Queer Beacon

Character (Karakter - 1997) - No Gay Content

By Guest Reviewer Arjan Writes

Even though "Character" is not a queer movie, it most certainly has thematic aspects that gays can relate to. The sublime "Karakter" is a Dutch production directed by Mike van Diem that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1998. It is a modern film noir set in the gray and depressed city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands in the 1920s.

Written by famous Dutch author Frederik Bordewijk, "Karakter" tells the story of Jacob Katadreuffe (Fedja van Huet) and the strained relationship he has with his father Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir). The movie starts out with the mysterious death of Dreverhaven, whose will leaves everything to Jacob (who finds out only then that Dreverhaven was his father). Jacob is interrogated by the police and the plot unfolds through story flashbacks.

Jacob was born out of wedlock and raised by his single mother. Jacob's biological father is the influential bailiff and banker Dreverhaven, who is feared across the city for his harsh business manners. Growing up, a tumultuous relationship develops between father and son who keep running into each other. Jacob (not knowing Dreverhaven is his father) takes out several loans from Dreverhaven to start his own business. But when everything fails, Dreverhaven treats him like any other customer and demands his money back, which eventually leads to Jacob's bankruptcy.

Motivated by anger and frustration, Jacob climbs out of poverty to become one of the city's most successful lawyers.  Now, father and son often battle in court. During a final confrontation, Dreverhaven dies and Jacob is suspected of murder.

The question for viewers remains if Dreverhaven was so hard on his son because he wanted to make him strong or because he never accepted him as his own. Regardess of the answer, Jacob's biggest obstacle and source of frustration also became a source of inspiration and motivation that made him a success.

"Karakter" is a touching movie that not only features an epic duel between father and son, but is also an ultimate coming-of-age story.The underlying theme of the movie is that you can be who you want to be, no matter what people expect from you.

The movie is in Dutch with English sub-titles. The Dutch language might be a bit abrasive at first but you'll get used to it quickly. This is one of my favorite movies (and not only because my native language is Dutch).

[QB Note: SPOILER AHEAD]

The Fan (1981) - Shipwreck 0

By Guest Reviewer Andrew Belonsky from Queerty.com

It may not be the case anymore, but it used to be that if a screenwriter or author needed a good villain, they would look no further than the evil fag. The homo’s deviant sexuality provided a reliable excuse – or, perhaps, symptom – of his devilish ways. The odd – and endlessly commercial – character of Norman Bates springs to mind, as does the more recent and potentially just as gay, Hannibal Lechter. Meanwhile the 1980 Al Pacino classic, Cruising, spent an entire 106 minutes exploring the “sleazy and underground” gay world in which a serial killer got his S&M fueled kicks. One year later, John Hartwell and Priscilla Chapman – neither of whom, it’s worth noting, had ever written nor would ever write another movie – adapted Bob Randall’s queer killer novel, The Fan, for the silver screen. The critics blasted the film, and for good reason, but what it lacks in depth, it makes up for by providing a study of the gay gone bad.

The Fan concerns a famous actress, Sally Ross, played by Lauren Bacall and her obsessed fan, Michael Biehn’s Douglas Breen. It’s really not worth mentioning Biehn’s character’s name, for it disappears quite quickly behind his association with fanatic insanity. He starts off innocently enough – a conspicuously single, lonely and downright pathetic record salesman who writes letters to his favorite star of screen and stage. Too busy rehearsing for a Broadway play and dealing with her ex-husband, played very briefly by James Garner, and certainly far too famous to reply to her fan’s letters, Ross pawns the job off on her secretary, a low point in Maureen Stapleton’s career. Doing her duty, the secretary sends off a gracious reply, unaware her forged sentiments will only serve to feed Breen’s madness. She should have known better, of course, for give a fag a bone and he’ll keep coming back to strike more perverse terror.

And that’s exactly what happens. Breen’s letters become more and more feverish, exuding a dangerous persistence that leads the secretary to ignore him in hopes that he’ll disappear. But Breen – whose dementia’s already over taken his last shred of rationality and, thus, identity – refuses to go away. On the contrary, he intends to get as close to Ross as possible. How? By killing all her friends, of course.

Poor Stapleton’s the first to feel the cold of his straight razor, but The Fan wastes no time going after Ross’ other comrades, including her dance partner, whom he kills in the pool in that bastion of homo-variance, the YMCA. It’s really quite gruesome. Not to mention gay: The Fan swims underneath him, slashing him from neck to crotch, his blade coming within inches of his Speedo-clad penis.

What remains unspoken – namely The Fan’s faggotry – becomes a disturbing plot device after a Detective (Hector Elizondo) gets closer to discovering the truth. Thus, he cruises on through a gay bar, finds himself a hapless homo and proceeds to get blown on the roof. His ejaculation brings the trick’s extermination as The Fan uses his gleaming blade to finish him off and burns the body, leaving a guilt-ridden suicide note to cover his tracks.

The Fan’s cumming becomes The Fan’s climax, for it’s downhill from there (as if there were an up). Seemingly free of her stalker, Ross forges forward, unaware that her first performance may be her last. I won’t give away the details of the final confrontation, but rest assured that The Fan gets what’s coming to him, appropriately punished for his not so merry, but certainly very Mary murder spree.

While the movie provides a few chills, they’re washed out by the message: the solitary gay poses a threat to you and yours. Even the lighting – a staple in thrillers – seems a bit overdone, with The Fan stalking (literally) in and out of the shadows like the dubious, dangerous villain he was born to play. Certainly a stinker through and through, the film’s worth a view, if only to laugh (and grimace) at the stereotypes it propagates.

Parting Glances (1986) - LightShed 10

By Guest Reviewer Jockohomo

Director Bill Sherwood died of complications due to AIDS in 1990, but his 1986 film Parting Glances was one of the first American movies to address the AIDS-HIV pandemic and many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. The bittersweet romantic comedy is a realistic look at urban gay life in the 1980s, and the then relatively-new disease plaguing the gay community.

Parting Glances occurs over a 48 hour period, with many of the scenes at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend Joan (Kathy Kinney) and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer Cecil (Patrick Tull) and his wife Betty (Yolande Bavan); who have an unconventional marriage. The heart of the story revolves around a longstanding Manhattan gay male couple, Robert and Michael, who are in their late twenties and live in New York City, Robert (John Bolger), works for an international health organization and is about to leave for two years on a work assignment in Africa while his partner Michael (Richard Ganoung), a freelance editor stays behind. Michael's ex-boyfriend Nick (Steve Buscemi), for whom Michael cooks meals, looks after, and is still in love with, has AIDS.

Technically a drama, the film is comedic yet touching, the pacing and realistic dialogue lend authenticity to the portrayal of gay and gay friendly urbanites in the long gone Manhattan of the 1980's. While Silence=Death stickers designed by Ken Woddard started to proliferate ominously on the city streets around 1986/87 it's another four years before we see the film "Longtime Companion" and another seven before we have the even higher profile piece "Philadelphia".  Parting Glances was also one of the first motion pictures to even address the term HIV-AIDS and it is done so frankly and honestly.

Parting Glances gave both Kathy Kinney and Steve Buscemi their first major movie roles. Janet Maslin in her New York Times review said of Buscemi, "It is to both his and the film's credit that the anguish of AIDS is presented as part of a larger social fabric, understood in context, and never in a maudlin light."  Kinney, well known for her roll as Mimi on the Drew Carey Show is brilliant and funny as Joan the fag hag. A special mention must be made of John Bolger for playing the roll of a gay man in a film while a regular on the CBS soap opera "The Guiding Light" and later as a sexy police chief on the soap opera Another World.

This film isn't earth shattering in terms of social justice but it is perfectly realized depiction of gay men in the 1980s Manhattan, avoiding the usual trappings and stereotypes while expertly handling the subject of HIV-AIDS. The piece resonates with the particulars and complexity of friendships, life and love. Sometimes biting the scenes are equally funny as they are sad. There is a great scene that contrasts a seasoned gay man with a younger more idealistic gay man, a brilliant play between growing up gay in a Pre-Aids/Post-Aids world. The true crime is that AIDS claimed writer and director Bill Sherwood before he could make another film. Sadly this was his only movie, a somber example of how this disease robbed the world of a generation of talented individuals. In 2006, the UCLA Film and Television Archive announced the film's restoration and addition to its OutFest Legacy Project.

Available on DVD from Amazon 90 Min. Run Time.

Outfest Legacy Project's website.

An Early Frost (1985) - LightShed 10

I only found out about An Early Frost after Richard told me about it.  He wrote a very passionate review for the movie here.  An Early Frost is very good, you should really see it. 

I wanted to review an important movie today, on World AIDS Day, and An Early Frost is just that movie. 

In the movie, Aidan Quinn plays a closeted gay attorney who is struck by AIDS.  He is forced to come out to his co-workers and his family.  The year is 1985 and the epidemic was barely being discovered. 

The light for the gays could not have been better.  Aidan's character is shown in a context much needed then, and much needed now.  In the movie, Aidan is a successful guy in the prime of his life, he loves his family, and he is in a committed relationship, yet he is struck by the disease.  You will need to see the movie to learn more about the plot, characters and the great, but painful, gay portrayal.  Kudos to Aidan Quinn for his brave performance as a gay man facing tough times.   

Seeing the movie made me think about an argument I once read, that said that the AIDS epidemic, as awful as it was and is, did have some positive effects for gay rights.  I was shocked to read that such a terrible disease could bring us any benefit.  According to the argument, the benefit is that AIDS forced many people out of the closet, and society had to finally see gay men, the gay men who got AIDS were forced out of the closet, and society has advanced in gay rights because it was able to see that we are people and we too suffer.  We are famous rock and movie stars, we are the regular neighbor next door, the son, the co-worker.  We have been there all along.  And for the most part, not knowing we were gay, people liked us.  With AIDS, visibility was forced on both homosexuals and society.  Also, embracing the argument would also help give meaning to the lives that were already lost.

I still react to that argument with mixed feelings.  I bet a lot of people would prefer a life in the closet and a life of no rights and of discrimination, than a life without many close friends.  Also, against the "benefit" argument, it could easily be argued that AIDS also reinforced the fear society had of the gays.  "Gays are sick people, stay away" would be the message read from the AIDS epidemic.  But there's little gain now in discussing how we would like for the world to be, how we would like for there to be no AIDS. AIDS is a reality with which we cannot argue, but with which we can fight.  Still with my conflicting feelings, I came to understand the argument, and see how important visibility is to us.

Gays have gained rights, and I believe discrimination has decreased (although I am not sure by how much), but we still have a long way to go.  AIDS is now associated with poverty, and race, but it is still very much associated with male homosexuals.  Gay men still cannot donate blood in most parts of the world.  There's still a lot to be done, and because of that, gays need to be safe and stay safe, and be visible and inform people. 

Today is a day that needs to be taken seriously.  It is a day that must remain with us and be remembered throughout the years.  Richard nailed it in the head: "To forget is to put yourself yet again in harm's way, a lesson that younger generations of gay men are wont to ignore."

Early Frost was released on DVD only in 2006, to mark the 25th "anniversary" of the discovery of AIDS. 

Stay safe dear readers! Stay out the closet!

Vintage Beacon - Go - Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr a Gay Couple

Do you guys remember Go?  I saw it when it came out in 1999, and loved it. 

I recently saw a link to a clip from the movie in a comment on Bent.  Watch the clip:

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Scott Wolf and Jay Mohr pre-Brokeback. 

Nice, right?  Maybe I will see it again and review it here.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) - LightShed 10

This is a mediocre movie, but it's one of those mediocre movies you can't stop watching - you've got to see what's next.  So, I just cannot place it in the mediocre category. 

I had seen it on video, and saw it again the other night on Bravo, while flipping channels.  Bravo became such a great gay TV channel, don't you think?

Here, Patrick Swaize, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo play three drag queens stranded in a small town waiting for some car part to arrive so that they can get their car fixed and go to Hollywood.  They help the town be gayer.  Here are their names: Vida Boheme (Swaize), Noxzeema Jackson (Snipes), and Chi Chi Rodriguez (Leguizamo).  Classic.

The gay content is excellent.  Tons of cliches, not one of them bothered me though. The drag queens were like real drag queens, all joy, even if they were also shown to be shallow at times -- except for Patrick Swaize's character, who was thoughtful and deep.  Only John Leguizamo's Chi Chi was believable (pic on the right), Wesley and Patrick must improve a lot for their next drag queen role.

Chris Penn plays a cop who tries to kiss and assault and take advantage of poor Patrick Swaize and gets knocked over.  So he keeps trying to find the drag queen who hit him back.  He is shown as a loser and an idiotic bigot.  So, great for us.

Michael Vartan has a cameo in the movie too.  He also plays a bigot, but his bigotry disappears pretty quickly into the movie.  Yay!  Go Vartan!

I was surprised to see the movie made $36.5 million in the US box office.  That is pretty nice for a movie that is not that good.  Although Brokeback clearly represented a change in perspective for gay movies, we have quite a bit of clues that there was some life before Brokeback.  To Wong Foo is certainly one of such clues.

More discussion on the great positive light will ruin the plot.  Keep reading or go rent this vintage. 

The Sum of Us (1994) - LightShed 10

Good movie.  You'll feel all good and hoping the world could be like the movie, with fathers getting along with their gay sons. 

Here, Russell Crowe, yes him, plays a big gay.  Jack Thompson plays his father.  They have an awesome relationship.  Jack is extremely supportive and accepts Crowe's homosexuality like I've never seen in a father-son relationship before.

There are constant reminders that the father is super supportive.  He pushes for safe sex.  He keeps hoping Russell will find Mr. Right.  He tells Russell how lucky he is to have him for a son, it goes on and on. 

Seriously, see the movie with someone you like because you'll want to kiss someone. 

To top it all off, Russell's grandmother was a lesbian and she is remembered fondly, and Russell plays footy.  He's just a nice and ordinary guy. 

You will also get to see various types of gays in the movie.  Queens, older gays, butch gays (like Crowe) etc.  It's great when movies reflect the wide range of gays available.

Forget that you hate Russell.  If you see this movie you might actually like him.  The movie was shot in 1994, he was 30 then:

There was some homophobia elsewhere in the movie but not inside Crowe's house, and the homophobia was portrayed as something bad.

After the jump, a few more pictures and a little discussion on the mentioned homophobia (which will sort of give away part of the plot).

Love is the Devil (1998) - Shipwreck 4

Bad Movie.  This is what you get for watching a movie just because you know some actor, who became famous after the movie, is naked. I mean frontal.  Having said that, if seeing a bad movie is not a problem for you, this is the movie to rent.  Daniel Craig spends the entire flick in his underwear, and the bathtub frontal is candid.  Keep reading.

The movie tells us the story of a famous Francis Bacon's affair and the work that resulted from it, the George Dyer portraits.  Bacon is played by Derek Jacobi.  Daniel Craig plays Bacon's boyfriend George Dyer.  They meet while Dyer is trying to rob Bacon's place.  Nice, huh?  They are both crazy.  You will not see Francis Bacon's work in the movie.  How about that?  So here's one of my favorites Dyer:

Bacon is one of my favorite painters.  Dead on April 28, 1992, he was a genius.  Like all geniuses, he was a wreck in his personal life and the movie flaunts it.  Even though he was a genius, and an artist, I still think the light for the gays in the movie was negative.  Hence the Shipwreck score.  In the movie, gays are promiscuous, unreliable, gamblers, drug addicts, the works.  Awful.  The score is not lower because, again, all the crazy stuff usually goes along with geniality.

There were some cute moments:

 

And here's a good one:

Enough with the suspense, right?  Fleshbot and PAYOR have the pictures you really want to see.  Not safe for work though.

Maurice (1987) - Shipwreck 4

Excellent movie.  I saw it again just the other day because I wanted to see if my reaction would change now that I'm all mature, and because of a request from my good friends at Oh La La (hey, and you don't even need to have the coolest sexiest site on the planet for that, you can request a review too, just e-mail me).

I first saw the movie when I was 17 and did not like it at all.  Now, I thought this was a true Merchant Ivory production.  Rich in every sense.  Excellent acting. 

But, I still came out of it with a negative image for the gays overall.  I think that negative image blurred my judgment of the movie before.  Now, I think it is a little easier to separate the excellence of the movie and the slight negative light for the gays (like I did here).

In the movie, James Wilby plays Maurice Hall.  It's the early 1900s England, and we see Maurice's childhood, college years and adult life.  Gay movies like that lifespan thing.  Very dramatic.  He falls for Hugh Grant.  Everybody is from reasonably important families and suffers a lot of pressure from society.  In the time of the movie, homosexual acts were a crime in England, and the social pressure was far greater than it is today (duh?).  One of Hugh's friends goes to jail after being framed with a guy.  Heavy stuff.  All that is a positive light for sure, serves as criticism.

This is the first touch between the two love birds:

But then:

So, continue reading if you don't mind spoilers. I will need to spoil the movie to make my case.  I threw in a tiny bit of quasi nudity after the jump to lure you.

Making Love (1982) - LightShed 10

Excellent movie.  Excellent gay content.  The acting is markedly dated.  You know, those stage theater expressions, expansive arm gestures, all bother me, but I understand.  So 70s'. 

In the movie, Michael Ontkean is a doctor, married to Kate Jackson for 8 years.  He has been wondering if he is gay.  He cruises a few bars and streets.  Harry Hamlin is a gay author who goes to Michael's office for a physical.  Yay!  They develop an interest in each other.  There is a little kissing and cuddling, but no hand spit sex scenes, as in Brokeback.  Everybody wears tight shorts and pants.  Everybody wants to be honest with themselves.  The movie gives us a great account of the coming out of a closeted married guy.  The plot is simple, but powerful.  Very positive light.

This movie is deemed Hollywood's first major studio attempt at gay romance and I am very very glad that is has gotten a little attention lately, almost 25 years after its original theatrical release.  The movie was released on DVD in February 2006.  Brokeback certainly has a role in that.

Way to start Vintage Beacon (see the new categories on the side bar -- under "Other Junk in the Trunk").  Harry and Michael in bed:

A few mainstream places mention this movie was braver way before Brokeback. And it makes sense.  The movie was released in 1982 and is credited with ending Harry Hamline career.  Michael Douglas, Tom Berenger, Harrison Ford and Richard Gere, all turned down the role it appears.  So, newcomers Michael Ontkean and Harry Hamlin stepped up.  Kudos for them.  It would be awesome to see a remake, though, wouldn't it?  Maybe this is the gay role Brad Pitt has been looking for. 

I thought the theatrical poster looked interesting:

   

AfterElton has a great interview with Barry Sandler, one of the writers for Making Love.