DVD Review - Male Shorts: International V2

This summer, Breaking Glass Pictures compiled a collection of gay short films. There were five that ranged from the erotic, to the surreal, to the thrilling and to the poetic. This second collection is also a group of five, but this group is more straight-forward and simple stories. If there is a unifying theme among all of them, it would have to be men failing to connect. The men in these short films attempt to engage in relationships with others, but by the end of each story, those men end up alone, either abandoned or having to walk away from the situation. The reasons for the loneliness are clearer in some of the short films than in the others.

Caída Libre (Free Fall) is by director Santiago Henao Veléz from Colombia. Colombia over the past couple of years has done much to become more gay friendly. The lack of homophobia in this film is perhaps an indication of that, but what this film most indicates is the fact that prostitution is legal in that South American country. The opening scene is that of an open market where street vendors sell various things from fruits to cigarettes. In that environment walks a 16-year-old, sex worker named Jhony, played by Daniel Bañol Mazo. He's as comfortable selling himself out in the middle of the daytime as a man is comfortable selling bananas out of a grocery cart. Sex work here is done without shame or secrecy. Yet, even Jhony who seems so confident and unabashedly sexual can be awkward and lonely because of unrequited feelings for a boy and Veléz underscores those feelings with shots of Mazo tiny in a wide-shot of the city or even isolated in a sauna or park bench.

Enter is by directors Manuel Billi and Benjamin Bodi from France. This is possibly the most confusing of all the shorts, while at the same time the most erotic and with the most nudity. The short begins with a clip from Les Vampires by Louis Feuillade, a black-and-white film from 1915. The clip is of a character dancing like a vampire bat. What the significance of the clip is to this gay story is what has me baffled. Otherwise, the story consists of a man, played by Raphaël Fournier, who arrives at an orgy but spends most of the time in the bathroom talking to his boyfriend, played by Félix Maritaud who was recently in BPM (Beats Per Minute). The man didn't seem to know his boyfriend would be there. Yet, the man seemed apprehensive about participating in the orgy, even if his intestines hadn't initially prevented him. Apparently, the group sex is something his boyfriend enjoys more. Whether or not that's going to be a wedge issue is likely the case. The centerpiece though is the conversation between the man and his boyfriend in the bathtub under a kind of drug-addled anxiety.

Sr. Raposo (Mr. Fox) is by director Daniel Nolasco from Brazil. Nolasco directed a short for the previous collection from Breaking Glass Pictures called Netuno (Neptune). Strangely though, there is a scene in this short that is reminiscent of a scene in a short in the previous collection. Yet, the scene here isn't reminiscent of a scene in Nolasco's previous short. The scene here is reminiscent of a short by someone else, namely Travis Mathews' Just Past Noon on a Tuesday. Nolasco's opening shot is of two naked men on a bed in the daytime passionately kissing and later engaging in intense sexuality. Of the two guys, one is older, probably in his 40's, short hair and with tattoos. The other is younger, longer hair and wearing a dog collar. The guy with the dog collar then turns to look at the lens and starts speaking directly to the camera. The younger guy's voice then becomes the narration for the rest of the short. His voice tells the story of a man named Acácio who announces that he's HIV positive. As we hear about Acácio's life, we see vignettes that are close to pornographic. Those vignettes a few times mix male arousal with images of blood. A lot of this indicates a kind of dirtiness, representing the stigma from HIV or otherwise, that circles back to a shot of a man standing on the beach in front of the sea or ocean who then goes into it, almost to cleanse himself from that dirtiness.

Ocaso is by director Bruno Roger, also from Brazil. The title's translation appears as the word "haze." The word fits one scene in the beginning of this short where a construction worker takes a shower and the whole scene is done in a fog or mist. Yet, I've seen other translations of "ocaso" as meaning sunset or twilight, which is probably more appropriate because the majority of this film takes place at twilight or in fact night time. At least, things kick into gear for the main characters at twilight. The construction worker has lunch at a park along the bay or some body of water. He meets a college student there, which leads to a night of passion and pain. The film feels like a commentary on the time of day for gay men in this situation than anything else.

Due Volte (Twice) is by director Domenico Onorato from Italy. This is probably the most powerful of all the shorts here. It follows two friends, Antonio, played by Salvatore Alfano, and Diego, played by Francesco Aricò. Their relationship is tested, as their manhood is tested during a fateful night after a party where both meet a girl named Maria, played by Cristina Cappelli. What seems like a moment of fun becomes a gross expression of toxic masculinity, fueled by homophobia, and culminating in a horrible assault. Onorato's short is truly a knockout with some really good dramatic twists that had me on the edge of my seat as it all rolls to its gut-punch ending.

There's also a motif or theme of bathing or washing. All of the male characters here are bathed and washed in some way. The first short has Jhony turning tricks in a bathhouse. The second short mostly takes place in a bathtub. The third has Acácio at the beach. The fourth short has the construction worker by the water eating and fornicating. The fifth short has its boys skinny dipping and horse-playing in the water. It's an idea of cleansing that runs through these shorts, people using the water to purify themselves in more ways than one, and it's compelling to think about the shorts in that fashion.

 Caída Libre (Free Fall). 14 mins. Enter. 18 mins. Sr. Raposo (Mr. Fox). 23 mins. Ocaso. 21 mins.
Due Volte (Twice). 15 mins.

Not Rated but contains full-frontal male nudity and graphic sexuality.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 32 mins.

Available on DVD and VOD on December 11.