long slow glances
All I recall is in this movie there were endless long slow drawn our glances.
Then more long slow glances. A long dull movie.
I saw this film last night and i was taken away by its honesty. When watching this film is like actually leaving it.
This is a brilliant film. So my dear friend petrsj-2 stick to your pop-corn hollywood movies and leave the discussion and judgment on serious films like this one to those who know. enough
An interesting response. Its good to get any responses. Of course there was a time when just seeing a film with a gay theme was exciting and I think this film had merit in that it had a refreshing honesty. But sorry marino you and I will have to differ. I found the film tedious and while it was a socially important piece artistically (in my opinion any way) it was slow and ponderous. I don't mind your attack on me, it all adds to the colour of the site so all I would like to say is thanks for responding. Simply because a film covers an issue or aspect of life one feels important does not validate it artistically. The film was slow and indulgent. The long slow glances became too long and the inner monologue difficult to read. The film had its critics in the gay community but it also had is admirers. Still good on you for sticking up for it.
I don't eat pop corn but I often peel my boy friend a grape.
As for grapes, I've never had a peeled one. Does that make them better? I like the SNAP and explosion of flavour when I pop a grape open with my molars. But I keep seeing this phrase come up again, so maybe you having had the experience can enlighten me.
Also you must admit, your original post was pretty short on detail to work with...
On to the show.
While I agree that the long slow glances were a bit too long and too frequent, that didn't take away too much from the overall quality of the film. I'll probably give this film a 7. Maybe if it was a bit more tightly-edited I'd have given in an 8. But it remains one I'd still recommend.
I was actually quite disappointed when it ended, because I was really drawn into this guy. I wanted to know what would happen with his job, his friends, and whether he'd find someone who would stay. He seemed resigned to just drifting along with whomever. Apparently there's a follow-up to this film, so maybe my questions are answered there.
I also had to keep reminding myself that this was not a documentary, because the style lent a sense of realism to it. In a way, the long glances contributed to that feeling.
As for the 70s, I'm glad I wasn't in the UK for them. The music... the clothes... the hair... what in the heck was going on? Just ghastly!
The usual mythology around the late 70s pre-AIDS era remembers it as a utopian party existence, but this film emphasizes the flip side of that coin, the endless hunting, disappointment, little white lies, rare connection on more than a physical level. But it does so in a way that isn't a condemnation. It's not exactly Queer as Folk though.
I found the climactic scene in the classroom to be very interesting and daring, even for a film of today. I'm glad I got to see it.
The more i read these responses I think I better see this movie again. Its a long time ago and I may be a bit more mature now.
Thank you very much for the responses.
Hi Petersj-2, if you ever get to read this...
I just saw this yesterday and think your initial judgement was correct. How can anyone make a film about cruising and casual sex and have it be so utterly, crushingly, almost supernaturally boring? An illuminating comparison is with Frank Ripploh's "Taxi Zum Klo", made in the same era, about roughly the same subject matter, with a schoolteacher protagonist, a remarkably similar climactic scene - and DEFINITELY not boring.
It's an interesting historical document for sure, and if the aim was to show that a gay cruising lifestyle can be as mindnumbingly banal as the average heterosexual marriage then I suppose it succeeded, but it really needed a scriptwriter with a tiny bit of flair, an editor with the nous to know when the point of a shot had been made and a music budget large enough to allow the real songs of the era to be used instead of dreadful, cheesy knockoffs that sounded more suited to a computer game (Super Mario, by the way, that moustache...hmmm...).
I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.
I must say my original post was rather brief.
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