Compare and Contrast Three Recent Gay-Themed Movies

During the past three months, we've seen three gay-themed movies:  'Stranger by the Lake', 'Interior: Leather Bar', and 'Eastern Boys'.  Let me say at the start that all three have erotic gay scenes and that two of them have quite graphic, pornographic scenes. 

One thing is clear, the French (two of three films are from France) treat these themes with much greater understanding and subtlety.  In fact, the main point of 'Interior: Leather Bar' is that the American film industry has never fully embraced the nation's movement toward greater gay tolerance in the 34 years between the censorship of the movie 'Cruising' and the feeble attempts in 'Interior: Leather Bar' to recreate the 40 minutes that were cut from that film to gain an 'R' rating.

'Interior: Leather Bar'

Poster for 'Interior. Leather Bar.' by James Franco & Travis Mathews

This movie was directed by James Franco and Travis Mathews.  It is a pseudo-documentary about the filming of scenes cut from William Friedkin's 1980 film 'Cruising' which starred Al Pacino as a NYC detective who goes undercover in the late-70's gay S&M scene to catch a serial killer of gay men.  In addition to showing the (porno)graphic scenes that were censored, the movie show conversations among actors and between actors and directors about their concerns playing gay characters and engaging in 'gay' acts (like kissing another man!!!).

The best part of the experience were the two short films that preceded it -- one by each director.  Franco's about a budding gay voyeur and masochist was actually pretty good.

Avoid this movie.  If you're looking for graphic sex between men, I can recommend some internet sites that have much better looking men and none of the dreadfully stilted, overly earnest dialogue.

Stranger by the Lake (French: L'Inconnu du lac) 

French Poster for 'Stranger by the Lake'

This 2013 movie was directed by Alain Guiraudie, who was awarded best director in the Un Certain Regarde section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

It is a suspense thriller set in a gay cruising area on a lake in France.  During the summer a group of gay men gather there to sunbathe, swim in the lake and cruise in the forest and meadow behind the beach.  The entire movie is set between the parking area where the characters park (the cars are part of the story) and the stony beach where they gather.  Most of the soundtrack consists of leaves blowing in the breeze and stones crunched underfoot.

Franck, played by Pierre Deladonchamps, comes alone each day to the beach where he sunbathes and casually observes the comings and goings of the other regulars.  Franck befriends Henri, played by Patrick d'Assumcao, a rather dumpy middle-aged guy whose girlfriend or wife has just left him.  They are both intrigued by a good-looking couple, Michel and Pascal.  One evening at dusk, Franck sees Michel drown Pascal.

Franck, Henri and Michel continue to appear each day at the lake, though nothing is said about Pascal's disappearance. Eventually, Franck and Michel act upon their erotic attraction and fall into an increasingly passionate affair complete with (porno)graphic love scenes in the woods.

Pascal's body washes up on the shore.  The police arrive and one particular inspector continues to pursue the case, questioning all of the regulars about Pascal's death.

The last minutes of this movie are riveting and very terrifying.  I recommend it highly.

For many younger gay men, the idea of cruising at the beach, or in the park, or on the street seems alien now that there are hook-ups via the internet.  For those of us who are older, we readily accept a story set in this milieu.  Younger gays can treat this movie as a bit of gay history and enjoy the quaint mating habits of their elders.  

Eastern Boys

Kirill Emelyanov as Marek/ Rouslan, Daniil Vorobyov as Boss,
 and Olivier Rabourdin as Daniel in Robin Campillo's 'Eastern Boys'

This 2013 French movie by Robin Campillo was recently shown at Rendez-vous with French Cinema at Film Society of Lincoln Center.  It's sort of in French with English sub-titles, but some scenes are in pidgin English and others are in various eastern European languages (often not translated, but always understandable).

Olivier Rabourdin plays Daniel, a middle-aged gay business man who has recently lost his lover.  In the opening section he follows a young 'eastern boy', Marek, around the Gare du Nord in Paris.  Eventually Daniel makes contact and they arrange to meet the following day at Daniel's apartment. 

What Daniel hasn't seen is the opening sequence where Marek is part of a gang of 'eastern boys' aimlessly looking for trouble around the station while avoiding the gendarmes.

The next day the whole gang shows up at Daniel's apartment and takes him hostage.  They back up a truck and help themselves to all of his electronics, his art, his exercise equipment, and his wine and liquor.

After this shocking violence, the next day Marek (played with considerable skill and sensitivity by Kirill Emelyanov) surprisingly appears, apologizes to Daniel, helps him clean up the mess, and stays for (paid) sex.  Marek and Daniel continue to have sex, first mercenary, but eventually intimate and erotic.  Marek first tells Daniel he is from the Ukraine, but eventually admits that his name is Rouslan and that he is from Chechnya and is an orphan.  He explains to Daniel that Boss, the leader of the gang (played by Daniil Vorobyov with understated menace), keeps all of the eastern boys citizenship papers locked in a locker at the low-class hotel where the French welfare system houses them -- thereby ensuring their loyalty to the gang.

There is another section of violence at the hotel, which is followed by a surprisingly touching ending which recalibrates the relationship between Rouslan and Daniel.  

I think that this movie deserves wider release in the U.S.  It is very well acted and very nicely paced.  The director has wisely defined the structure of the movie with four sub-title dividers that help organize the story for the audience.