Tag Archives: 2000s

Gay Sex in the 70s (2005) Joseph F. Lovett, Robert Alvarez, Alvin Baltrop, Barton Benes, Documentary

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Thirteen men and one woman look back at gay life and sex in Manhattan and Fire Island – from Stonewall (June, 1969) to the first reporting on AIDS (June, 1981). They describe the rapid move from repression to celebration, from the removal of shame to joy, the on-going search for “someone,” the freedom before AIDS, the friendships, and brotherhood. They take us through cruising and sex in public places, the drug scene, the bars and the baths, the birth of entertainment and dance clubs, and starry nights on Fire Island. Photographs, home movies, newsreels, and film clips illustrate the story. A few contemporary “what did the 70’s mean?” man-in-the-street takes end the documentary.
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Im Spinnwebhaus / Spiderwebhouse (2015) Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Ben Litwinschuh, Lutz Simon Eilert, Helena Pieske, Drama, Fantasy

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Jonas is already head of the family at just 12 years of age. He has been helping his two younger siblings and supporting his mother, Sabine, since his father left. Sabine is very loving towards her children but she often loses her patience and disappears into her room for the day. Mysterious demons drive her to spend a weekend away to relax in the “sunny valley”. But the weekend grows into weeks in which the three children hear nothing from their mother. Food and money have long since run out, the house has become more and more like a haunted castle: a spiderweb house. Jonas tries his best to maintain the appearance of an intact family. On the hunt for something to eat, he meets a young man, Felix Count of Gütersloh, who speaks in rhymes and declares himself to be not quite right in the head. Rather like a guardian angel, he takes Jonas under his wing and shows him how to get by in a world without adults. The film is less a social drama than a modern-day fairy tale shot in black and white. The audience is immersed in the eerily beautiful world of the children which unfolds its own particular magic.
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Kaze ni tatsu raion / The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015) Takashi Miike, Ayako Fujitani, Satomi Ishihara, Ryôhei Suzuki, Drama

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Jack-of-all-trades director Miike Takashi takes on more serious material in the human drama The Lion Standing in the Wind about the experiences of a Japanese doctor in Africa. Featuring location shooting in Kenya, the film is based on Sada Masashi’s novel and song Kaze ni Tatsu Lion, which were inspired by the true story of a Japanese doctor who operated a mobile clinic in the African nation.
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Never Gone (2016) Zhou Tuo Ru, Kris Wu, Yifei Liu, Shijia Jin, Drama, Romance

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The story started in high school. Su Yunjin (Liu Yifei) is a struggling transfer student from a regional town, while rich heir Cheng Zheng (Kris Wu) is the star student who sits behind her. He fell in love with her and started to pursue her all the way through college, even though they studied and lived in different cities. Cheng Zheng was ultimately successful in pursuing Su Yunjin, who willed herself to follow her heart for once, even though she knew there would be many obstacles in their way. Soon, they were basking in happiness, and subsequently moved in together after university. However, reality caught up with them two years after graduation. Their vastly different personalities and disparate family background meant their relationship was unequal from the very beginning – their unspoken expectations of each other and all the misunderstandings that came with a mundane lifestyle caused them to part ways with each other.[3] A few years later, both of them establish successful careers, and end up living in the same neighborhood, thus meeting and getting entangled in each other’s lives again. They both try to move on with different relationships, but are unsuccessful. When Su Yunjin loses her mother to cancer, Cheng Zheng is the only one to comfort her, causing the former to rekindle their relationship.
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The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) James Kent, Maxine Peake, Anna Madeley, Susan Lynch, Biography, Drama, Romance

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In nineteenth century Yorkshire wealthy orphan Anne Lister lives with an aunt and uncle, anxious for her to marry well and blissfully – unaware that she is a lesbian. Anne is recording her thoughts and exploits in a coded diary. When her lover Mariana Belcombe makes a marriage of convenience to rich old Charles Lawton she feels betrayed and, although Mariana visits her,the relationship is going nowhere. Helped by old flame Tib she makes a play for innocent Miss Browne but sees she is barking up the wrong tree and diverts herself by renovating the family hall. A drunken Tib almost exposes her secret and scornful mine-owner Christopher Rawson, whose marriage proposal she rejects, tells her that her sexuality is a subject of local gossip….
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Marguerite et Julien / Marguerite & Julien (2015) Valérie Donzelli, Anaïs Demoustier, Jérémie Elkaïm, Frédéric Pierrot, Drama, Romance

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Julien and Marguerite de Ravalet, son and daughter of the Lord of Tourlaville, have loved each other since childhood. But as they grow up, their affection veers toward voracious passion. Scandalized by their affair, society hounds them until, unable to resist their feelings, they flee. A contemporary fairytale about desire, passion, hope, love and death.
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Saddo tî / Sad Tea (2013) Rikiya Imaizumi, Shun’ya Abe, Fumiko Aoyagi, Takuya Fuji, Comedy, Romance

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Several intertwining stories explore the true meaning of “proper love”. A filmmaker dedicates himself to stop cheating on girlfriends. Meanwhile, a man intends to buy a gift for a part-time employee at the filmmaker’s favorite cafe, but instead falls in love with a shopkeeper. A longtime fan of a pop idol finally gets a chance to meet her after 10 years of pining. Unfortunately, she’s meeting him for the first time just as she’s about to get married…
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