Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Call Me A Ghost (Gay Adult Short Film Review) – Can porn explore sadness?

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A few months ago we reviewed explicit filmmaker Noel Alejandro’s short film Thank You, which impressed us by creating porn that felt more grounded and real than most. Now he’s back with Call Me A Ghost, which brings a touch of the supernatural to hardcore gay movies.

However, perhaps the most surprising thing is that it’s porn where the main character is sad. Mixing sadness and depression with sex isn’t unheard of in other sorts of movies – often shown as an act of desperation or the need to feel something, with the actual sex depicted as a negative thing. Things are different here, with the sex bringing connection and erotic charge. It may not ‘solve’ the main character’s melancholia, but neither is it depicted as the symptom of something bad. [Read more…]

Thank You (Gay Adult Short Film Review)

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Most of the time the term ‘art-porn’ isn’t quite correct. It refers to explicit sexuality in films that are otherwise ‘normal’ movies, with the ‘porn’ term used because erections and real sex are normally the preserve of that genre. However, the likes of Shortbus, Intimacy, Romance and others can’t really be considered porn. Indeed, many of these movies seem absolutely determined that despite how explicit they are, what they’re showing must not be considered erotic in any way, as if admitting that would diminish their legitimacy (Shortbus being an exception, which isn’t afraid to suggest sex can be fun).

However, Noel Alejandro’s short film Thank You, legitimately is ‘art porn’, joining the likes of Travis Mathews’ I Want Your Love and TheBlackSpark Project as something that is unabashedly erotic but aspires to be more than solely about getting people off. The setup is classic porn – two men come together and have very explicit sex, with the majority of the running time taken up with foreplay, BJs and screwing. In other ways though it’s something a little more. It has a simple but effective plot, decent acting and a genuine filmmaker’s interest in lighting, shot composition and editing. [Read more…]