A stunning, dream-like odyssey through a beautiful and otherworldly Helsinki over the course of one evening, director Pirjo Honkasalo‘s Concrete Night follows the impressionable 14-year-old Simo (Johannes Brotherus) as he keeps his soon-to-be incarcerated brother (Jari Virman) company. As they spend the night together, Simo absorbs into himself the drunken cynicism of his big brother that he so admires, and after being frightened of his own mixed feelings, does something irrevocable.
An official Finnish submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Concrete Night captures the pain and joy of youth through exquisite, eye-popping black-and-white cinematography.
The Gay Cinema Video On Demand experience at TLAgay.comhas your entertainment needs covered! We’re always working to expand selection of new and old gay-themed movies available for your viewing pleasure. Here’s just five of our current favorites, from various years, that you may have missed – ALL available to watch INSTANTLY! These aren’t our TOP 5, by any means – just a handful of flicks we want to highlight.
Concrete Night The official Finnish submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film during the year of its release, Concrete Night captures the pain and joy of youth through exquisite, eye-popping black-and-white cinematography. Simo (Johannes Brotherus), an impressionable fourteen-year-old boy, is keeping his soon-to-be incarcerated brother (Jari Virman) company during his last twenty-four hours or freedom. The siblings embark on an unforgettable dream-like odyssey through a beautiful and otherworldly Helsinki. Over the course of the evening, however, the pair meet some unsavory characters and Simo is forced to grow up quickly – learning a few dangerous life lessons in the process. That may sound bleak, but we can’t overstate how gorgeous this movie is. Director Pirjo Honkasalo has the eye of a great artist and we can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.
Baby Bump Eleven-year-old Mickey House (Kacper Olszewski) is frustrated with his changing body – most notably, the over-sized ears sprouting out of his head. A loner at school with an overbearing mother (Agnieszka Podsiadlik) who still treats him like a child, Mickey finds his only solace in selling urine to his classmates for drug tests. Like a Walt Disney film directed by David Lynch, this outrageous and hilarious Polish import wowed audiences at the Venice Biennale, where it received a Queer Lion prize. As Mickey’s imagination and toxic reality begin to blur, he must face the ultimate fact: growing up is not for kids.
Lucky Bastard Rusty (Patrick Tatten) is a successful architect with to-die-for pecs, bulging biceps and a killer smile. When his stodgy boyfriend leaves town, Rusty has a chance encounter with a handsome though seedy drifter, Denny (Dale Dymkoski). Blinded by Denny’s good looks, vulnerability and hustler charm, Rusty begins an intense, steamy relationship ruled by long-dormant passions However, as Denny’s control over Rusty strengthens, it soon becomes clear that Rusty – now on a seductive ride of sex and drugs – must decide what it is he truly wants. Lucky Bastard is an edgy, sensual and salacious exploration of youthful indiscretion, sexual indulgence and the high stakes of attraction – a story that rings true to anyone who’s ever fallen for the wrong guy for all the right reasons.
With four gay-themed movies released or coming soon so far – the kaleidoscopic mind-fuck Baby Bump; the gorgeous black-and-white tour of Helsinki’s underbelly Concrete Night; the punk rock-infused tribute to Berlin Desire Will Set You Free; and the edge-of-your-seat exorcism thriller A Closer Walk with Thee – the relatively new distribution label Altered Innocence is proving to be a powerhouse source for fans of edgy queer cinema. They now have exceptional new doc Brothers of the Night lined up for release in November.
Coming to DVD and Blu-ray this September from Altered Innocence, the same label that brought films like Concrete Night and Desire Will Set You Free to the US, Baby Bump is an incredibly strange and sometimes deliberately off-putting modern fairy tale from Polish director Kuba Czekaj. It’s also quite a feast for the eyes, as you’ll see from the image gallery above.
Czekaj has a unique visual style and a bright color pallet that keep you captivated even while the story goes to some extremely bizarre places. One critic remarked that the film is “like something David Lynch would have made if he were an angry Polish kid.”
