film rings true as it portrays the lives of young single (and mostly Gay) Jews most of whom are tired of and against the unending war.

WARNING: In the film Gays exchange much same-sex kissing. Additionally there is one explicit scene in which the two male leads engage in anal intercourse.

For Ashraf the situation seems hopeless (for further reasons as the film develops) and this hopelessness leads to a surprising but possible fitting conclusion. Comments welcome.

Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.

2002, Cooking and food, Crude Talk, Drama, Gay theme, Jewish Culture, Military, War

Yossi and Jagger (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Two Israeli soldiers try to find solace from the constant grind of war in this moving romantic drama. While preparing for a daring moonlit ambush in the snowy mountains of Lebanon, company commander Yossi (Ohad Knoller) and his platoon leader, Jagger (Yehuda Levi), fall in love, carefully hiding their relationship from their comrades. But will the tragedy of war ultimately intrude upon the men’s clandestine affair?

In the New York Times appeared a discussion of the Israeli director Etan Fox and his work over the years which is best summarized with this quote from IMDB:

What is it like to be young in Israel, particularly in the “bubble” called Tel-Aviv? How can you be gay in this country, even in the macho Army named Tzahal? How can you fall in love in a tiny tension-filled country? Can you consider the Palestinians as friends rather than enemies? All these are questions raised by Eytan Fox’s films and TV films…

If you have not yet seen his Walk on Water then you have a treat coming.

If nothing else this film affords us a glimpse into the daily lives of Israeli soldiers. Moreover it avoids the usual gay film clichés. Nothing more than kisses occur on screen.