..GIF Rating
"..a touching coming-of-age story with fascinating, unique characters, strong acting, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns.."
Synopsis:
Aaron Webber makes an outstanding feature-film debut in WHOLE NEW THING as 13-year-old Emerson, a precocious home-schooled boy who spends most of his time, when not alone in his room, with his very liberal parents and his parents' friends. He takes naked saunas and smokes dope with his mother, Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins), and father, Rog (Robert Joy), and gives erotic back rubs to their female friends. But Kaya, who needs a change in her life, believes it must start with Emerson going to the local public school and meeting some kids his own age. It also involves her getting involved with Denny (Callum Keith Rennie) because of Rog's growing bitterness about his failing career. Despite his protestations, Emerson goes off to school, and after his initial displeasure with the whole new experience, thinking he is above it all, he soon develops a crush on his teacher, Don Grant (cowriter Daniel MacIvor). Don, meanwhile, likes to spend his free time having anonymous sex with strange men in public rest-stop bathrooms. Beautifully shot on location in Nova Scotia by Christopher Ball, and expertly directed and cowritten by Amnon Buchbinder, WHOLE NEW THING, a film-festival favorite shot in a mere 15 days, is a touching coming-of-age story with fascinating, unique characters, strong acting, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns. Buchbinder's brother David composed, arranged, conducted, and produced the film's score, with additional music from the Hidden Cameras.
Independent Review:
"With great skill this story interweaves fascinating people, isolated by the frigid planes of Nova Scotia into a complex puzzle that answers far more questions about identity than is at first apparent"
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'Whole New Thing' is another fine little film from Canada, utilizing an excellent cast of Canadian actors to present a modern day conundrum about identity in a manner more sensitive than most other films addressing the subject.
Director/writer (with actor Daniel MacIvor) Amnon Buchbinder has created a series of characters, seemingly disparate in age and outlook, who each has a problem coping with who they actually are, and with great skill this story interweaves these fascinating people, isolated by the frigid planes of Nova Scotia into a complex puzzle that answers far more questions about identity than is at first apparent.
Emerson (a strong debut for Aaron Webber) is the thirteen-year-old son of environmentalist post hippie parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy) whose creative look at life has provided home schooling for Emerson, encouraged his gift for writing, but now find that there are gaps in Emerson's education that suggest enrolling him in the local Middle School might mend. Kaya and Rog are in a stale marriage: each has needs the other can't appreciate.
Emerson enjoys his isolation and is not eager to move into the 'mainstream' by attending school. Kaya visits the middle school and meets teacher Don Grant (Daniel MacIvor) whom she invites to her home to meet and impress Emerson. Don is a bright, lovable teacher who has failed in gay relationships, relegating his needs to visits to park restrooms. When Don comes to dinner, Emerson is impressed with Don's acceptance of Emerson's outlook and decides to give the school a chance.
Emerson, long-haired and androgynous in appearance, suffers ridicule at school but finds considerable solace in the classroom atmosphere Don Grant adapts to suit Emerson's intelligent needs. Don is 42 and Emerson is 13 and while they become friends, Emerson develops his first 'crush' on Don. And while this is happening Kaya meets young stud Denny (the always excellent Callum Keith Rennie) and begins an affair.
Many moments of electric snaps occur among all of the characters (a matter of whose crisis is more threatening!) and the manner in which each of the confrontations with each character and conjoined demons occur begin to resolve the seemingly improbable results that alter the growth of each.
The success of a film dealing with such subject matter is the manner in which each of the stories is told. There is no crude acting out, no pat answers, and no unnecessary 'drama' for drama's sake. This is a very honest film that deserves the attention of a wide audience eager to understand the varying motivations of other people. ~ Grady Harp
READ ME! ..(Important "Whole New Thing" PDF Information File)
Film Background Information
Web: Additional Cast, Details and Bios at IMDb
Director: Amnon Buchbinder
Writer: Amnon Buchbinder & Daniel MacIvor
Cast: Full cast and crew
Genre: Drama | Comedy
Awards: 11 wins and 2 nomination
Runtime: 92 minutes
Spoken Language: English
Subtitles: n/a
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Film Clip: 'Whole New Thing'
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FOR A LOST SOLDIER (Voor een verloren soldaat) (1992) (Netherlands) (Dir.Roeland Kerbosch) (Spoken Language: Dutch) (Subtitles: English)
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..GIF Rating
"For A Lost Soldier" takes a delicate subject, a romantic relationship between a grown up and a child, and invests it with heart aching tenderness. Highly recommended.
Synopsis:
For A Lost Soldier begins in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands late in WWII. Food shortages are producing slow starvation in Amsterdam, so 12-year-old Jeroen, along with a with a score of other children (including his friend, Jan), are being evacuated to rural Friesland. There the children will be sheltered by country folk who can feed them properly and keep them safe until the war ends. Jeroen is welcomed into a fisherman's family while Jan is boarded at the farm down the road. Jeroen's foster parents quickly become as close and nurturing as his birth parents; and Jeroen settles comfortably in with the family's five children. Both boys experience their first sexual stirrings-Jan for Jeroen's older foster sisters and Jeroen for Jan-although neither is able to act out his adolescent lust. One morning the occupying Germans retreat, blowing up the town's bridge on their way out of town. Allied soldiers appear, setting up bivouac and beginning repairs on the bridge. One of the Allied soldiers, Walt, singles Jeroen out from the crowd of welcoming townspeople as the first kid to be boosted up for a look inside the military vehicle; after which Walt gives Jeroen a packet of gum to take home. The next day as Jeroen is walking home, Walt offers him a ride in a military car. They go to an old barn where Walt sexually assaults Jeroen. At first the boy is terrified and repulsed, but afterwards, in the safety of his bed, he discovers he wants to feel and smell and taste Walt again. He does. During each rendezvous Jeroen is the frightened, passive recipient of the soldier's rough, aggressive treatment; but after each encounter he craves more. The boy becomes more and more emotionally bonded to his soldier and simultaneously more and more separated from his foster family and his peers. Just as Jeroen is deciding to abandon his family and even his country to become Walt's catamite, the Netherlands is liberated. Walt and his unit vanish overnight, abandoning Jeroen amongst people he no longer relates to. Frantically the boy searches for his lost soldier. During the 35 years between then and the time Jeroen writes his book on which this film is faithfully true to, Jeroen never found Walt and was never able to fill the huge emptiness left behind by his lost soldier.
Independent Review:
"One of the tremendous strengths of this film is its refusal to load the story with contemporary psychological and social baggage.."
Set in the Netherlands near the end of the World War II, the film is an extended flashback in which Jeroen Boman (Jeroen Krabbe), a middle-aged choreographer at work on a piece about the Allied liberation, recalls his adolescent relationship with a Canadian soldier 40 years earlier.
More than a love story the film offers a rose-colored portrait of a more austere and innocent era when the love that dare not speak its name remained mute. Most of the story is remembered through the eyes of the young Jeroen (Maarten Smit), an introspective blond youth of 13 who, because of food shortages, is sent by his mother from Amsterdam to live in the country. Jeroen's foster parents are a stern but kindly fisherman and his wife, who have three children of their own and lead a spare, hardy existence that seems scarcely touched by the war.
Life in the country for Jeroen is exhilarating but lonely. Sitting at the seaside, he and his best friend and fellow exile, Jan (Derk-Jan Kroon), fantasize about rowing their way home to Amsterdam. Because Jeroen's foster parents are deeply religious, the boy spends more time than he would like in church and in Sunday school.
At the same time, Jeroen also begins to feel the first twinges of puberty. But his feelings, unlike those of his playmates, are homoerotic. Attracted to Jan, who is rapidly becoming girl crazy, Jeroen longs for a deeper, more soulful friendship. And when liberating Allied soldiers arrive, he catches the eye of Walt Cook (Andrew Kelley), a handsome Canadian soldier who recognizes a kindred spirit and becomes a mentor and older brother figure. Although the language barrier precludes much verbal communication between them, Jeroen and Walt form a brief but intense and loving attachment that ends abruptly with the troops' departure.
Except for an inexplicable streak of bitterness, Walt seems almost as innocent as Jeroen. He lavishes him with candy, teaches him to jitterbug and to drive a jeep and not only tells him but shows him that he's special. In the film's physical love scene, an affectionate game of roughhouse turns stumblingly amorous, and Walt tells Jeroen that he is his 'little prince'.
One of the tremendous strengths of this film is its refusal to load the story with contemporary psychological and social baggage. There is no disparaging mention of homosexuality. Nor is there any implied accusation of child abuse. Although Jeroen is shattered by Walt's departure, the film assigns no blame and assesses no damages.
At the end of the film one of Jeroen's contemporary associates and friends presents him with two restored and enlarged photos. One was a photo of Jeroen, sans Walt, with his surrogate family of that earlier time. No photo of Walt survived and since it was Walt who was wielding the camera for that 'family photo', a nearby scare crow was hastily pulled in as his surrogate in the photo and his dog-tags were hung around the scare crows neck to officiate his presence. The second photo was of those dog-tags, cropped and super enlarged so that Walt's identifying 'name, rank and serial number' are clearly evident. Will this simply become Jeroen's one piece of tangible remembrance of Walt or could that information lead to . .???? The answer to that question is up to your imagination. ~ Stephen Holden
Independent Review:
"Haunting, brutally honest, and bittersweet"
Perhaps a bit taboo for most US audiences, I found this movie to be touching and bittersweet.
Based on the autobiography by Rudi Van Dantzig, "For A Lost Soldier" takes place during the end of WW II in the Netherlands. It's the story of a young boy in Amsterdam whose parents send him to live in the country (Friesland) for his own safety. A family who had initially asked for a young girl ends up being young Jeroen's "adoptive" family. Jeroen is coming of age, being the tender age of 12, and is making discoveries on his own, especially his sexuality. He doesn't necessarily understand his feelings at first, until the arrival of the Canadian Liberators in 1945.
One particular soldier, Walt Cook, takes an interest in young Jeroen and a friendship blossoms between the two. Heit, Jeroen's adoptive father, sees that there is more to their friendship than meets the eye, and lets him know that he sees what's going on. This doesn't bother the other soldiers, however. In fact, just as other soldiers are courting young girls in the village, so does Walt "court" young Jeroen. The two fall in love with each other, and a sexual relationship does indeed develop.
Perhaps it's Walt not wanting to face the hurt Jeroen will eventually face, but he fails to tell Jeroen that his platoon will be leaving. Jeroen is crushed when he realizes that Walt is gone the next day he searches the village in vain for him. A heart-breaking scene.
When Jeroen's mother returns for her son the first thing he tells her is "I think you should know I am going to Canada!"
The film has some beautiful cinematography. Maarten Smit was excellent as Jeroen, as was Andrew Kelley (who is a dancer in the Royal Dutch Ballet) who played Walt. The autobiographer Rudi Van Dantzig, himself, has choreographed for the Royal Dutch Ballet, and it's obvious he had a hand in choosing just the right person to play the "Lost Soldier".
This kind of film couldn't have been made anywhere else due to the age of young Jeroen. Overall, an excellent film. Haunting, brutally honest, and bittersweet.
READ ME! ..(Important "For A Lost Soldier" PDF Information File)
Film Background Information
Web: Additional Cast, Details and Bios at IMDb
Director: Roeland Kerbosch
Writers: Don Bloch (writer) & Rudi van Dantzig (novel)
Cast, Crew, Credits: Full Cast, Crew & Credits
Genre: Drama | Romance | War
Awards: 1 Win
Runtime: 92 minutes
Spoken Language: Dutch, English
Subtitles: English
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Film Clip: "For A Lost Soldier" ~created by 'Meerkat86
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BROKEN SKY ( El cielo dividido) (2006) (Mexico) (Dir. Julián Hernández) (Spoken Language: Spanish) (Subtitles: English)
..GIF Rating
"Ain't Nothing Broken Here!
Exquisite, hypnotic, achingly beautiful and utterly enticing, Broken Sky puts the rise and fall of a relationship under the microscope, depicting with blistering accuracy the pain of unrequited love, rejection and loss."
Synopsis:
Mexican short-film specialist Julian Hernandez marks his sophomore feature film with this erotic, impressionistic tale about an emotionally tumultuous love triangle experienced between three attractive twenty-something men. Gerardo (Miguel Angel Hoppe) is a sensitive man who is deeply in love with longtime boyfriend Jonas (Fernando Arroyo). When Jonas becomes infatuated with a stranger he recently met at a local nightclub, heartbroken Gerardo soon seeks solace in the arms of sympathetic Sergio (Alejandro Rojo). Though his lovelorn pains are palpable, Gerardo remains incapable of ending his romance with Jonas despite the rapidly deepening chasm that seems to be splitting the once-happy pair apart.
~ Jason Buchanan
Independent Review:
"..daring, exquisite, hypnotic and achingly beautiful.."
'Broken Sky' ~ 'El cielo dividido' is a daring, exquisite, hypnotic and achingly beautiful experimental film from Mexican writer/director Julián Hernández and as such it is bound to polarize audiences. Some will fault the film for self-indulgence while others will praise the bravery of a film of this topic to come from a country not particularly known for its flexible social attitudes.
Julián Hernández focuses on the history of a first love and 'Broken Sky' ~ 'El cielo dividido' puts the rise and fall of a relationship under the microscope, depicting with blistering accuracy the pain of unrequited love, rejection and loss. and without using dialogue he tells his story simply with silent actors, minimal narrative comments which serve as program notes, music, and ravishingly beautiful photographic composition.
Gerardo (Miguel Ángel Hoppe) opens the film, a solo youth wandering what appears to be the streets of Mexico City finally ending up in an open amphitheater where his eye glimpses another lone youth Jonas (Fernando Arroyo) sitting staring into space. Gerardo wanders over to him, sits beside him, gains the courage to touch his shoulder, Jonas responds glowingly - and love begins. Through the next scenes we find the couple making love both in bed and in unexpected public places including the stacks of the library of the school where they both are students -and where another pair of eyes enters: Sergio (Alejandro Rojo) watches longingly as Gerardo and Jonas kiss and display an aura of passion Sergio obviously longs for.
The new couple share many experiences, all bathed in love, until they eventually go to a disco: Jonas dances with an enchanted Bruno (Ignacio Pereda) and a trace of chemistry is generated, a fact that Gerardo, watching the boys dance, senses and is disturbed. A crack is created in their bliss and that crack only widens as they each have mixed responses to what they perceive is escaping. Gerardo encounters the winsome Sergio and the two bond physically, a fact that forces Jason to reevaluate his initial feelings for Gerardo.
All of this story is told without dialogue of words but with a very strong dialogue of eyes. Director Hernández seems to want to share how love is an internalized emotion, only demonstrated with physical intimacy, but fragile as a newborn in its vulnerability to wounds. Cinematographer Alejandro Cantú finds stunning settings and lighting and sensitive explorations of love making that never exceed tasteful states. His manner of showing time elapsing is to pan walls within a room that serve as flashbacks and flash-forwards as a means of carrying the story forward. Film editor Emiliano Arenales Osorio uses some very creative techniques to keep the viewer guessing as to whether we are observing fact, fantasy, present or past. And the musical score by Arturo Villela deftly maintains the minimalist stance with simple phrases by cello, harpsichord, and violin, saving the passion expression for the use of Dvorák in Rusalka's 'Song to the Moon' as ravishingly sung by Renée Fleming. Broken Sky is nothing less than stunning - if at the end of the film you don't feel the impact of the flashback to what really happened on the dance floor, then you haven't really loved and lost...
The only downside to this film is its length. It is 140 minutes long and would have been much more powerful had it been cut to 90 minutes at best. It is a far too visually stunning piece of work to step beyond the patience of an audience happy to see the birth, blossoming and challenges of a first love between two beautiful young men. The actors are indeed a pleasure to watch, but the old adage rings true, "less is more". You can not help but wonder what Julián Hernández will create next. He deserves kudos and applause for this experimental film and hopefully he will learn to shy away from its tendency toward self-indulgence displayed in it's length.
~ Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA, United States)
READ ME! ..(Important "Broken Sky" PDF Information File)
Film Background Information
Web: Additional Cast, Details and Bios at IMDb
Director: Julián Hernández
Writer: Julián Hernández
Cast: Full Cast and Crew
Genre: Drama | Romance
Awards: 1 win
Runtime: 140 minutes
Spoken Language: Spanish
Subtitles: English
File Upload/Download/Sharing Service: Free & Premium Accounts
For easy multiple file downloads use the free RapidShare Manager tool.
Film Clip: 'Broken Sky' ~ 'El cielo dividido''
A tribute by 'freakyquency88'
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LATTER DAYS (2003) (USA) (Dir.C. Jay Cox) (Spoken Language:English) (Available Subtitles: Spanish & Portuguese) (+Soundtrack)
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..GIF Rating
Synopsis:
Huge festival and theatrical hit, Latter Days is the story of 19-year-old Elder Aaron Davis, a sexually confused Mormon missionary who moves into an apartment complex in West Hollywood with a fellow group of missionaries. There he meets a neighbor, Christian, who, on a bet, tries to seduce him. When Christian exposes Davis' secret desire, Davis rejects Christian for being shallow and empty. As each boy's reality is shattered, the two are drawn into a passionate romance that risks destroying their lives. Audiences, young and old and straight and gay, have been moved to tears by this beautiful story of the transformational power of love and family.
Plot:
Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss) and Christian Markelli (Wes Ramsey) are the two most opposite people in the world. Aaron is a young Elder (or a Mormon missionary) who wants to do his family proud and is quite passionate about his religion and film. Christian is a shallow WeHo waiter/party boy who only looks forward to bedding a new guy every night. After Aaron and three other missionaries move into the apartment across from Christian, his friends bet him $50 that he can't get one of them to jump into the sack, so he instantly latches onto Aaron. There are two problems, though - Christian is falling in love with Aaron and the Mormons are not the biggest fans of the homosexual community. Once Aaron is discovered, the two have to go through trials of regret, loss, perseverance, and forgiveness if they both want to get to the thing that matters to them most: each other. ~ Will
Independent Review:
"A Refreshing, New Angle for Love Stories"
"LATTER DAYS is a classy little film that holds its own among the light love stories out today. And yet it is more: some unique phobias and prejudices are examined very genuinely and the result is a movie that gives us not only characters about whom we care but enlightens us as to both sides of an ongoing issue: homophobia.Bright, crisp writing and directing by C. Jay Cox, LATTER DAYS presents a tale of a West Hollywood effervescent young man who plays the bar scene and one night stands joie de vivre to the hilt. Christian (Wes Ramsey) lives in a bungalow apartment setting with his roommate Traci (Amber Benson) who is a singer (and a fine one!). Into their rather wild life atmosphere enters a group of Mormon missionaries, out from Utah to spend their requisite two years converting the world to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. All but one are homophobic, redneck types, but one of them, Aaron (Steve Sandvoss), is a closet case gay man. Julie and Christian establish a bet about Christian's able to seduce Aaron and the games begin. The courtship is actually mutual and once the two have been together it is Aaron who feels the anguish and Christian who re-examines his motives and feelings. The rest of the story is tender, deals with many interpersonal issues not at all restricted to the gay world, and revealing the ending would be unfair to the complete enjoyment that this movie offers. Suffice it to say that the cast is excellent and includes wonderful roles as Jacqueline Bissett as owner of the bar/restaurant were Christian works, and Mary Kay Place as Aaron's died-in-the-wool Mormon mother. The pacing is brisk, the acting is top notch, the cinematography is first rate, and the music score is well integrated. But the overall reason to see this film (and see it again) is the sophisticated manner in which C. Jay Cox explores one set of religious issues in the complex pattern of same sex relationships. This is an intelligent, funny, tender, and inspiring movie. "
~ Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Independent Review:
"This is a must see movie . ."
"A perfect mix of drama, romance, and comedy. The acting is brilliant and the chemistry between all the characters very believable. Strong performances from the cast makes up for the brief moments that the plot falters. But over-all the script is excellent and boldly takes on the self-hatred and homophobia that religious teachings have been brainwashing people with for centuries.
Wes Ramsey (The Guiding Light) gives a wonderful performance as shallow party boy Christian who accepts a bet with his friends that he can seduce his new neighbor, closeted Mormon missionary Aaron Davis, wonderfully portrayed by Steve Sandvoss. Sparks soon fly and romance ensues between the sincere, naive Aaron and the carefree Christian. Aaron is both drawn to and disgusted by Christian, who he sees as shallow and vain. But the audience and Aaron soon learn that there is more to Christian than his party boy ways and one-night stands. Of course it all hits the fan when the budding romance of Aaron and Christian is discovered by Aaron's fellow Mormon missionaries. Aaron is sent home in shame to face his family and church while a serious misunderstanding leaves Chris devastated, his life forever changed by the encounter with Aaron.
Ramsey and Sandvoss have great chemistry and both do a wonderful job of bringing their roles to life on-screen, making Christian and Aaron complex and rich characters. Completing the cast is Jacqueline Bisset as Christian's motherly and compassionate boss Lila. Rebekah Jordan as Chris' roommate and best friend Julie, a would-be singer. Amber Benson (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) as Chris' friend and co-worker Traci, a struggling actress. Scene-stealer Khary Payton gives a funny performance as the HIV+ Andrew, another pal of Christian's. Erik Palladino ("ER") appears as a man dying of AIDS who Chris befriends. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Ryder, one of Aaron's fellow missionaries. And Mary Kay Place gives a strong performance as Aaron's unforgiving religious mother.
I highly recommend this film and applaud the cast and writer, C. Jay Cox, for bringing this controversial movie to life. "
~ Quiet One (United States)
READ ME! ..(Important "Latter Days" PDF Information File)
Film Background Information
Web: Cast, Bios and Additional Details at IMDb
Director: C. Jay Coxe
Writer: C. Jay Cox
Complete Credits: Full Cast, Crew & Credits
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Awards: 3 Wins
Run Time: 107 min.
Spoken Language: English
Available Subtitles: Spanish | Portuguese
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: "Latter Days"
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Film Clip: "Latter Days"
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