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

GAY INTEREST MOVIE REVIEWS

The latest gay interest film reviews from BGPS

Prayers For Bobby (2009)

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Despite Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, Prayers For Bobby never got a DVD release in the UK, although it has been shown up on British TV (which is where I saw it for this review). You can sort of understand why it never made it to DVD, as while it stars Sigourney Weaver – who puts in a superb performance – it feels very much an afternoon TV movie, with all the sentimentality and melodrama that suggests. That said, it’s undoubtedly moving.

Based on a true story, the film is about the devoutly religious Mary Griffiths (Weaver) and her teenaged son, Bobby (Ryan Kelley). Bobby is having a tough time dealing with his sexuality. He confides that he might be gay to his brother, who proceeds to tell the rest of the family. Mary is adamant that Bobby can change and that with the help of the church he can become straight. While Bobby initially agrees to this as he desperately wants to be normal and have the acceptance of his family, he comes to realise he can’t change. [Read more…]

Presque Rien (2000)

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In the years since it was made, Presque Rien has become a firm favourite of modern gay cinema, managing to be sexy, moving, dramatic and have something to say, while never forgetting to be entertaining.

18-year-old Mathieu is on holiday with his family at a seaside resort when he meets local boy Cedric. The two begin a passionate romance, having fun, skinny dipping, sunbathing and making love in the dunes.  However for Mathieu the relationship isn’t just about holiday fun, but an escape from his severely depressed mother, moody sister and the aftermath of the death of his brother. However his sudden secrecy and long hours away make his sister and aunt suspicious. [Read more…]

Bent (1997)

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It amazes me how many gay people know a pink triangle is a gay symbol but they don’t know why. However as gay history isn’t taught in schools, many don’t realise there is a long and complex history of homosexuality that goes beyond Ancient Greece and Oscar Wilde. Bent is based Martin Sherman’s play and stars Clive Owen as Max, who lives a decadent gay life in 1930s Germany, not caring who he hurts and feeling his looks and charm will get him everything he wants.

However as the Nazis’ power increases, life gets increasingly difficult for gay people and the net closes in on Max, who eventually gets rounded up and sent to Dachau. Once there he denies he’s gay, preferring the yellow star of David saying he Jewish to the pink triangle admitting he’s gay, as he knows Jews are more likely to survive than homosexuals. There he meets Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), who isn’t ashamed of wearing his pink triangle, and despite the difficulties and torments of concentration camp life, the two men form a complex bond. [Read more…]

Nighthawks (1978)

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With the release of Weekend on DVD and Blu-ray, it seems a good time to revisit Nighthawks, a movie I’d be willing to bet served as a major inspiration for Andrew Haigh’s recent gay hit, but made 34 years before. Nighthawks is generally agreed to be Britain’s first ‘gay movie’, as while homosexuality had been seen on screen before, this was the first Brit flick to be told non-judgementally, from a gay perspective and not trading in crude stereotypes.

The film follows Londoner Jim (Ken Robertson), a teacher by day who spends his evenings cruising bars and discotheques (remember, this is 1978, when discotheques were cool!), picking up different men and trying to connect with them in various ways, whether it’s just for sex, attempting a fledgling relationship or becoming friends. He tries to keep his two lives separate, something that seems as much a necessity as something he actually wants. [Read more…]

Eating Out: The Open Weekend (DVD)

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The Eating Out films are a bit of an achievement, as I can’t think of any film series made with an almost exclusively gay audience in mind that’s managed to reach five instalments. After last year’s extremely fun and breezy Drama Camp, the guys are now back for The Open Weekend.

Zack (Chris Salvatore) and his new boyfriend Benji (Aaron Milo) head for a gay resort in Palm Springs for a weekend getaway. Benji has managed to get Zack to agree to having an open relationship while they’re away, even though Zack’s not keen and only said yes to keep his new beau happy. Also at the resort is Zack’s ex, Casey, who ends up pretending he has a new boyfriend, who’s actually an old friend he’s only just met up with again. [Read more…]

The Erotic Films Of Peter De Rome (DVD)

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It’s an age old debate – where is the edge between pornography and art? It’s an almost impossible question to answer. In 1964 US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart came up with the famous description, ‘I know it when I see it’, due to his and many other’s inability to say exactly where the line between art and porn is. Since then few people have come up with a better definition. The Erotic Films Of Pete De Rome is a particularly interesting challenge to this blurred line as it’s undeniably both, but the more interesting question is whether it was ‘art’ when it was made, or if it’s become that in the time since? [Read more…]

Encounters: Four Ground-breaking Classics Of Gay Cinema (DVD)

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Before the 1980s, depictions of gay life onscreen were rare things, so that anything from the 70s or before is unusual, intriguing and worth seeking out. With Encounters, the BFI has drawn together four short films on gay subjects made between 1965 and 1971, giving us a rare look at homosexuality during that time (and not as it was remembered afterwards, which is our usual view of gay history). Making any sort of film on a gay subject back then was a bit of an achievement and a fairly subversive act, so while there’s not a vast amount of pre-80s gay films, we’re privileged to have what we’ve got. [Read more…]

Weekend (Blu-ray)

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A film which consists in large part of two gay blokes sitting around talking doesn’t immediately smack of something that would set the critical world alight and bag awards at the likes of the British Independent Film Awards, The Evening Standard British Film Awards and the London Critics Circle Film Awards. Weekend did just that though, and it deserved every award and more. Indeed if the world was fair and small independent movies could compete on a level playing field with the big boys, it should have scored a fair few BAFTA noms too.

The film opens on a Friday evening with the quiet, self-effacing Russell (Tom Cullen) heading off to his straight mates’ house before pretending that he’s tired, begging his leave and going to a gay club on the pull. There he meets the louder, brasher Glen (Chris New) and the two end up in bed together. The next morning, Glen gets out his tape recorder as Russell has drunkenly promised to be part of his art project, where he gets people to record their thoughts. [Read more…]

La Cage Aux Folles (1978)

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The 1978 movie La Cage Aux Folles (itself based on a stage play) has had quite a life, getting two sequels, being remade as the hit 1996 Hollywood hit The Birdcage and also ending up as a massively successful Broadway musical, which gave us the song, I Am What I Am. The film that started all this off is fun but relatively small, but it stands loud and proud as one of the first movies that put gay characters front and centre, making them the heroes. Although there are several things that seem slightly old-fashioned about its attitudes to homosexuality, compared to nearly every other gay-themed movie of the era, it’s astonishingly progressive and fun. [Read more…]

Le Clan (DVD)

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The 2005 French flick gets a welcome re-release. Le Clan follows three young brothers, with the narrative split into three sections, each focussing on a different brother, but carrying on the overall story.

Things start off with middle-brother Marc (Nicolas Cazale), who’s a bit of a hard nut and on the edge of the drug dealing world. When a deal goes wrong, his life is suddenly in danger, which may have dangerous repercussions for both him and his dog. Older brother Christophe is fresh out of prison and trying to turn his life around, getting a job in a meat packing factory. Finally there’s Olivier, who’s carrying on a secret relationship with another young man, trying to find his way to happiness against the backdrop of his slightly wayward brothers and harsh father. [Read more…]