Category Archives: Gay theme

2004, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Explicit sexual discussion, Gay theme, Nudity, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense

Walk on Water (2004)

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From NetFlix:

American-born Israeli director Eytan Fox lenses this contemporary road movie that takes its Israeli characters to Berlin as they attempt to understand the role that the past still plays in the lives of young Israeli and German people. Stars Lior Ashkenzai, Carola Ranier, Hans Tischler, Israeli Gideon Shemer and Yousuf Swaid. The soundtrack includes tunes by Esther Ofarim, Bruce Springsteen, Telepopmusic and Gigliola Cinquetti.

Thanks to my Spanish teacher Joaquín for lending me this film. If any theme is strongest, it is that of personal change and overcoming prejudices. The plot itself offers many surprising turns all the way to the end of the film. In fact for me this was one of those films in which the suspense of the plot line is so strong that I could not even pause the film for a second.

No film is perfect. The main actor, the Mossad assassin, was best when he was purposely emotionless. In one scene he is not terribly successful in portraying remorse. Was the ending a bit too good to be true ? And of course the Mossad agent is an expert martial artist.

This film is not for children not so much because of its gay subtheme but because there is very explicit discussion of gay sexual practices.

If I had not seen this movie, I would have missed a really worthwhile film.

2006, Could Be Hard To Watch, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Gay theme, Love Story, Non-physical Violence, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Redemption, War

The Secret Life of Words (2005)

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From NetFlix:

After surviving the war in Yugoslavia, taciturn nurse Hanna (Sarah Polley) heads to Ireland for some rest and relaxation. But when she hears about an oil-rig accident off the coast, she agrees to tend heroic burn victim Josef (Tim Robbins). Personalities clash aboard the derrick as Hanna contends with Josef, a Russian soldier (Sverre Anker Ousdal), a lively Spanish chef (Javier Cámara) and other oddballs in this compelling character study.

Where to begin with this superb but disturbing film ?

If anything, this is a story of a severly damaged woman little by little returning to life due to her nursing the burn survivor Tim Robbins on the almost deserted oil-rig. It is also the story of his gradual return to life physically and mentally. His character has a wonderful talent for words. From the very outset he is determined to break through Hanna’s defenses, initially just because he is a very accomplished flirt. Both he and she have some horrible history which eventually emerges.

Some of the other actors are notable. I won’t say what role she plays (it is part of the mystery surrounding Hanna) but Julie Christie is still a beautiful woman with those startling blue eyes. It took me awhile to place the cook Jose Cámara. He was one of the men who was a caretaker for a comatose girl friend in the Almodóvar film “Hable Con Ella”.

I have some nitpiks: It would have been impossible in my opinion for the burn victim to have located Julie Christie’s character. Also Kathy and I found the ending to be too good to be true.

Challenge: Who or what was the childlike voice narrator ?

The next paragraph is a spoiler, but I owe it to you. WARNING: if vivid descriptions of war atrocities bother you, do NOT watch this film.

2006, 2007, 2008, Acceptable Trash, Gay theme, Love Story, Nudity, Sci-Fi, TV Series, Violent

Torchwood (2006)

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From NetFlix:

In this series that spun off from “Doctor Who,” policewoman Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) stumbles upon a secret organization known as Torchwood, a clandestine group led by the mysterious Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) that monitors alien activity on Earth. Cooper soon joins Harkness, tech expert Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) and medic Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) in their quest to protect Earth from invasion.

OK all you kids out there, if you liked either “Doctor Who” or “Lost” or “X-Files” and are into a lot of sex (and some violence) this is a TV series for you. You don’t have to know anything about “Doctor Who”, you just need to have that mindset. Certain characters are straight and others are gay and some few seem not to have made up their minds just yet. Start with Season One and work your way through Season Two and Season Three.

Season One

Nothing more than acceptable trash, this TV series can still be fun to watch. To give you a taste of the kind of nonsense involved, consider: An alien has come to Earth in search of orgasmic energy (yes, that is correct). This alien enters the body of a young woman who then serially attracts male sex partners. But as each young man reaches climax he turns into a small pile of dust. In time there is a trail of small piles of dust. Heard enough ?

As I recall, the last disk (7?) of Season One is not episodes, but rather extra commentary. You might not want to waste a rental on this last disc.

Season Two

Every review I read says that Season Two is better and I agree. Some episodes are stupid. But for the most part the plots are clever and varied. More interesting is that mixed in with all the nonsense are valid situations applicable to real life. For example, the fiancee of one couple has to keep her membership in Torchwood secret from her boy friend. He feels neglected, etc. etc. Sound familiar ?

Torchwood actually kills its characters permanently. The joke (ahem, important feature), however, is that Jack Harkness is condemned to live forever young. Many episodes kill him in all sorts of diabolical ways and he just keeps coming back for more. You really don’t believe I am saying this, right ?

Besides, when have you ever been to a wedding in which the bride is unfortunately pregnant with an alien whose mother alien is at the wedding in disguise waiting to nab the baby alien ?

Season Three

Season Three is one long multi-part story “Children of the Earth”. Aliens have come to earth. These aliens truly can destroy the earth at their whim. We are defenseless. The aliens demand that we give them ten percent of all the children of the earth (never mind why – you have to watch the show). What do you suppose the British politicians do in such a desperate situation ? What would you do ?

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No one over the mental age of, say, 16 need apply. So why on earth am I watching this garbage ? That’s easy …

I LOVE TRASH !

1997, Drama, Explicit sex, French, Gay theme, Not Feel Good

Dry Cleaning (1997)

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From NetFlix:

For 15 years, Nicole (Miou Miou) and Jean-Marie (Charles Berling) have worked side by side at their dry cleaning establishment, building a business and maintaining a seemingly peaceful marriage. But a chance encounter with Loic (Stanislas Merhar), the male half of a brother-sister nightclub act they catch one night, forces the two to reevaluate their relationship, leading them to wonder whether they ought to be together at all.

What starts off slowly with a visit to a nightclub to see an act that only a French person might possibly appreciate, eventually turns into a sexual “who will do what to whom”. I can give nothing away, including an ending that I did not expect. But I would enjoy hearing anyone’s reaction to this film. But then as May West would have said “So many films, so little time”. (That is not quite what she said).

2008, Biographical, Gay theme, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Milk (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about
Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was
murdered along with mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city
employee Dan White (Josh Brolin, in an Oscar-nominated role) in 1978. Director
Gus Van Sant’s compelling biopic (nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award)
co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna.

Where to begin! That’s easy: First you could watch The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) which is an excellent documentary. More than that, ‘Milk’ often intersperses parts of the documentary into the film. Secondly, there is an excellent Wikipedia article on Harvey Milk which is long and very detailed.

I worry about a film which is an historical interpretation lest it become an historical distortion. For example, at one point Sean Penn says he thinks Dan White is really a closeted gay. Did the real Milk ever say such a thing? If not, I object to inserting such a gratuitous comment. However, the Wikipedia article together with the documentary lend much credibility to the Hollywood version. The article more than the film shows Harvey Milk as a complicated man who in fact did have many sexual affairs, who had a bit of an an attitude and could be very difficult to get along with, had several lovers involved with suicides (threatened and real), and who in his 40s was pushed into reacting and becoming involved politically by external forces. Granted any film has to focus on some aspect of the subject and there is too much to tell about Milk and his colorful era to put into one film.

Sean Penn captured Harvey Milk surprisingly close in looks but especially in manner as the documentary shows the ever smiling Milk. Josh Brolin looked like and captured Dan White to a remarkable degree. In fact, the very end of the film pairs photos of actors with their real-life counterparts, and the similarities are often striking.

The documentary (and, in all fairness, the film) made it clear that the double murder was meticulously planned. I wish the film had explained more what a joke the murder trial was (e.g. gays were excluded from the jury). The Wikipedia article explains how the “twinkie defense” motivated subsequent California laws which abolished “diminished capacity” as a defense to a charge.

1001BeforeDie, 2006, Comedy, Feel Good Not For Children, Gay theme

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Convinced little Olive (Abigail Breslin) is beauty queen material, parents Richard (Greg Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family embark on a life-altering road trip to a pageant in this madcap comedy. Struggling motivational speaker Richard pushes Olive to win, while her silent brother (Paul Dano), depressed uncle (Steve Carell) and nursing-home reject grandpa (Alan Arkin, in an Oscar-winning role) add their own quirks to the mix.

I did not need “1001 Films To See Before You Die” to tell me this is a “must see” film. The ensemble acting is well-done. The family bus all by itself is a real hoot. Little Olive is just plain cute and her final beauty queen performance is an unexpected riot. But with all its sexual references, it is not for small children.

1001BeforeDie, 2006, Acceptable Trash, Comedy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Gay theme, Unusual, Vulgar

Borat (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Fans of the HBO comedy series “Da Ali G Show” will be delighted to join one of their favorite characters — the Kazakhstani reporter Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen, in a Golden Globe-winning role) — as he travels to America to report on the “greatest country in the world.” Camera in tow, the boorish journalist sets off on his cross-country road trip, but his original purpose is soon subsumed by a much greater quest — finding and marrying actress Pamela Anderson.

If you think Mel Brooks (think “Blazing Saddles”) was politically incorrect, wait until you watch “Borat” which has the dubious distinction of offending the entire planet. Let’s call this film “acceptable trash” although I admit it is really funny in some parts. At other times I could hardly believe what I was seeing in a film. Today fims show extreme violence as comedy (“Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”) as well as explicit sex as comedy (“Choke”). So bad taste as comedy has become part of our culture. For another discussion see the Wikipedia Borat article.

Recall that in each scene there is a camera somewhere. Consider, therefore, the “healing” fundamentalist revival service. What was in the minds of the congregation during the filming ? Was this whole thing just a put-on ?

In any case, you are warned that you too might be offended by this film which, believe it or not, is one of the “1001 Films To See Before You Die”.

1001BeforeDie, 2005, Could Be Sad, Gay theme, Not Feel Good, Western

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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From NetFlix:

Two sheepherders — Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) — meet and fall in love while working together near Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Over the next 20 years, their lives take different courses: Jack becomes a rodeo cowboy while Ennis remains a ranch hand. Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid and Michelle Williams co-star. Ang Lee directs screenwriter Larry McMurtry’s adaptation of a short story by E. Annie Proulx.

Whether you have or have not yet seen this film (recommended in “1001 Films to See Before You Die”), I urge you to read the short story by Annie Proulx of the same title. It was a “Best American Short Story” for its year of publication. When I started reading the short story in the “Best” book , I did not know what it was about. By the time I was finished I was stunned. I had never read anything like it. I prefer the short story to the film which really adds nothing. But who would have suspected that 4 years after the film one of its stars, Heath Ledger, would be dead by apparent suicide.

1987, Biographical, Drama, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Non-physical Violence, Nudity, True Story, Unusual, Violent, Vulgar

Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

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From NetFlix:

Gifted British filmmaker Stephen Frears brings to the screen the troubled life of bold 1960s writer Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) in this portrait of an obsessive, controlling coupling set against history. Orton’s infamous relationship with his tempestuous lover, Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina), fueled but also eventually destroyed Orton — literally and figuratively — at a time when the world didn’t at all embrace or understand homosexuality.

Absolutely not for everyone. Vulgar, explicit, no-holds-barred British film about a possibly talented playwright who was egocentric, cruel, and enjoyed taking chances. Watching this supposedly true biographical exposé was a bit like playing peeping tom. However, it WAS interesting. You are warned!