This movie is marketed as a true story, but I have been all over the internet and can't seem to find out anything.
I was interested in
1) a mainstream review if there is one
2) did the principle characters stay together in their relationship?
3) where and when did this story take place
Thanks to whoever knows anything
This sounded a good bit familiar to someone I knew, but it turned out to be someone else. Follow the link for "Official Site" and then get the details on the writer, and you'll be here:
http://thelastyear.tripod.com/home/id1.html
Which starts:
The Last Year and its story began long before I wrote the first draft of the screenplay in late 1995. The full story began much earlier in my life, when I attended my first Christian School. I never thought of writing anything about the experience then, of course, but the ideas were taking root as a part of who I am.
I grew up in a conservative Republican family in Nashville, Tennessee, and we were all traditional, Bible-oriented folks. In that time and place, fundamentalist Protestantism was like water and air to us, so universal and ever-present, we never questioned its presence or realized how much it shaped our lives. One of the results of this upbringing is that I didnt come out as a gay man until I was in my late 20s. After a long and tumultuous personal journey and still deeply closeted, I ended up attending Wheaton College, a conservative Christian school.
Before I go on, let me explain a little about Wheaton, located in Wheaton, Illinois (near Chicago). A lot of folks call it the Harvard of the Religious Right. Much of the thought and rationale of that entire movement began and is still shaped there. Wheaton is Billy Graham's alma mater, and in many ways, it remains the intellectual "buckle" of the Bible belt.
During my time at Wheaton College, I began questioning almost everything in my life. For certain, my efforts at remaining closeted were taking their toll. Then, during my last year at Wheaton, I had my first gay love affair, and the changes in my thinking became complete. I stepped out of the closet for good, including the prison of fundamentalism.
You might also check out the website "Guardianpictures.com"...they offer a lot of interesting comments,details & other films of a similar nature. Also, see :Latter Days-a great film (better done than Last Year,not to mention a cool soundtrack!) Jay
shareHi Anyone Who's Interested:
Yes, "The Last Year" had a low budget, but for anyone who is willing and able to look beyond that, and deep into the story itself, the film has MUCH to say. How many gay independent films made more than five years ago on a below $20K budget are still as talked about as this one?
All the most popular gay DVD retailers and renters still carry "The Last Year" and promote it briskly. It continues to sell and rent in large numbers, considering its miniscule budget and near-total lack of marketing blitz.
For details on "The Last Year" and my own story, on which it is largely based, please see my web site on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/filmmaker_russ
There is much more "backstory" information on the film there than you will find available either on the Guardian Pictures web site or on the DVD "extras." If you want more details on the film than director, actor, or "making of" type information, see my site on MySpace, and feel free to contact me by email, via MySpace.
There's also information there about my other projects. Thanks and have a good one!!
Take care,
Russ Williams
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I wouldn't go that far... "Latter Days" certainly has a beefier production and perhaps shows less rough edges than "Last Year" but "Last Year" is closer to reality where persons end their lives when family and community reject or bully them for being gay, or perceived sexual orientation. And, as for the "over-the-top" lines, yeah, that's not drama, that's the real dialogue from parents, (former) friends, pastors and counselors--a Biblical-verses shooting match.
To understand the full message of this film and "Latter Days" I had viewed documentaries such as "Trembling Before G-d", "For the Bible Tells Me So", and "A Jihad For Love" which examine the delicate balance between embracing sexuality and retaining personal and childhood religious beliefs which condemn and in most cases ostracize gay and lesbian individuals.
While the film does include a typical cliche of homophobes in a war against their internal angst, it serves to highlight another rapidly no-longer, but "rare", secret of conservative and religious communities and the patriarchs.
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