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

Prom King, 2010 (Iris Prize Best Feature Winner Review) – Will a young man find Hollywood love or just feel like a gay imposter?

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Charlie (Christopher Schaap) is a young gay man in college. He has grown up watching classic Hollywood movies, which have filled his head with the idea that love should feel like it’s in slow motion and in Technicolor hyper-reality. However, as he negotiates romance, friendship and the realities of being gay in the 21st Century, he soon discovers things aren’t going to be as simple as they are in an old black and white romances.

Over the course of his college career Charlie looks for love, getting very close to it with some guys, but spectacularly failing with others. As he discovers, hot waiters who take your anal virginity, or friends you might have feelings for don’t offer ‘happily ever after’ just because it would be neat if they did. It may not just be his need for a fully symphonic Hollywood love story that’s the problem though, as it can be tough just to find your place in a gay world that you don’t quite feel like you belong to. [Read more…]

Chance (BFI Flare Review)

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Shown as part of the Fragile Things grouping of short films at BFI Flare this year, Chance is the story of an unlikely love that develops between two very lovely differently-heartbroken individuals.

Clifford Hume’s portrayal of a man lost in a deep depression after the death of his wife is touching and absolutely spot-on: His daily struggles are shown in a tender yet unflinching light and Chance‘s minimal dialogue serves to underscore those feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Tight close-ups and beautifully framed wide shots in a park underline masterfully the loneliness and, later, the growing companionship the main characters find in one another. [Read more…]

Fragile Things Short Films (BFI Flare Review)

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Curtains
Dir. Nathan Evans
Curtains is the warts-and-all story of an unlikely love triangle between two gay men and a lesbian. Very touching and authentic, this is a really well-portrayed short story that raises questions about the nature of fidelity, sex and relationships. While there are no weak links in the cast, Dave Kelley gives an outstanding performance in the central role. [Read more…]

The View From Here Short Films (BFI Flare Review)

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The View From Here – a collection of short films centring on coming out and the emotional minefields associated with such a life-changing action.

An Afternoon (En Apftermiddag)
Dir. Soren Green
A very sweet yet tense coming-out story involving two young friends. With communication restricted mostly to lingering looks, semi-articulate teenage grunts and text messages, this feels convincingly teenage, with the boys seemingly authentically struggling with feelings they’re not entirely confident about and have no idea how to express. A contemporary story told deftly and convincingly by everyone involved. [Read more…]

Out To Win (BFI Flare Review)

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Out To Win is an interesting and intimate documentary of LGBT sporting history over the past 40 years.

Beginning as a retrospective, Out To Win looks at how attitudes and conceptions of gay sports stars has changed since 1975 when David Kopay came out as the first professional gay NFL player. Featuring interviews with several now-retired athletes including Kopay, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, all of whom have lived through scandal and prejudice and had their careers damaged as a result of their sexuality being made public.

In the telling of their now historical comings-out, these elder statesmen and women of gay sports are able to tell their stories in a non-sensationalised context, allowing them to discuss openly and honestly how things have changed since their (often forced) exposure and the work they’ve done to ease the process for younger athletes who’ve found themselves in similar situations. [Read more…]

Vivant! (Alive!) (BFI Flare Review)

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Vivant covers the week of training undergone by five HIV+ men leading up to their first solo parachute jump, and documents the development of unlikely friendships that develop between such a disparate group.

The Director’s decision to focus quite evenly between the interpersonal relationships of the five men and on the quite intense training for the parachute jump makes for an interesting mix. The training is obviously both physically and mentally demanding, and there are points when these men visibly struggle to assimilate all the information needed to make a successful jump. [Read more…]