2024 Entry #35 04-12-24 “My Uncle’s Friend” (aka “O Amigo Do Meu Tio”) a heartbreaking and deeply personal 9 minute short 2021 documentary which was written and directed by Renato Turnes and stars Vicente Concilo as himself as he narrates imagery from old videos his father recorded between 1987 & 1993.
I wasn’t expecting this to be quite so affecting, so unabashedly honest and thoughtful. This is a really excellent piece about a child who was gay and what he felt and thought with much of it documented on camera. This is powerful stuff.
This short is available in the 2023 gay short film collection “Boys on Film 23: Dangerous to Know”.
2024 Entry #34 04-11-24 “The Slaughter Rule” is a 2002 American coming of age sports film written and directed by brothers Alex Smith and Andrew J. Smith. The Montanna set story mainly explores the relationship between straight small-town high school football player Roy Chutney (Ryan Gosling), and his troubled coach (David Morse), a seemingly queer character with layers of complexity, who has been both inspired and nearly destroyed by the harsh reality depicted within the confines of the film.
Another one I’ve owned for over 20 years, but which I’d never seen until today. This is not an easy film to watch at times. And it could be argued that it’s not a queer film at all, but I think that’s too simple a conclusion. It can be frustrating how much is or is not said in this film, and while it was praised for several aspects, the script was often criticized. It’s a bleak existence, this one, and if this were all the representation we had in the world, this would be more of a problem than it is. Still, this isn’t the happy-go-lucky flick most of you seem to be looking for and it’s definitely not romantic.
2024 Entry #33 04-11-24 “No Strings” is a 22 minute 2015 dramatic short film which was written and directed by Eoin Maher (“Thirst”). It’s available in the 2021 collection “The Male Gaze: Hide and Seek”.
The story follows a “no strings” hookup in London between Sean (Aaron Cini), an outgoing Irish man who is stranded with hookup Bryn (Richard Hay), an emotionally reclusive Welshman. I enjoyed most of this. There were a couple of moments that didn’t quite land but overall there were some nice surprises in here that were appreciated. It felt like time well spent, even if it wouldn’t make my top short list.
2024 Entry #32 04-09-24 “Elena Undone” is a 2010 romantic lesbian drama film which was written and directed by openly lesbian creative Nicole Conn (“Claire of the Moon”, “Little Man” & “More Beautiful for Having Been Broken”), loosely based on her romance with filmmaker Marina Rice Bader. The title character, Elena Winters (Necar Zadegan), is married to a cis male pastor named Barry (Gary Weeks), and they have a son named Nash (Connor Kramme). Elena crosses paths with Peyton Lombard (Traci Dinwiddie) and the two connect so intensely that it breaks Elena out of the malaise of her existence and embarks on a happier, more honest life.
I liked a big chunk of this movie; the part that plays at being a serious drama with the best of intentions but feels more like something you’d find buried in the back of the video store. But I disliked a lot of it as well, which mostly had to do with the chosen structure. The narrator, Tyler (played by the openly gay Sam Harris), has this new-agey, “two flames” or “twin flames” mentality that permeates the film and makes it all seem sillier at times than it needs to be. He has a series of interviews between happy couples throughout the film, including one between a pair who both have Dissociative Identity Disorder, and only one personality of either likes the other person’s specific personality. It was bizarre and could have worked for comedy if the rest of the movie had been funnier…and maybe it was meant to be? But I wasn’t laughing. And the sex scenes, which were kind of the point, were also repetitive and uninspired, which is a shame. Another repetitive element was the unending music, none of which I enjoyed overly much. Also… there’s a very odd pregnancy storyline at the end of the movie which seemed to contradict nearly everything that came before it and which felt like an attempt at a creative shortcut rather than anything making any kind of actual sense. So there’s that.
The leads are attractive but the acting is pretty wooden across the board, yet sometimes you want a cheesy, poorly acted lesbian romance movie – or at least I do. Indeed, the director’s first film, “Claire of the Moon” is just such a move (it’s actually kind of awful) but I adore it! I have music from it on my Amazon Playlist. Basically, if you saw this movie and you loved it or you were inspired by it (like the baby gay who recommended it to me), I’m not knocking it. We all have our little favorites. But I’ll likely stick to my own cheesy Nicole Conn lesbian romance movie in future! Lol
