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SHELTER - Best Gay Themed Film of 2008!I just wanted to comment once more on SHELTER, the film I consider the best of 2008. At least thru the current month of June. I got my DVD copy this past week from Amazon which currently is offering it at the lowest web price. I watched this incredible film when it debuted on HERE! TV back in April and I swear I watched it almost nightly. The two leads; Trevor Wright (Zach) and Brad Rowe (Shawn) have such incredible chemistry that definitely adds to the appeal of this classic. I haven't been this impressed with a gay themed film since I bought the beautiful French film; JUST A QUESTION OF LOVE, which also had excellent chemistry between the two males leads. If you haven't seen either of these films, I HIGHLY recommend both of them. Having them in your DVD collection is a definite plus! Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2008-06-07 12:52. |
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I have to agree
I have to agree whole-heartedly with both choices! I just love the scene in Shelter where Zach, the morning after they have their first sexual encounter, gets in his car and just smiles from ear to ear. You assume at first that he left in such a hurry because he was freaked out, but really he was just late in picking up his sister and nephew for work.
A lovely, unexpected, gentle scene.
It is so sweet!
I love the scen when Zach and Shawn lying on bed..Shawn touched Zach's face and said"You are beautiful"...Thats so sweet...Im always looking for someone that I can say"You are beautiful"sincerely........
The Best gay film of 2008 is "The Witnesses"
I totally agree.
I haven't seen Shelter yet, but it would really need to be a masterpiece of filmmaking to better The Witnesses. It's a devastatingly powerful film, yet filled with humanity and love. The entire cast is utterly brilliant, playing complex--genuine--characters, flawed yet admirable, each in their own way. A heart-breaking yet hopeful film, and an absolute must.
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So many movies, so little time!
afhickman
"It takes a village (to make Village People)"
I had intended to pick up a copy of "The Wintesses" in London. But as I sort through my DVDs, I find it isn't there. I shall order it forthwith. I also want to see "Shelter," although I'm frankly tired of movies that think the only way to humanize gay couples is by bringing children into their lives. Two of the more interesting films I've seen recently are "Le Clan" and "Verfolgt." The first you may have seen, as it's by director Gael Morel, who, as an actor, starred in "Wild Reeds." He is working here again with actor Stephane Rideau, who was his costar in "Wild Reeds." I't s a difficult film, but worthwhile. Nicholas Cazale is also featured. "Verfolgt" is not a gay film, although I have seen it classified as such. It's a German film in black and white that stars out Lesbian actress Maren Kroymann and Kostja Ullmann, who was the straight boy in "Sommersturm." Ullmann's character is a teenager who becomes involved with Kroymann, his parole officer. They develop an intense, S&M relationship that is often painful to watch. But the leads are incredible, and it's worth seeing if only to admire Ullmann's beauty.
The Witnesses
I have seen "The Witnesses" (aka "Les Temoins")
afhickman
"It takes a village (to make Village People)"
I did bring a copy of it home from London, and I did watch it. It is an amazing film. I especially liked Emmanuelle Beart, but the entire cast was good. Somebody was listing so-called "period" gay films, and this one takes place in the '80s, during the early days of the AIDs epidemic. I also brought back a Norweigian film called "Reprise." Has this one been discussed on AE? It's been compared to "Trainspotting," but the tone is quite different. Two friends write books; one gets his published, the other doesn't--at least not right away. Not much else happens, and I was a bit confused by the ending, but I think there was a strong homosexual subtext to the relationship between the two young men that might have gone a long way toward explaining the decisions at least one of them, Eric, makes. At any rate, it's a superior film, with a great soundtrack and some genuine laughs that seem to come out of nowhere. Plus, it's from Norway! How often do you get to say that?
The Witnesses on DVD
The Witnesses was reviewed in the DVDiva column of one of our local gay weeklies. I can't believe that I totally missed out on it and now I've been bombarded with reports about how good a film it is -- our local DVD reviewer gave it the same high marks that everyone here has given it. I guess it's half past time I gave it a watch. Can hardly wait.
I agree
I finally watched Shelter last night and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I thought it was a sweet story and Trevor Wright played Zach's conflict with his sexuality very subtly. I have to agree with the previous poster and say that my favorite scene of the entire movie was when Zach got in his car after spending the night with Shaun and smiled. It wasn't until that moment that you fully realize the burden of his life.
I must say that I thought the end was a little contrived but at the same time it's nice to have a gay-themed movie with a happy ending and without a tragic fate befalling one of the characters.
Absolutely...
Shelter was a wonderful movie. I enjoyed every moment of it. And yes, that smile in the car as he drove away- spoke volumes. The ending was maybe a little overly optimistic but don't we all want real endings that way?
I say we take the warning labels off everything and let nature take it's course.
Finally watched Shelter last night.
Meh. If we grade on a curve, comparing it to other American gay indie films, then, yes, Shelter is pretty good. But, despite strong performances from Trevor Wright and Tina Holmes (as Zach's sister), I was mostly underwhelmed--maybe I'm just tired of endless coming out films, but I found this to be largely unoriginal and very predictable. Most disappointingly, I found the romance between Zach and Shaun to be incredibly passionless, I just didn't feel or see any electricity between these two men.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Obviously, I knew this was you ...
Hey, Joe --
I saw your subject line when I was scanning the recent comments section of the homepage and I thought, "This is Joe's!" (How did he know? the rest of the world asks.) I appreciate your assessment, even though I saw and felt different things from those you've expressed.
I do see your point re: needing to move on from coming-out stories -- as I've expressed elsewhere on this site, and as our friend Justen pointed out, there's a need to move to a point at which the gay relationship is incidental to a larger story. I have a couple of thoughts about that -- first, coming-out stories (in real life, therefore reflected in art) are never going to stop occurring; and, even though the process is easier than it used to be (at least from the perspective of those of us who had to do in an earlier time of less enlightenment), it still takes a process of deliberate steps that are difficult for the person doing it for the first time. (For instance, I just read about a champion diver at the University of Missouri who came out in several steps over the course of several years -- in high school and in college -- and, though his parents and best friends were and are extremely supportive, he still had a teammate who commented that he was going to hell for his "lifestyle." That's a coming-out story in 2008 -- does it not need to be told?)
Second, I think Shelter does tell a new variation on the coming-out story: one with a happy ending, one that involves a variety of family dynamics, an older man/younger man romance, and a story about how differences in social class can divide us but can be overcome.
In our conversation earlier today, Joe, something that occurred to me, which I neglected to bring out, was that maybe the casualness of the relationship was indicative of a California laid-back state of mind, which a Florida man like you and an Iowa farm boy like me might not tap into.
Anyway -- the beauty of different perspectives is that each of us is entitled to our own -- that's why you can have Jeremie and I can have Bruno (and Yannick -- yes, I'm that greedy), why you can have Andreas and I can have Jo (and we can share Thore). And I have dibs on Father Kieron!
Just saw "The New Twenty"
I lurrrve Bill Sage...
What a nice article is it.