Boys On Film 1: Hard Love (DVD)

Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here.

Anyone with an interest in gay cinema will know that the feature-length efforts that emerge each year are a very variable bunch, and it’s difficult to escape the feeling that a lot of the dodgier ones would have had difficulty finding a release if they’d been about straight characters. However there’s a huge amount of great work going on in the world of gay short films.

Peccadillo Pictures’ Boy On Film series is a wonderful showcase for these shorts, focussing on films about gay male characters and themes, and proving there’s an awful lot great filmmaking talent out there exploring gay issues. The eighth in the series, Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia, arrives on DVD on May 28th, but in the run up to that, Peccadillo has provided us with all the Boys On Film releases for us to review.

We start today with the first one, Hard Love, which features nine films ranging from comedy-horror and thrillers to documentaries and dramas. It’s a superb collection of shorts without a dud amongst them. Let’s break them down:

Summer (9 mins)
Director: Hong Khaou
This British short follows two teens who venture into the woods to catch a falling leaf, believing that if they can get one in mid-air, they can make a wish. However Leung’s secret wish is to have his desire for his friend Will requited, but what will happen when he makes his move? Short but packed with the sort of feeling and confusion many a gay man will remember from their teen years, Summer occasionally seems a tiny bit contrived, but it wins through with heart and charm.
6 out of 10

Gay Zombie (20 mins)
Director Michael Simon
You can’t get a more literal title than the comedy-horror Gay Zombie, which is about the undead Miles, who has to come to terms with the fact that not only is he a zombie, but he’s also gay. He meets Todd, who doesn’t seem to mind the fact Miles’ skin is sloughing off, but others aren’t so enlightened. Can Miles withstand his lust for eating brains and find love? It’s silly fun that tries to make a point about prejudice, even if mixing bigotry against zombies with bigotry against gays gets a little confused. However it will undoubtedly put a smile on your face.
6 out of 10

Serene Hunter (13 mins)
Director: Jason Bushman
Parisian Luc lives his life moving from hook up to hook up, actively trying to avoid connection. He has a boyfriend, but treats him like a roommate who shouldn’t expect any sort of commitment. Then the American Jon comes into town, someone Luc meets up with every time he’s in the country, which brings Luc’s life into focus and forces him to question what he’s looking for. With plenty of sex and a fair bit of nudity, Serene Hunter is an interesting look at hook up culture, highlighting issues that many people will be able to recognise. It perhaps doesn’t go as deep into things as it could have, but in a very short running time it gets you to feel for the characters, even if you may end up thinking Luc is his own worst enemy.
7 out of 10

Le Weekend (14 mins)
Director: Timothy Smith
Undoubtedly the highlight of the disc, Timothy Smith’s Le Weekend is the sort of film that could easily have turned into pretentious tosh, but manages to transcend that with an interesting style and very perceptive script. A young Frenchman called Seb heads for London, camera in hand, so that he can make a student film. However with no money he ends up befriending a stranger and going back to his place to stay the night. While Seb is straight, Omar is gay, but he needs a bed for the night. The short brings up a lot of modern issues that I’ve rarely seen dealt with before, looking at the edges of sexuality and the relationship between gay and straight people. Seb is a great character too, as he’s selfish, somewhat devious and spends most of the film lying, yet he also cares, really doesn’t want to hurt his new friend, and may have more sides to his sexuality than he’s aware of. In only 14 minutes Le Weekend balances an awful lot of issues and certainly makes you think.
9 out of 10

Cowboy Forever (26 mins)
Director: Jean Baptiste Erica
The second best short in the collection is this offering about a Brazilian gaucho called Govinda. A kind of docu-drama that’s fictionalised from a true story, Govinda befriends fellow cowboy John. On a trip to see people John knows, Govinda has his first brush with gay culture, which begins to open something inside him. John seems to know what’s happening and enjoy Govinda’s attentions, but what will the other gauchos think when they realise one of their own likes men? While a little rough around the edges, it’s a sweet tale that offers hope that no matter your background there’s hope for the future. People rarely think about what it’s like to be gay for people with no contact with any sort of LGBT culture, and this works as a tiny window onto that.
8 out of 10

Scarred (10 mins)
Director: Damien Rea
Rafi is having difficulty coming to terms with a facial scar left after a knife attack. He feels it’s a barrier to meeting other men – something that appears as much about his self-consciousness as it is their reaction. Then he gets set up with the seemingly charming Joe, who barely seems to notice the scar, but as the two get closer together, it becomes clear appearances can be deceptive. Scarred is an intriguing thriller, which does slightly falter in the last couple of minutes but nevertheless manages to cram a lot into its running time, exploring the differences between how things look and how they are, as well as how our reactions to things are conditioned by our expectations.
7 out of 10

Packed Lunch (24 mins)
Director: Tim Hunter
Some people really like Speedos, and if you’ve ever wondered how much, then this documentary is for you! With a rather homemade feel, Aussie director/narrator Tim Hunter chats to those who really, really love the skimpy swimwear and tries to discover exactly what it is about them that gets many gay men in a flap. Is it just the bulges they help display or is there something more to it than that? With a few surprisingly sexy and explicit shots, Packed Lunch is interesting even if it never feels like it’s getting to the heart of anything. However it has its moments, particularly when the interviewees talk about their first realisation that Speedos excited them, as well as an introduction to a guy who loves Speedos perhaps a little too much and likes to masturbate feverishly while covered in them!
5 out of 10

Mirror Mirror (11 mins)
Director: John Winter
As middle-aged Joe sits in front of a mirror in his bedroom, his transvestite alter-ego, the far feistier Jana, is reflected back at him. Joe feels his glory days are over and it’s time to put away the frocks, but Jana isn’t about to go without a fight. Nearly everything you ever see about drag queens is about the OTT camp, bitchiness associated with it, so it’s great to see something that concentrates on the sense of identity a drag persona can give people, as well as how it can be a way for people to feel beautiful and accepted by adopting an identity they don’t have to feel as self-conscious about. It’s also intriguing how Mirror Mirror shows that under the female glam of drag, some more traditionally male ideas about beauty and its transience can remain.
7 out of 10

VGL Hung (20 mins)
Director: Max Barber
Eurocreme is best known for its hardcore porn but also made this short, which features quite a few of their ‘actors’, even if the sex it features is very much of the softcore variety. Terry is an average looking chap who feels unlucky in love, although the problem may be that everywhere he’s looking is more about sex than romance. He then finds a website that doesn’t just offer sex partners, but even magically turns you into someone far more beautiful so you won’t turn off the hotties. Can Terry learn that what’s on the outside isn’t the most important thing? While quite fun, VGL Hung is a little bit too silly and obvious for its own good. It’s not exactly news that beauty is only skin deep and it’s what’s inside that counts, but this short is nevertheless entertaining and doesn’t outstay its welcome.
5 out of 10

Overall Verdict: A great disc packed with an eclectic array of fascinating gay shorts. A great start to a very good series of releases.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac