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

Dance Hall (DVD)

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In the pantheon of Ealing films, Dance Hall is one of the ones that normally gets ignored. That’s partly because when it was released it was dismissed by male critics who looked at is as rather irrelevant, due to the fact it was about working class women. However in recent years it’s had a bit of a reappraisal, not because it’s actually an overlooked masterpiece, but because it’s one of the few movies made not long after the Second World War that does concentrate on the lives of normal women. [Read more…]

Yossi (DVD)

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Etyan Fox’s 2002 film Yossi & Jagger has become a bit of a gay fave, and now 10 years later he catches up with one of the title characters in Yossi. The earlier movie followed two men in the Israeli army who fall in love against a backdrop of a military that doesn’t look favourably of gay liaisons. Now Yossi (Ohad Knoller) is a doctor in a hospital, leading a rather lonely, solitary life that revolves around his work, internet porn and looking for one night stands (that don’t always go well). [Read more…]

The Arrival Of Wang (DVD)

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As The Arrival Of Wang is being brought out by an imprint of LGBT specialist distributor Peccadillo Pictures, you could be forgiven for thinking the title refers to something far saucier that what this film actually is. However Saffron Hill Films has been set up to handle their genre titles, with this one being a sci-fi thriller from Italy.

Gaia (Francesca Cuttica) is a translator who’s called out of the blue to take a rush job. Before she knows it she’s in the back of a car being blindfolded so that she doesn’t know where they’re going. She’s taken to a room where she’s told she’ll have to translate from Mandarin into English. Initially she’s not allowed to see the speaker, but when they eventually agree to switch the lights on, she finds an alien sitting opposite to her, tied to a chair. [Read more…]

Anton Corbijn Inside Out (DVD)

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Most people know Anton Corbijn as a music video director and more recently for his films such as Control and The American. But as Inside Out reveals, it’s really photography that’s at his heart and which he’s perhaps most renowned for in artistic and music circles.

This documentary follows Corbijn, trying to get inside his head and find out who he is. The results are interesting if sometimes a little frustrating. Inside Out tends to assume you know about Corbijn’s work and how from the 80s until now, his photographs (particularly of music figures) and videos have made him a renowned figure. If you don’t, the early parts of the film in particular are a bit oblique, supposing an understanding of his work that not all viewers will have. It’s more about looking at the man behind the work than revealing what the work is by looking at the man. [Read more…]

The Doom Generation (DVD)

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The second part of Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy – after Totally F***ed Up and before Nowhere – The Doom Generation holds a special place as one of the few films that truly helps define mid-90s indie cinema. It’s a movie that feeds off Generation X nihilism and the anger of post-punk youth to create a road trip film that feels both meaningful and pointless at the same time.

Amy (Rose McGowan) and her slightly dim boyfriend Jordan (James Duval) are out one night when their paths cross that of drifter Xavier (Johnathan Schaech). While Amy at first wants nothing to do with him, a strange bond develops after Xavier saves her life by literally shooting a gun-toting shop owner’s head off. [Read more…]

Urbanized (DVD)

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Gary Hustwit has made a bit of a name for himself making documentaries about subjects that sound like they’ll be dull, but in his hands turn out to be far more interesting than you’d expect. His design trilogy kicked off with Helvetica, about a text font, and he followed that up with Objectified, about the relationship between manufactured objects and the people who design them. Just reading that sentence you could make you fall asleep, but believe it or not, the documentaries are fascinating.

Hustwit rounds out the trilogy with Urbanized, where he tries to outdo himself in making a documentary about a boring sounding subject, as it’s about urban planning. Once more though he proves that what may initially seem deathly dull is actually fascinating in the right hands. [Read more…]

Buffering (DVD)

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Bristol wouldn’t spring to most people’s minds as a hotspot of gay cinema, but it’s been getting that way in the last few years thanks to a bunch of dedicated guys who between them have brought us the likes of Shank, Release and now Buffering.

Seb (Alex Anthony) and Aaron (Conner McKenzy) are two young gay guys trying to live out a suburban idyll in their own house full of the domestic niceties. However the recession has hit and unbeknownst to Seb, Aaron has lost his job and they’re way behind on the mortgage. It’s gotten to the point where there’s only a short time to sort things out before the bank comes and takes their home. Things are compounded when Seb loses his job as well. [Read more…]