LaLehet Al HaMayim (2003) ללכת על המים

אייל, סוכן מוסד, מקבל הוראה "ללוות" את אקסל, שבא לבקר את אחותו שבחרה לגור בארץ. אקסל הוא נכדו של פושע נאצי שמדינת ישראל לא ויתרה על ניסיונותיה ללכוד אותו ולהעמידו לדין. אייל ואקסל מטיילים בארץ, ובמהלך הטיול מתחילה להירקם מערכת יחסים וחברות אשר במהלכה מגלה כל אחד את המורכבות שבקשר, את השפעת הזיכרון והעבר המעיק, ואת הצורך להמשיך וליצוק תוכן ומהות לחייהם כאנשים צעירים.

Eyal (Lior Ashkenazi), grew up to be a tough Israeli "Mossad" agent. Axel (Knut Berger) is a sweet natured German gay man, and the grandson of a famous Nazi thought still to be living secretly somewhere in South America. When Axel comes to Israel to visit his sister, who has rebelliously left her family, Eyal is assigned to be his tour guide, as part of a "Mossad" last attempt to find Axel's grandfather. The two travel throughout Israel together and an unexpected close friendship develops. The unfamiliar emotions the men experience in Israel are merely an introduction to the trying and challenging events awaiting them later in Germany, when Eyal "visits" Axel in Berlin. A visit that forces each of them to face and question the meaning and the kind of life they lead.

ללכת על המים, internationally known as WALK ON WATER, phonetically read as LALEHET AL HAMAYIM in Hebrew, it is a film of intelligent direction and story. Some critiques found its ending implausible but to me, it's the exact contrast. If they only paid attention to every line that has been uttered by each actor, I am sure they'll take back their cynical views. If only the two lead actors went further than their close friendship, I am sure that it would bring so much more excitement to the film.

(In HEBREW, ENGLISH & GERMAN with ENGLISH subtitles)

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Endgame (2001)

A moody, stylish and sex-charged English thriller about Tom (Daniel Newman), a rent boy who is kept by George Norris (Mark McGann), a sado-masochistic gangster. Tom is kept in high style in a London flat filled with pop art and a bedroom deco set up, not only for sex, but also for blackmail with a hidden camera focused on the red silk bedsheets. Tom is being sucked down into a nasty scheme involving drugs, money and protection by Norris' connection with a crooked gay cop Dunston (John Benfield). Things turn nasty rather quickly in this fast-paced thriller as we glimpse scenes of Tom being beaten by his boss and sent in to a bar as part of a scheme to rough up the owner. As a way to introduce some sanity into his dark and abusive life, Tom befriends a straight American couple downstairs, Max & Nikke Bergman (Corey Johnson & Toni Barry) and is invited to dinner at their flat. When Tom returns to his flat, Norris starts a jealous spat with his boy and Norris is accidentally killed whilst forcing the boy for sex.

ENDGAME is a stunning British thriller about a hunky rent-boy caught in a web of blackmail and murder. But not an ordinary rent-boy as he is clearly for the wealthy only but you will be treated of Newman's many great shots in the shower, shirtless with leather pants and in underwear. With a crisp script, clear-cut editing, a striking soundtrack and excellent acting, this film is surely one of the best gay thrillers I've seen.

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Surveillance 24/7 (2007)

Adam (Tom Harper) has got his life just where he wants it. During the week he teaches IT at a posh private school. At the weekend he comes to London - the big, bad city - to club, dance, meet new friends -- and get laid. A casual encounter with a handsome stranger, Jake (Séan Brenden Brosnan), brings Adam to the attention of powerful, unseen forces. They rob him of his job, and follow his every move. Suddenly Adam's life is a mess - and he's in serious danger. But why -- why him? Then Adam discovers that Jake planted on him the only evidence of an affair with a gay royal. When Jake is found dead, Adam if forced to go on the run, with only two people he can trust: his disapproving father and Amy (Dawn Steele), a reporter, and old friend. With few resources, and an increasingly desperate, and murderous, adversary, Adam has to dig deep - to find the truth; and the hero inside...

SURVEILLANCE 24/7 is a visually entertaining paranoid tale that can actually be so terrifying if it does exist fully in reality. This fast-paced thriller has a good ensemble of British actors that includes Pierce Brosnan’s son Séan. Let me warn you that its style is not for everyone as I’ve read quite a lot of negative comments but I’d recommend it to those who can stay in focus when they watch a film as chances are they’d enjoy it the way I did.

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Chuecatown (2007)

Leo y Rey son una pareja de gays que viven en Chueca. Son un tanto atípicos, no tienen gusto para la moda, les gusta el fútbol, no tienen un duro y están pasando por una crisis de pareja, pero dentro de lo que cabe, viven felices. Al mismo tiempo, en el barrio se están produciendo extraños crímenes de ancianas. El asesino, Víctor, es el dueño de una inmobiliaria cuya máxima aspiración es convertir Chueca en un barrio modelo donde todos sus habitantes sean jóvenes, modernos y guapos viviendo en casas de lujo reformadas. Para ello se dedica a asesinar a todas aquellas ancianas que no quieren venderle el piso. Víctor mata a la vecina de Leo y Rey que, sin que ellos lo supieran, había testado en favor de la pareja dejándoles el piso. Rey le regala el piso a Antonia, su madre, una mujer mayor, fumadora, desvergonzada, contestona, que odia a Leo a muerte. Víctor, al ver que el piso ha sido ocupado por una nueva anciana se dedicará a partir de ese momento a intentar deshacerse de la nueva inquilina. Pero Antonia es un hueso duro de roer. Víctor, en su afán de conseguir el piso y de cargarse a la vieja, algo que ya se ha convertido para él en algo personal, se acercará poco a poco a Leo, seduciéndolo y engañándolo, haciendo que su ya maltrecha relación con Rey empeore aún más.

Leo (Pepón Nieto) and Rey (Carlos Fuentes) are a gay couple that lives in Chueca. They are very ordinary people with no fashion sense, like football, and though they have some relationship crisis, they still manage to live happily. Meanwhile, a kind of weird crime is taking place in Chueca committed by Victor (Pablo Puyol), a real estate owner whose main aspiration is to turn the neighbourhood to a new place intended for the young generation with good looks. Modern luxury houses will be built and in order for him to accomplish his mission, he murders all those elder ladies that do not give up their units. Next he kills the neighbour of Leo & Rey but unknown to Victor, the couple will have the legal claim of the unit if ever their old neighbour is gone, therefore, Rey gave the unit to his mother Antonia (Concha Velasco) who is a shameless, provoking smoker that hates Leo to death. When Victor notices that the unit has been occupied immediately, he works his way to get rid of the new tenant but Antonia is not that easy to give up. When Victor learns that Antonia is Rey's mother, Victor tries to get into Leo and seduce him to make sure that his relationship with Rey gets down the drain.

CHUECATOWN (titled BOYSTOWN in English) is a wickedly funny dark comedy from Spain. Great actors that will surely make you laugh and as usual, charming performances from Carlos Fuentes and Pablo Puyol. At last, Carlos has finally portrayed a gay role though this is actually his third appearance on a gay-themed film. And I almost didn't notice him because he is bald with a very muscular physique.

(In SPANISH with ENGLISH subtitles)

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On the Other Hand, Death (2008)

In this third instalment of the Donald Strachey mystery, Dorothy (Margot Kidder), an elderly guidance counsellor of a local high school who is open about her being a lesbian refuses to sell her home to a powerful developer. Soon she was suspended for advising one of the students to seek help from a “questioning youth hotline” and her house which she shares with the love of her life, Edith (Gabrielle Rose), was vandalized and the couple receives several homophobic threats. Is Dorothy’s sudden streak of bad lucks motivated by the real estate conglomerate or the anti-gay neighbourhood? As Donald (Chad Allen) investigates, three stories of great gay love surface: Dorothy’s undying love for Edith, Donald’s realization of how he loves Tim (Sebastian Spence), and the love of a young couple, Derek (Keegan Macintosh) & Joey (Kerry James), whose fathers are both homophobic. And there is a bit of sexual invitation when hunky Andrew (Damon Runyan), Tim’s ex-flame, in full nudity tries to seduce Donald who confirms that he is into monogamous (sexual) relationship only.

I’d say that ON THE OTHER HAND, DEATH is the best of the four instalments so far… it has a clever story plot that is fast-paced and full of twists & turns and fine acting from the lead characters.

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Ice Blues (2008)

The fourth installment of the Donald Strachey mystery and this time it's set in New York and the client is actually Tim (Sebastian Spence) who as everyone knows is the loving partner of Donald (Chad Allen) who receives an anonymous 3M donation to shelter kids at risk. An instant meeting between the representative of the donor and Tim at a parking lot was halted when a hit man starts firing at the two of them. The donor vanishes and was found dead inside Donald's rented card in their residence the next morning.

ICE BLUES has a plot so unrealistic but the director managed to divert one's attention to its fast phased actions making it pleasant and thrilling to watch. Allen is as usual the series' best asset. He has an easygoing acting style that makes his character appealing.

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2 Minutes Later (2007)

This sexually charged thriller concerns an insurance adjuster named Michael Dalmar (Michael Molina) who wrestles with his feelings of homosexuality. After an assignment takes him to Philadelphia, he makes contact with his licentious brother Kyle. When the brother turns up missing, Michael pretends to be him in order to investigate. Soon Michael finds that he enjoys his brother's libidinous lifestyle.

2 MINUTES LATER has been badly reviewed and I am trying to understand why. Is it a kind of marketing strategy or is that bad, really? Jessica Graham's portrayal as Abigail the lesbian detective is quite good. The photography is far better than average. It certainly has some good laughs and some very sexual moments. It's an Indie film... and I wonder why so many people would want to see it with all those negative reviews. Well, judge for yourself!

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Little Boy Blue (1997)

A teenager tries to shield his family from his father's violence in this downbeat drama. Jimmy West (Ryan Phillippe) is a young man growing up within a horribly dysfunctional family in a small Texas town. His father Ray (John Savage) is a Vietnam veteran whose physical and emotional scars from the war have turned him into a psychotic; he terrorizes his two younger children, Mikey (Adam Burke) and Mark (Devon Michael), brutalizes his wife Kate (Nastassja Kinski), and sometimes forces Jimmy and Kate to have sex at gunpoint. Jimmy's girlfriend Traci (Jenny Lewis) is about to move away to attend college, and while Jimmy would like to go with her (and with his abilities as a baseball player he could probably win a scholarship), he's afraid to leave his mother and siblings behind with no protection against Ray's abuse. One night, a man stops by Ray's tavern and begins asking questions; the stranger arouses Ray's fear and suspicion, and he never makes it home after an "accident" in the man's room. The death leads the local police to begin asking questions of their own, and soon a number of ugly revelations about the family's history come to light.

LITTLE BOY BLUE is simply amazing... I didn't expect it to be so good. It is a well-written and a well-acted mystery drama. And you'll feel good when you learn the truth in the end that you will remember this movie for sure...

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Mauvais Genres (2001)

Bo Ancelin (Robinson Stévenin), jeune homme qui ne se voit, ne se comprend et ne s’habille qu’en femme, tombe amoureux de son nouveau voisin, Johnny (Stéphane Metzger). Mais ce dernier, qui se veut un « dur », n’a que faire de ses avances, auxquelles il ne répond que par le mépris et la méchanceté. Bo est le fils d’un notable poursuivi pour pédophilie. Le policier chargé de l’enquête voudrait bien obtenir son témoignage, qui confirmerait celui qu’il a déjà donné sept ans auparavant, étant enfant, et que la justice avait négligé. Mais une autre affaire vient perturber ce petit monde : des prostituées sont retrouvées assassinées et mutilées, et parmi elles, des amies ou connaissances de Bo. Cette dernière (parlons d’elle au féminin, puisque c’est le souhait du personnage) va passer du rôle de témoin à celui de suspect et même d’enquêteur, cherchant à trouver un fil conducteur dans cette affaire compliquée qui semble prendre ses racines une quinzaine d’années plus tôt.

Bo Ancelin (Robinson Stévenin) is a young man who sees himself as a woman and falls in love with his new neighbour, Johnny (Stéphane Metzger). However, Johnny only reciprocated Bo’s advances with sarcasm and nastiness. On the other hand, Bo is the son of a notable paedophile being investigated by the authorities. They want Bo’s additional testimony to follow up the allegation he made seven years before which was kind of neglected by them. In the meantime, prostitutes are found slaughtered and mutilated, and among them, are friends or acquainted with Bo. This time Bo becomes the prime suspect which he will investigate himself to clear his name and later found out that the scrupulous murders has something to do with an incident that took place fifteen years earlier.

MAUVAIS GENRES also known as BAD GENRES, TRANSFIXED and GENDER BIAS is mainly a serial-killer thriller with minor sub-plots that are somehow related if not directly related to the main story. This Belgian-French offer which is directed well with a fine cast of actors will keep you guessing until the end. It is definitely worth your time.

(In FRENCH with ENGLISH subtitles)

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The Book of Revelation (2006)

A talented dancer who was abducted and tortured by three mysterious women struggles to come to grips with his harrowing experience. This adaptation from an unsettling novel is about a beautiful and charismatic dancer who has immersed himself in a dream world of graceful movement, Daniel (Tom Long) maintains an amiable but somewhat detached relationship with his girlfriend, and a passionate relationship with his mentor and choreographer Isabel (Greta Scacci). When his girlfriend asks him to buy a pack of cigarette in the morning of a big performance night, he doesn't return, the women in his life are devastated. Upon returning without explanation eleven days later, the profoundly shaken Daniel is unable to articulate his experience and loses his ability to dance. To make matters worse, Daniel is unable to engage emotionally with even the people who were closest to him before the strange incident. Now, in order to reclaim his identity by confronting his abductors, Daniel sets out to find the three women with only his memories of the ambient sounds that flowed into his window to guide him.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION is an Australian premier film that tackled a very rare issue – male rape. Tom Long powerfully and convincingly portrayed the role of a mesmerizing lead dancer turned powerless victim. All departments – Acting, Direction, Musical Score, Editing, Screenplay, Cinematography – are stunningly topnotch that they surely deserve international recognition. This will definitely stay as one of my favourites. A MUST-SEE!

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