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directed by Sherry Hormann
Cast: Maximillian Bruckner, Lisa Pothoff, Dietmar Bar
A good romantic comedy through sports (Jerry Maguire, Tin Cup, Love and Basketball...); America loves this genre so it finally gets a European and (*le shock!*) gay treatment. So it's obvious that the sport in question would be soccer, and an adorable Maximillian Bruckner as a goalie whose sexual preferences finally come to the forefront in a small German town and gets kicked off his futbol team. Instead, he goes to a neighboring town with the intention of pwning his hometown's team, and there may be a romantic interest in there somewhere. It's just cute, and German boys!
directed and written by Thomas Bezucha
Cast: Arye Gross, Eric Schweig, Tim DeKay
Sweet. Intense. A little dramatic. More sexual tension than Brokeback Mountain (OK slight understatement); just look at the beautiful restraint of Pike (Eric Schweig)! When Sam Hart's health begins to deteriorate, his New York artist grandson who he raised (Arye Gross as Henry) comes back to Big Eden, Montana. But when Henry's high school best friend and crush moves back to town, Henry realizes his torch is still as bright and shiny as ever. But there's some unexpectedness to come. And this is the only movie in the list that doesn't have a sex scene which is why this should be up a little further on my list but the following movies just slay me so much harder than this sweet love story.
4. The Curiosity of Chance (2006)directed and written by Russell P. Marleau
Cast: Tad Hilgenbrink, Brett Chukeman, Aldevina da Silva
Another great movie that involves beautiful tension. Gay men in the movies know tension! But this is the only movie next to Big Eden that isn't focused on the whole "coming out" aspect (which btw, shouldn't even be a factor in gay movies). And for being a high school movie, The Curiosity of Chance barely touches on it!
Want to see a gay love-letter to John Hughes? In an undisclosed area of Europe in the '80s, military brat and theatrical Chance Marquis moves to a new town and new school where he befriends Twyla (Aldevina da Silva in my sub-list of this post of one of the two best "fag hags" in the movies) and photographer Hank. Despite having become a target by the high school bully, Chance finds himself crushing on the jock and the friend to the bully who just has to be his neighbor as well. But one night he enters a drag bar and everything radically changes.
directed by Sabine Bernardi
Cast: Rick Okon, Maximillian Befort, Liv Lisa Fries
Again another German movie, this isn't 100 % a gay-boy movie although it loos it. Rick Okon plays Lukas Leonhard, although biologically Lene (if I have this detail wrong, I have looked everywhere, I heard the biological name in the movie, if someone knows this, correct me!) is tracking his progress in an online transgender forum. We see the effects of shooting up hormones and everyone reacting to Lukas finally making the final arrangements for surgery although still having breasts.
Simultaneously, Lukas's old friend Ine (Liv Lisa Fries, number one "fag hag" on my sublist) insists that Lukas, although still living in the female dormitories and doesn't know where to go, gets a social life instead of sitting in his room. That certainly doesn't help when Lukas finds himself attracted but disgusted with Fabio, a total Christian from Latter Days albeit a European one. Fabio's everything Lukas isn't, which repulses Lukas for how Fabio's body is perfect but his is still in transition. And there may be some sexuality behind it....
I'll admit, I have only seen this once because having been in a relationship with a transgender in second puberty it was exceptionally painful to revisit those emotions and feeling helpless but despite all of that, this movie has stayed with me and deserves a high place on my list.
2. Latter Days (2003)
directed and written by C. Jay Cox
Cast: Wes Ramsey, Steve Standvoss, Mary Kay Place, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Jacqueline Bisset
One of my eternal favorites with a "gay tale as old as time" which seems to be more of a person-to-person subjectivity of sexuality than ones actual preference (until it happens). But yes, uptight, conservative and and Elder Davis (Aaron) on his first mission in California where he meets Christian, an out-and-proud manizer and clubber, when they live next to each other. Christian's friends bet that Christian had no chance of getting Aaron in bed. But as things happen, opposites attract until they allow it to happen. And... as Aaron says in the narration at the end "And it's beautiful."
1. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
written and directed by Todd Haynes
Cast: Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzard
Although not a specific gay movie (but is any of my number one LGBT movies even a specific gay storyline?) Velvet Goldmine is one of the best with a sub-storyline of Christian Bale... Batman... slowly coming into his own as a gay man and evolving into a reporter who is on the hunt for who shot Brian Slade, a David Bowie-like rockstar.
He interviews everyone involved with Slade, his old manager (Michael Feast), Slade's ex wife (Toni Collette) and even has a sexual encounter with grunge rocker (influenced from Lou Reed and Iggy Pop) in the flashbacks who he re-meets. But as simple and suspenseful the movie sounds, that's just the bones of it. It shows the rise and fall of the glam era but also an element of magic that goes all the way back to Oscar Wilde himself. The soundtrack is badass! It's an expressionistic movie and it's wonderful and I got to watch it in a film class! Who can really say that?
Honorable mentions: C.R.A.Z.Y., Sommerstrum (Summer Storm), Beautiful Thing, I love you Phillip Morris, Get Real
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