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Holding the Man (2015)

10/6/2016

“I can’t remember where he sat…was he opposite or beside me? I’m trying to write it down…”

Neil Armfield directs Holding the Man which tells the story of Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo’s 15 year romance through the 1970s and into the 1980s, when AIDS tore them apart. The film is based on a novel of the same name, penned by Connigrave (a writer, actor and activist) which was first published in 1995 shortly after his death.

Holding the Man remains one of the most important and well-known works of Australian LGBT fiction and it later became a successful play directed by Tommy Murphy, first shown in 2006. Murphy also wrote the script for the film, which was released in 2015.

The Mask You Live In (2015)

10/1/2016

By the time a boy is five years old, he’s pretty much taught it’s not okay to cry in public” is one of the many quotes from The Mask You Live In which is a timely and topical documentary about hyper masculinity, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The documentary explores how socially constructed gender norms and the way society defines ‘boy’ and ‘man’ can be destructive. America’s young boys are taught to be a particular way from the cradle, and by teaching boys they have to hold in high regard those characteristics which will make them ‘masculine’ and ‘strong’, society is rendering young men emotionally stifled.

She's Beautiful When She's Angry (2014)

9/16/2016

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry is a reflective documentary released in 2014, which charts the rise of the Women's Liberation Movement in America and the heyday of second wave feminism, covering a period from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. The documentary is reflective in that it features many of the women who were instrumental in the movement at the time, as they look back on the issues they grappled with and injustices they sought to rectify in a quest for gender equality.

A Single Man (2009)

5/26/2016

Waking up begins with saying am and now. For the past eight months waking up has actually hurt. The cold realization that I am still here slowly sets in.

Tom Ford’s directorial debut A Single Man is a quiet, emotive and beautiful film. Based on Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel of the same name, the film is essentially a snapshot in time – a day in the life of college professor George Falconer (Colin Firth). The film focuses on Falconer as he tries to negotiate the simple act of living following the death of Jim, his partner of sixteen years. The time is the early 1960s, when sexual acts between men were still criminalised and the mood was one of fear and uncertainty following the Cuban missile crisis. Set in Stanford, the film follows Falconer over the course of the day he decides to take his own life.

My Own Private Idaho (1992)

3/19/2016

In celebration of this year’s 30th BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival, the British Film Institute have released a list of the top 30 LGBT films of all time, taking votes from 100 film experts to compile the list. Coming in at number 10 on the BFI list is My Own Private Idaho and it seems as good a time as any to revisit and review the 1991 Gus Van Sant classic, together with a brief discussion of its place and importance in relation to New Queer Cinema more broadly. As ever, the review will contain spoilers.

Silent Youth (2012)

2/7/2016

Silent Youth is a German film directed by Diemon Kemmesies, which describes itself as a film for misfits, dreamers and lovers. It's a classic, arthouse piece of queer cinema which steers clear of the tropes of more mainstream films. Although critical reception was mixed, with some reviewers finding the film slow-paced and dull, I found the film to be moving, powerful and atmospheric. As the title implies, much of this film is understated and the dialogue is sparse. As a result, this is a quiet, gently paced film which demands to be watched only when you have time to focus and lose yourself fully in the words left unsaid.

Land of Storms (2014)

2/4/2016

Directed by Adam Csaczi, the 2014 film Land of Storms tells the story of Hungarian Szabolcs (Szabi) who first appears in a hyper masculine environment, playing professional football in Germany and drinking, partying and watching straight porn with his friends. Disenchanted with his life as a footballer, after suffering a defeat at the hands of another team, Szabi decides to return home to his native Hungary where he takes up residence in a remote home left to him by his grandparents. The house is ramshackle and almost uninhabitable and he begins the long task of repairing the property, with the help of builder Aron who he happens across shortly into his initial return home.

We Were Here (2011)

11/7/2015

This powerful multi award winning documentary was released in 2013, to much critical acclaim. Weissman's film is one of the first to reflect on the impact of the AIDS crisis on the gay men of San Francisco.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2014)

11/7/2015

Blue is the Warmest Colour has been met with accolades, including the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, but it has also been mired in controversy. Two years on, after watching the film for the second time, this post reflects on the concerns raised about the film and the controversy surrounding its release.

Totally F***ed Up (1991)

10/19/2015

Totally F***ed Up (1993), directed by Gregg Araki, focuses on a group of queer friends. Andy (James Duval), a bisexual, filmmaker Steven (Gilbert Luna) and his boyfriend Deric (Lance May), Tommy (Roko Belic) who has an endless string of one night stands, and lesbian couple Michele (Susan Behshid) and Patricia (Jenee Gill). Totally F***ed Up employs the use of a home video footage to record interviews with the main characters. This gives the film an an initially fragmented feel as we are shown snippets of each character, without ever getting in-depth monologues or lengthy exposition.

Despite the fragmented nature of the film's beginnings, the filming technique serves to generate a sense of intimacy which makes the one-sided dialogue between the protagonists and the viewer appear conversational. The viewer is placed behind the camera in a fourth-wall-breaking strategy which is at once unreal and metatextual, positioning the viewer as filmmaker and part of the film's narrative.

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