International Film – Page 78 – Discover great gay stories.

DEKKOO DISPATCH 056 – ‘L’HOMME BLESSÉ’

Director – Patrice Chéreau

Starring – Jean-Hugues Anglade, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Roland Bertin, Claude Berri

Release Date – 1983

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RARE CINEMA ALERT!! RARE CINEMA ALERT!!

Wow I can’t believe the boys at Dekkoo managed to pull this one off. ‘L’Homme Blessé‘ aka ‘The Wounded Man’ is an extremely rare piece of older queer cinema that has been completely unavailable in the U.S. besides a VHS from ’97! And it’s a crying shame because this is a bonkers gay-as-hell film from one of France’s most famous directors; Patrice Chéreau. While famous in France for his theatrical productions, he was famous abroad for movies like Palme D’or Winner ‘Queen Margot’, ‘Intimacy’, and ‘His Brother’.

‘L’Homme Blessé‘ was made in 1983 by Chéreau after working on a script for 6 years with his writing partner Hervé Guibert. In it the pair explore a young man’s awakening to intense homosexual desires that blossom into masochismic longings for one man in particular – Jean – an enigmatic hustler who prowls train stations looking for weak homosexuals he can bully into giving up their wallets. Yup folks – this is not a feel good movie where you’ll feel safe and secure. It doesn’t support the illusion that being gay is all rainbows and unicorns. But I like that sometimes! It’s important to realize how tough it used to be back in the day to be queer (and honestly that still holds in many places). Plus bisexual rough trade is definitely kinda hot sometimes 😉

Jean-Hughes Anglade (before making his star turning role in ‘Betty Blue’) plays the shy young Henri who visits the train station with his family. While there we begin to see his first tries at ‘cruising’ – obviously something that train station must be very well known for. In a bathroom he stares wide-eyed at Jean – a spectacularly handsome rugged man in his 30s and after re-entering the bathroom finds Jean mugging someone. While trying to run away from the situation Jean catches him and instead of beating him up begins wildly caressing him and urging Henri to help him finish mugging his victim. It’s one of the sexiest criminal queer scenes that exists.

Afterwards Henri becomes something akin to a slave to Jean. He follows him around, does his bidding, and becomes increasingly annoyed at Jean’s indifference towards him. Of course Jean isn’t completely gay and has a wife which complicates things to be sure. His wife tolerates Jean’s bisexual leanings and criminal lifestyle, but isn’t happy about it. The closest comparison I can draw to this film that exists in the Dekkoo catalog would be ‘Fogi is a Bastard‘. It shares a lot of ideas such as the corruption of innocence, dependency issues, and crime begetting crime. But I think Chéreau’s film delves a little deeper into the darkness of the human soul which I think is why the film divides so many audiences.

Besides being able to brag to your friends that you saw one of the most hard-to-find pieces of queer cinema you’ll also experience one of the most heartbreaking, outrageous, and melancholic films in Patrice Chéreau’s filmography. Cruise it tonight!

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Watch it with: By yourself or with a dark lover.

Mix it with: French wine.

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New This Week – 1/26/18

In season 2 of the acclaimed Dekkoo-original series, Nate decides it’s time to move on from his breakup with Joey…but Nate’s fall-out with his best friend Jeff continues to loom. Meanwhile, Nicole is back in town on the hunt for a new career move, Andy takes control of his open relationship with Brian, and Jeff finds companionship in someone new. Turns out they might be the ones who are fine after all, while Nate still only claims to be. Watch season 2 of ‘I’m Fine’ only on Dekkoo!

In this award-winning erotic 1983 classic from acclaimed French director Patrice Chéreau, a young man discovers his homosexuality and begins a relationship with a manipulative hustler and petty criminal that he meets at the train station. Watch ‘L’Homme Blesse’ on Dekkoo.com!

A gay couple decide to experiment with an open relationship but can their relationship survive it? Watch the gay short film ‘Midnight’ now on Dekkoo!

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Coming next week: A heartfelt look at the meaning of love.

New This Week – 1/19/18

Set in The Netherlands at the end of WW II, this touching story, told in flashbacks, explores the complex and romantic relationship between an adult soldier and a displaced, lonely adolescent boy. ‘For a Lost Soldier’ is available to stream now on Dekkoo.com!

In the gay short film, ‘Lunch’, a young man plans to relax in the park next to his office, but a zealous street performer has plans of his own.

A pitch black indie comedy from prolific writer-star Mike White (‘School of Rock’, ‘Enlightened’), ‘Chuck & Buck’ follows a socially maladjusted young man who begins stalking his childhood best friend in hopes of rekindling the sexual experimentation of their youth.

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Coming next week – A beloved Dekkoo-original series returns for its second season!

New This Week – 1/12/18

Get seduced by the best short films from France in this exquisite new collection. Featuring six different short films, ‘French Kisses’ is packed to the brim with sexy young actors in romantic stories that are bound to make you swoon.

Four friends. Two couples. Twice as much to lie about in the morning. This charming 2001 romantic comedy from writer-star Dan Bucatinsky (‘The Comeback’, ‘Web Therapy’) follows two men with major personal differences who are struggling to learn that they’re crazy about each other. Co-starring Andrea Martin, Doris Roberts, Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow. ‘All Over the Guy’ is available now to stream on Dekkoo.com!

Four friends go on a camping trip that one won’t be coming back from alive. ‘Killer Friends’ is available now on Dekkoo.com!

DEKKOO DISPATCH 053 – ‘I’M FINE’ SEASON 2 TRAILER PREMIERE

Title – ‘I’m Fine Season 2 Trailer‘

Director – Brandon Kirby

Starring – Perry Powell, Lee Doud, Shaughn Buchholz, Brittney King

Release Date – 2018

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THEY’REEE BACK! Well almost anyway…

Nate, Jeff, Andy, Brian, and Nicole: They’re all back and ready for more life lessons and queer hijinks in ‘I’m Fine’ Season 2! It premieres January 25th and today you can finally see the full season 2 trailer here. And here! and heeereeee.

Season 2 picks up right where the last one left off with our titular hero/anti-hero Nate finally getting over his relationship with Joey, but still figuring out his delicate friendship with Jeff. The rest of his friends are each figuring out life in LA – job hunting, open relationships, and of course – sex.

I asked the director what viewers should look forward to in season 2:

They should be excited to get to know the incredible cast of supporting characters who orbit Nate – we get a more in depth look at their friendships. Oh, and there is some fresh eye candy, too. 🙂

‘I’m Fine’ Season 2 premieres January 25th exclusively on Dekkoo! Catch up on Season 1 here.

New This Week – 1/5/18

A group of teens conspire to murder a bully in this shocking and sexually explicit troubled youth flick from controversial filmmaker Larry Clark (‘Kids’, ‘Ken Park’). ‘Bully’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo.com!

Rory and Fred, two unconventional gay men who, after meeting at a hip party in Silverlake, CA, have an instant connection, and decide to hook up. But haven’t they been living together for years already? ‘Surprise’ chronicles the emotional and physical journey of lust and longing, and the sweet tragedy of getting what you wished for.

The lives of a self assured Canadian jock, a rookie Irish backpacker and a stoic Japanese outsider change when they vie for a position in the gay rugby world cup. ‘Scrum’ is now available to stream on Dekkoo.com!

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Coming next week – A sneak-peak at the upcoming second season of the Dekkoo-original series of ‘I’m Fine’.

DEKKOO DISPATCH 052 – ‘KUNTERGRAU’

Title – ‘Kuntergrau‘

Director – Kai Kreuser, Maik Scholz, Nick Schröder

Starring – Fabian Freistühler, Daniel Kosic, Marcel Meyer, Moustafa Tarraf

Release Date – 2015

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Happy new year everyone!! Hope you all had at least some chance to rest, relax, and reflect on the coming year and all the exciting (and dreadful) surprises that lie in wait. Here’s to hoping you also got the chance to watch some movies to ring in the new year. Did any of you watch ‘Make the Yuletide Gay‘ with friends and/or family? I showed it to my mom and she was quite tickled by it!

I know the wait for Season 2 of ‘I’m Fine’ has felt like forever, but it’s nearly over!! It premiers January 25th right here exclusively on Dekkoo and you can check out a little teaser here! The full trailer is coming out veryyyy soon! In the meantime we’ve got something very similar for you – a webseries from the capital of Germany – Cologne dubbed ‘Kuntergrau‘. At 5 episodes averaging 12 minutes each you’ll be either binge it in one sitting or give yourself 5 fantastic morning commutes or work lunches worth of cute young queerness!

Being gay and living in Cologne in Germany and not Berlin must feel just like living in Pittsburgh versus NYC. But that’s where ‘Queer as Folk’ succeeded and that’s how ‘Kuntergrau‘ works its charm. There’s definitely something about portrayals gay life in a smaller city that seems more tight-knit and adventurous. It’s also this exact need to come together that inspired the production of the series. Volunteers aged 17-27 worked on this project over the course of several months and you can tell that a lot of love and hard work went into it.

‘Kuntergrau‘ follows five friends living as openly gay men in Cologne. It absolutely tries to do away with the typical coming-of-age closeted stereotypical storylines and instead tries to focus on issues that young gay men are living with in metropolitan areas. All the characters are very charming and unique in their own way, not to mention very cute! Jan and Noah are the first of the friends we meet and they also happen to be lovers. Complicating their relationship is Noah’s desire to be extremely masochistic and submissive in bed which cuddle-friendly Jan doesn’t enjoy. The handsome Marcel seems to tie a lot of the characters together with his openness towards sexuality and the fact that he’s the only single one. The final couple of the 5-some is the extremely cute and shy Leopold and a fresh face in Cologne; Lukas. There aren’t many supporting characters, but Leopold’s Grandma Margarethe is adorable!!!

It’s hard to pack a lot of content into something so short, but ‘Kuntergrau‘ absolutely has a lot to say. There’s a lot of emotional digging around the issue of sexuality in Jan and Noah’s relationship – is it truly love if one person’s sexual desires can’t be fulfilled? Lukas and Leopold have their own baggage to unpack – Leopold is very virginal/shy and Lukas is hooking up with someone outside of the relationship. Finally the show even tackles HIV with Marcel as a proud HIV-positive man simply trying to not let the virus take over his carefree and hookup-friendly life. The show really took me by surprise as I hadn’t heard of it, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this team as I think there’s some fantastic talent both in front of and behind the camera.

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Watch it with: A few friends

Mix it with: Vodka/Soda

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 049 – ‘YEAH, KOWALSKI!’ AND ‘SEAT IN SHADOW’

Title – ‘Seat In Shadow‘

Director – Henry Coombes

Starring – Henry Coombes, Ross Hunter, Jonathan Leslie, Marcella Mclntosh

Release Date – 2016

Title – ‘Yeah, Kowalski!‘

Director – Evan Roberts

Starring – Cameron Wofford, Conor Donnelly, Kaitlyn Knippers, Annamarie Kasper

Release Date – 2013

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Happy Wednesday Dekkoo’ers! We’re getting closer to the holidays which makes everyone go a little crazy so here are a pair of movies that you might sympathize with:

‘Yeah, Kowalski‘ is a super adorable short film about puberty and first crushes by Evan Roberts. A festival darling back in 2013 it traces a week in the life of 13-year old Gabe Kowalski. He’s a bit of a late bloomer who has two obsessions: Growing armpit hair and impressing his dream-boy, Shane. Shane seems the polar opposite of Gabe. He’s tall, outgoing, and proud of his armpit hair. There’s a lot to love about this film especially the honest depiction of a gay crush at such a young age which hopefully becomes the norm in this day and age.

Next up for your double feature pleasure is ‘Seat In Shadow‘ a film hailing from the UK that has a decidedly mind-bending bent to it. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the feature film debut of artist Henry Coombes whose work has been presented at the Venice Biennale among other prestigious art shows. Collaborating with David Sillars on the screenplay who also plays the role of the therapist Albert they’ve crafted a unique study of mentor-student relationships that can go off the rails.

Albert is an older gay painter and self-proclaimed therapist that lives his own life and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of it. He studies unique ways of living and thinking through YouTube videos like how to make your own toothpaste with charcoal and random lectures on Jung. He also gets very high and talks to his plant he’s named Priscilla. When an old friend of his comes to his apartment he reluctantly agrees to help her grandson named Ben who’s going through a rough time and could use someone to talk to. You’d think Ben would have everything going for him. He’s young, good-looking, and goes to parties. Unfortunately Ben is in love with a guy that’s simply a big ‘ole jerk! He uses Ben and then criticizes everything about him.

The film is comprised primarily of one on one sessions between Albert and Ben. In the sessions they delve deep into human emotions like love, sex, and the desire to consume drugs. You can tell that the director has a deep fondness for hallucinogenic drugs. The movie definitely worships them and the filmmaking style reflects a very twisted and warped view of reality. The best part of the film by far is Albert. He’s painted very realistically with all manner of human flaws inherent in an older gay artist. He’s part monster/part angel and the director really manages to delve into that with a real honesty that’s refreshing.

Well I think you’ve got two extremely interesting films to dig into today/tomorrow/this weekend so I hope you’ll do that and let us know what you thought! 🙂

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Watch ’em with: Your mentor

Mix it with: Absinthe!

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DEKKOO DISPATCH 044 – ‘BROTHERS OF THE NIGHT’

Title – ‘Brothers of the Night‘

Director – Patric Chiha

Starring – Stefan, Yonko, Asen, Nikolay

Release Date – 2016

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The dark of night, the smoke-filled alleyways leading to neon-lit signs beckoning with promises of youth, money, and sex, the men lined up waiting for a hot trick or two (or three). Europe is full of such places and it’s usually not the local boys and men that make up the workforce in this sector of business. Immigrants, usually the illegal kind, are most of the hustlers you’ll find in the western European countries.

Enter Patric Chiha’s ‘Brothers of the Night‘ – a docu-fiction hybrid that explores the realm of Buglarian Romani prostitutes in Vienna. While there are many documentaries about male prostitution (we gay men do seem to be fascinated with that topic…) already available, Patric’s movie takes a very different approach in respect to honoring the mystery of the ‘men of the night’. Just like you can’t trust the man you hire in real life to reveal who he really is, we can’t trust the men in this movie to completely tell the truth of their lives.

The men in this movie have all come from Bulgaria, a country that has the highest percentage of Romani people in all of Europe. Over the course of the movie we follow gypsy men like Stefan who after marrying young and incurring debts decided to come to Vienna to find higher paying jobs. Upon arriving he figured out that there weren’t any jobs and was introduced to hustler bars like ‘Rudiger’ where older men and younger hustlers mix and make deals in bathrooms.

Patric Chiha who previously directed the sensuous film ‘Domain’ with Beatrice Dalle weaves many inspirations from previous films into his creation, but the one that strikes me as having the most influence is the director Wiktor Grodecki known for his work on the male hustler documentaries ‘Body Without Soul’ and ‘Not Angels But Angels’ and also the fiction film based on male hustling, ‘Mandragora’. Grodecki’s films combined a precise mix of compassion, voyeurism, and above all an appreciation of stylized cinematography and lighting that I find extremely present in ‘Brothers of the Night‘. Although we could say that Grodecki took that technique from Fassbinder who doused the famous film ‘Querelle’ in yellow, orange, and pink to highlight the hedonistic playground that the handsome sailor wandered through which is obviously a gigantic influence on Chiha’s vision of the hustlers that live near a large river.

To end this rant I’ll leave you with a statement from the director, but lastly my advice is to get lost in the world that Chiha is created. Don’t think too much about it, but enjoy the sights, sounds, and personalities of these wild Romani boys. Ciao!

Director’s Statement:
When I found myself stuck in a very strange pub in Vienna one evening, I knew I’d found my next film: The bar was sleazy yet aesthetically pleasing in a tacky kind of way, as if from a different time. Lonely old men sat while proud, capricious young men pranced around the pool table, immediately reminding me of Pasolini or Fassbinder’s broken heroes. It had been a long time since I’d seen bodies like theirs in film, the playful way in which they moved, danced, loitered and chatted away. I wanted to get to know these people and to film them.

The boys are young Bulgarian Roma who have left behind poverty, their families and social customs. But they’re not really free in Vienna either. They’re divided. On the one hand, they have to have sex with men they find physically repulsive, but, on the other hand, they can finally be young here, far away from their wives and children, far away from their responsibilities.

I didn’t want to make a film about them, but rather with them. It had to be full of energy and playful. They play roles when they’re at work. In their everyday lives, they’re always acting. Their lives are full of fiction, full of the stories they tell each other. They’re proud. Generous. Imaginative. Irresponsible. On the hunt. So I went in search of a style that would do them justice. We decided on everything that was directed and staged together. Fiction can be truer and more real than having a camera that just stares at economic or social ills. But in this film – as is the case with the boys’ lives – the boundaries between reality and fiction, between looking in the mirror and fantasy, become blurred. Brothers of the Night is above all else a film about feelings.

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Watch it with: Someone you’ve paid for

Mix it with: Viennese beer

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New This Week – 11/10/17

Hard partying and wild love affairs lead to some serious soul-searching when a group of close-knit friends are forced to come to terms with the unexpected death of a loved one. Sort of like a pansexual version of ‘The Big Chill’, ‘Even Lovers Get the Blues‘ offers a sexually explicit portrait of a group of young Belgian friends.

In this gay short, an intense “bromance” between a gay football player and a straight military solider confronts the meaning of friendship and masculinity. Watch ‘Forces’ now on Dekkoo.com!

Thomas is blindsided when his estranged brother, Seth, shows up unannounced to the annual family vacation… with his boyfriend. Despite a well meaning attempt to surprise everyone, things do not go as planned, throwing Thomas and the family into an awkward week long vacation where everyone has problems and no one wants to talk about them. ‘An Ordinary Family’ is available now on Dekkoo.com!

Take a peek at the brand new, behind-the-scenes Dekkoo-exclusive video from photographer Marco Ovando. This time, Marco trains his lens on the absolutely gorgeous Andrew Vecchio. We guarantee it will have your blood racing within the first 5 seconds!

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Coming next week: “Had Fassbinder shot a documentary about Viennese prostitutes, it would look like this” – Filmstarts