Adolescence – Page 37 – Discover great gay stories.

New This Week – 9/6/18

While spending the summer in cottage country on the shores of Lake Superior, three teens cope with boredom by testing the limits of their experience. ‘Sleeping Giant’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo!

Dekkoo Films presents ‘Lost Years’. In this short film, Felix is a young boy who, after the death of his mother, is sent to a boarding school abroad. There he meets his roommate, Leo, with whom he begins a relationship.

In the film ‘Burning Blue’, two Navy fighter pilots find themselves in the midst of a forbidden relationship throwing their lives and careers into disarray.

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Coming next week: A man’s life is his image.

‘Boys’ is a gripping and compassionate study of first love, arrives August 28.

Following one man through two timelines, decades apart, Boys, the newest feature from French director Christophe Charrier, is a gripping and compassionate study of first love and the lingering sting of loss.

We first meet Jonas (BPM star Felix Maritaud in a riveting performance) in the present… where he’s having a rough go of it. He’s prone to starting fights at Boys Paradise, the local gay bar, and his boyfriend has had enough of his infidelity and alcohol-soaked antics. His volatile behavior may stem from a traumatic incident in his past.

The film flashes back to 1997, where Jonas (played as a straight-laced high school kid by newcomer Nicolas Bauwens) meets Nathan (Tommy Lee Baik), the rebellious new student who will become Jonas’s crush. We’re treated to an expert depiction of cautious first love as Nathan and Jonas sneak off from class to share cigarettes in the school gym and get to know one another – partly through posturing to cover their vulnerability. When they share their first kiss, the sparks are immediately felt.

Back in the present, adult Jonas has been kicked out of his boyfriend’s apartment. When he decides to check into a hotel, we meet the handsome concierge (Ilian Bergala) with whom Jonas appears to be infatuated. We’ve already seen him scoping out the man’s social media photos. He’s even followed him to the beach. Why does Jonas seem to be stalking this younger guy and how is he connected to the romance he shared with Nathan years ago? Charrier teases out the answers slowly and carefully, capturing our hearts even before the full picture comes into focus.

With terrific performances (there’s no slouches in this cast) and expert direction, Boys will take you along on one character’s tender and heartfelt journey toward redemption. This film will be available exclusively on Dekkoo starting August 28.

Short Film Spotlight: Tomorrow

As the new millennium was approaching (and some pesky, much-buzzed-about technological anxieties hung heavy on our minds), New Year’s Eve in 1999 became a deeply memorable occasion. The leads of the stellar short film Tomorrow have a slightly different reason to remember that particular evening.

Tomorrow finds college-bound best buddies Clark (Daniel Rashid) and Trevor (Zachary Roozen) concerned about the future of their friendship. It becomes clear early on that Clark is secretly in love with Trevor… and too afraid to say anything about it.

When the two meet a local girl and end up attending a pool party, Trevor asks Clark to help him win her affections. He reluctantly complies, but when said girl turns out to have more of an interest in Clark, the friends learn that jealousy is a two-way street. Soon, their relationship is tested in ways neither could have imagined – resulting in some explosive revelations.

Featuring terrific performances from its game young cast, this tense and emotional film from writer Joshua Paul Johnson and director Leandro Tadashi is a skillfully-made 13-minute coming-of-age gem. The film is presented by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, which is known for turning out talented artists – and it certainly shows in the quality here. We can’t wait to see what these filmmakers get up to in the future.

You can stream Tomorrow TODAY on Dekkoo.

Just added: ‘Off Beat’

Off Beat follows 26-year-old Lukas (Hans-Jakob Mühlethaler), who is not so much living as floating.

His dream of making it as a musician is on the wane and his great passion – freestyle hip-hop – has also past its heyday. Lukas lives with his producer, 46-year-old Mischa (Domenico Pecoraio), in an old loft where they cultivate cannabis. They have been having a turbulent affair for years – but this is a closely guarded secret.

Lukas has grown cold inside and only really feels himself in moments of excess. Drunk and coked-up to the eyeballs, he toils his way through a gig in a small club. In the audience his sixteen-year-old brother Sämi (Manuel Neuburger), an ambitious rapper himself, feels nothing but shame for his brother’s embarrassing performance.

Mischa decides that he has had enough of Lukas’ escapades and suggests they ask Sämi to join the band. Sensing that he is about to be substituted, Lukas gets out of his head and starts to take back control of his life.

A gritty drama that shines a spotlight on a corner of closeted gay life not often seen on film, Swiss writer-director Jan Gassmann’s Off Beat is now streaming on Dekkoo. Check out the trailer below.

One Great Gay Shot – ‘Woke’ (2017)

‘Woke’ is now available to binge-watch on Dekkoo!

New This Week – 7/20/18

Hicham runs away from his home and comes to Lyon, looking for Thibaut, a young man who tried to kiss him a few years earlier. Thibaut is an activist at the ‘G-Spot’, a LGBT Center. Hicham enters his world, apprehensive but enthusiastic. However, as Hicham begins a journey to find his own identity, he comes to understand that Thibaut isn’t exactly who he appears to be. ‘Woke’ is available to binge-watch now on Dekkoo!

An average gay guy discovers a magic website that can change him into the fantasy man he desires, but there is a price to pay. ‘VGL-Hung!’ is available to stream now!

Eighteen-year-old Mathieu vacations at the beach with his family when he meets local teen Cédric. After an extremely erotic kiss, the boys begin a passionate romance, complete with skinny-dipping at night, nude dancing on the beach and intense lovemaking in the dunes; yet, as Mathieu grapples with his sexuality and copes with his sick mother, absent father and annoying kid sister, his bond with Cédric grows stronger until it bursts. The gay classic film ‘Come Undone’ is available now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: Two men of color work together to maintain a healthy relationship in a society where they are set up to fail.

Film Flashback: Like It Is

Set amidst the disparate worlds of the London pop music scene and the bare knuckles boxing clubs of working-class Blackpool, the 1998 gay classic Like It Is is a sexy, and at times, caustically funny tale of one youth’s coming out and his first, tumultuous gay love affair.

Craig (real-life boxing champ Steve Bell) is a 21-year-old Blackpooler who makes his living by fighting in illegal bare-knuckle fights. But the tough youth is also a closeted gay. By chance, he meets Matt (Ian Rose), a cocky London music producer who takes Craig under his wing.

The affair that ensues brings wide-eyed Steve down to the swinging gay Soho scene and into the duplicitous clutches of Matt’s friends, which include Paula (Dani Behr), Matt’s flatmate and an up-and-coming singer threatened by the arrival of the youth; and Kelvin (Roger Daltrey… yep, that Roger Daltrey), Matt’s gay and decidedly wolfish boss.

Will Craig find happiness in Britain’s gay Mecca or be forced back to his sordid former lifestyle? Some of the film’s best moments are when it shows the tensions of being gay in a tough, macho environment; the biting indictment of shallow gay men; and the hilarious camp performance by Daltrey (who sinks his toothy grin into his role with lecherous gusto).

Now twenty years old, you can take a trip back in time with Like It Is right now on Dekkoo.

A teacher is wrongfully accused in ‘The Green’

An emotional gay drama, The Green is an honest, hard-hitting film about a well-meaning teacher in trouble. Early on in the film, a confident gay high school student makes the observation that “people always look for the easiest scapegoat when their sense of entitlement is threatened.” That line of dialog sets the movie in motion.

Jason Butler Harner stars Michael, an openly gay, happily-partnered teacher who has taken a special interest in a troubled, artistically-inclined student named Jason (Chris Bert).

It is alluded to that Jason’s family life is not very stable. His mother and stepfather (Karen Young and Bill Sage) don’t seem like the most nurturing or attentive parents. Despite warnings from his best friend and co-worker (Illeana Douglas, charming as always) about getting too involved in the lives of students, Michael presses on. He sees potential in Jason and cares about his well-being.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, a heated public argument ensues during a school art show. Jason’s parents soon begin to suspect that Michael’s interest in their son may have lurid undertones.

It doesn’t take long before Michael becomes the town pariah, accused of carrying on a predatory relationship with his student. Adding insult to injury, his relationship with Daniel (Cheyenne Jackson), his loving partner of 15 years, is thrown into jeopardy when authorities start investigating the pair as partners in sordid crime.

The pair’s only major ally comes in the form of Karen (Julia Ormond), a tough-as-nails attorney who believes in Michael’s innocence (and also happens to be gay). Karen is ready for a dirty fight – planning to expose Jason’s parents as ethically-bankrupt opportunists. But, Michael’s refusal to cause harm to this already struggling family might prevent him from clearing his name.

A provocative drama with a stellar cast, The Green is playing now on Dekkoo. Check out the trailer below.

‘Come Undone’ is Coming Soon

“It captures the uncertainty and emotional turbulence of late adolescence with poignancy. Shimmeringly beautiful and utterly real.” – The New York Times

“Brings maximum subtlety, nuance and insight into the timeless story of first love.” – Los Angeles Times

“The most mature depiction of a young gay male’s romantic awakening I have ever seen.” – The Advocate

All of the gorgeous bronzed bodies on the beaches of southern France, plus the passionate romance between the lead teens, are reason enough to see Come Undone, but this bittersweet gay classic also has something poignant to say about the heartbreak of first love.

Eighteen-year-old Mathieu (Jérémie Elkaïm) is vacationing at the beach with his family when he meets local teen Cedric (Stéphane Rideau). After an extremely erotic kiss, the boys begin a hot and heavy affair, complete with skinny-dipping at night, nude dancing on the beach and intense lovemaking in the dunes. Yet as Mathieu grapples with his sexuality – and copes with his sick mother, absent father and annoying kid sister – his bond with Cedric grows stronger… until it bursts.

Come Undone, directed and co-written by Sebastien Lifshitz, beautifully conveys Mathieu’s coming-of-age – a scene in which he comes out to his mother is quite moving. Both Stéphane Rideau and Jérémie Elkaïm are incredibly sexy leads and give remarkable performances as the affectionate young lovers.

Check out the original trailer for Come Undone below and make sure to watch it on Dekkoo when it debuts July 17! While you’re waiting, you can check out a huge selection of other coming-of-age flicks here.

One Great Gay Shot – ‘Monster Pies’ (2013)

‘Monster Pies’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo!