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Tag: Ira Sachs

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  • FILM REVIEW | Keep The Lights On

    ★★★★★ | Keep The Lights On

    This award-winning and Sundance Festival-selected film is an intricate look at the lives of two men who enter into a relationship in 90s New York.

    Erik is a Danish documentary film-maker who meets Paul via a telephone chat-line. Erik is anxious about commitment and lawyer Paul has a steady girlfriend. What starts off as a casual sexual relationship develops into something more meaningful and romantic. The film charts the two lovers throughout their turbulent ten-year relationship.

    The two main characters’ lives take on unexpected turns and as Erik becomes more responsible and committed, Paul’s more orderly life spirals out of control as his recreational drug abuse becomes a destructive habit. The relationship enters a series of cycles of damage and renewal as the film charts their lives.

    The film is beautiful to watch but also painful to view in places, but ultimately provides a meaningful glimpse into the areas of both lightness and shade which relationships can pass through. The balance of the film is such that the story never feels too bleak but is balanced with erotic tension, a compelling storyline and occasional bursts of humour. Strong performances from the cast add to the emotional intensity of the film.

    Highly recommended for a moving and fascinating insight into the life cycle of a relationship.

    Directed by Ira Sachs

    See other reviews for Gay Dramas

    See reviews of other five-star gay movies

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    This review was first published in January 2013

  • FILM REVIEW | Love Is Strange

    FILM REVIEW | Love Is Strange

    ★★★★★ | Love Is Strange

    Love Is Strange one of the most talked about gay movies of the year has been wowing both crowds and critics in the US since it opened in August. The New York Time’s Movie Critic recently said it would be his personal pick for the Best Picture Oscar. Now it is finally about to open in UK Cinemas, here is our take on this superb love story.

    In Ira Sach’s follow-up to his highly acclaimed 2013 hit Keep The Lights On, love is also extraordinarily wonderful too. It’s the tale of George & Ben a devoted couple who have enjoyed a somewhat glorious life together in Manhattan for the past 39 years. Now that same-sex marriage is legal in NY they decide to have a joyous wee ceremony surrounded by their close friends to tie the knot and make it all ‘official’. Everyone is happy for the two men now in their late 60s, except for George’s employers who had been blissfully aware of his relationship with Ben in the 12 years he had taught music at their school. Marriage, however, was too much for them, the Catholic Church that is, so in an act of Christian charity they unceremoniously fired him on the spot.

    With Ben already retired and George unable to find another job the men soon ran out of money and very reluctantly had to sell the Co-op Apartment that they had lived in for decades. Sadly none of their friends in the city had a spare room to put the couple up in, so for the very first time since they had met, they had to split up whilst the hunt for a new affordable Manhattan apartment continued.

    George moved in with a couple of handsome young gay cops next door and crashed on their couch. The trouble was that his new ‘landlords’ had a seemingly endless list of young friends who loved to hang out at the apartment and party all hours, usually whilst sitting on George’s ‘bed’. Ben, on the other hand, was given a bunk bed in his great nephew’s room, something the young rebellious teenage bitterly resented.

    As time passed, and with no sign of a new apartment for the newly weds, tensions got very strained. George could hardly bear living in party central and getting little sleep, and Ben seemed stuck in the middle of an escalating feud between his great nephew and his parents who saw eye to eye on nothing. It was when the latter eventually erupted and the boy was grounded after being caught out being led astray by a much older school chum, that there was a breakthrough between him and his old gay ‘nuisance’ Uncle. In a very touching scene when the boy broke down and didn’t just share but actually listened for once, he learnt from Ben about being true to himself and loving who he wanted too without shame.

    It’s impossible to say where things led to from this point without giving spoilers in what is such a beautiful and touching story. It’s a neat lesson in hate (the Church), and in tolerance (the family) and a perfect example of love that is quietly understated and without histrionics.

    George and Ben are portrayed so exquisitely by veteran actors Alfred Molina and John Lithgow and are the perfect epitome of a devoted couple completely in love and who totally idolise each other. The very obvious chemistry between the two on screen is completely convincing and they are a sheer joy to watch.

    There is absolutely nothing ‘strange’ about George and Ben’s love especially as it is the focus and example to all the other couples in this charming story whether they are gay or straight.

    Mr Sachs has created a fine feature about mature love that shouldn’t just be niche marketed as a ‘gay film’ as it deserves and will delight a much wider audience.

    P.S. And I am thankful to him too that this is one ‘gay theme’ film that doesn’t have the obligatory nudity.

  • 6 things we learnt this week: Judge Rinder is hot, Mary’s left the building and homophobia in Hollywood still exists

    This week we’ve learnt a lot. From Mary Berry to Judge Rinder… Here’s 6 things that got our readers talking. (now with added emjois)

     

    ? The Judge’s hot chest

    Judge Rinder, who usually spends his TV time covered head to toe in his courtroom robes wowed fans with his surprisingly ripped torso. He also wowed the judges in his first dance of the competition on Strictly. We didn’t mind.

     

    ? Hollywood’s Homophobia

    Ira Sachs surprised us by talking about homophobia in Hollywood – the worst of it is that gay men are apparently the culprits.

     

    ? Not following the breadcrumbs

    Mary Berry shocked the internet when she announced that she wasn’t following Bake Off to it’s new home on Channel 4, leaving people to suspect that Channel 4 has basically bought a £75 million tent and Paul Hollywood.

     

    ? Out got Ousted.

    The decision to profile Milo Yiannopoulos got the internet sort of mad. Flames and fury were aimed at US magazine Out, who even added an editorial to basically say … “He’s not us…”

     

    ? Ever wondered what a Vajazzle would look like on a guy?

    Now you don’t have to wonder anymore – it’s actually called a PeJazzle and X Factor’s Ottavio was more than happy to share his with the world.

     

    ? The internet melted when it thought that Robert Pattinson had come out as gay…

    A spoof news site told the world that Twilight star Robert Pattinson had come out as gay and the ensuing dramz that followed was like the world was coming to an end. Not really. Most commentators seemed to say, “I knew it!”.  BTW he didn’t come out it was a “hilarious” ruse.

     

  • Homophobia: Gay Men “the worst” in Hollywood – Ira Sachs

    Film director Ira Sachs has told THEGAYUK that homophobia is alive and kicking in Hollywood.

    CREDIT: Jeong Park

     

    Speaking before the general release of his new film Little Men (out today) award winning director and writer Ira Sachs told THEGAYUK.com that homophobia, and perhaps more worryingly internalised homophobia is alive and well in the film industry and that gay men were “the worst in Hollywood”.

    When asked about the film industry’s record on diversity and whether the industry suffered from internalised homophobia, he answered,

    “It certainly is”.

    He continued,

    “Gay men are some of the worst in Hollywood.

    “Well, for understandable reasons, people live by fear and they make choices based on fear.

    Ira Sach’s latest film, Little Men is a coming-of-age film following the story of two teenage boys whose relationship is put under pressure after their parents fall out over business terms.

    He went on to explain why he thought that internalised homophobia existed in the film industry, suggesting that economic fears and job stability could be to be blame.

     When the choice is about your job and your fear of what happens if you don’t succeed, if you take a risk that’s actually personal, so there’s a lot of reasons people choose to be safe.

    Read the full interview with Ira Sachs here

  • INTERVIEW | Ira Sachs

    With the release of his new film, Little Men, Ira Sachs sits down with THEGAYUK’s Editor in Chief Jake Hook to talk about why ‘coming-of-age’ films don’t need to be about sex and why economic woes could be making Hollywood’s homosexuals homophobic.

    CREDIT: Jeong Park

     

    I’m led up some steep stairs to an attic room where the critically acclaimed director Ira Sachs is waiting for me. I’m the last scheduled interview of the day in a press junket for his new release, Little Men. When I find out I’m the last one in, my heart sinks a little, that means every conceivable question has already been asked. In my experience interviews held at the end of a “press day” can yield very little with the subject of the interview being a little jaded from the barrage of questions from nosey journos. However  I find Sachs in good spirits. He’s polite and there’s a sparkle in his eye.

    We sit. Our ten minutes together begins. I ask if I can record the interview – he says “of course, and thank you for asking…”

    JAKE: So often, coming of age films, especially coming of age films concentrate on a sexual awakening of the characters and Little Men is not that, but there is still an intimacy between two guys. Was that a conscious decision from the beginning with you? To kind of create a coming of age film but also to stay clear from sexuality?
    IRA: It was certainly something we consciously discussed as we were writing, shooting and editing the film and I would say two things. One, speaks to my own experience as a gay man. In which, my friendships were not the sight of my erotic or romantic attachments so it was kind of what I knew. Secondly, with these two boys and particularly with Theo Taplitz who played Jake, he’s not there. There’s a youth and there’s an innocence to him, particularly around sexuality which I didn’t feel comfortable imposing on. Not because it would be negative but because it would be artificial. It did not feel true to the characters that we had created together. If I’d cast a different kid who was maybe at a different point, but it’s interesting when you start casting kids, you realise sexuality is almost like an age. It’s not as easily described as a number, but people are at certain points.

    JAKE: There is a point in life where you kind of go, “I’m finding myself attracted to guys” and I was just interested whether you had made up in your mind whether either of the characters were gay or bi?
    IRA: Well definitely I think Tony is a heterosexual kid, we see his attraction to a young girl and we see his disappointment when things don’t go (his) way. And Jake, at the end of the film, without giving too much away, you sense that he has a new community. That community is certainly open to queer identity. I think, for example, one of those extras, as far as I can tell seems like a gay kid and you sense that’s going to be acceptable. Some people think at the end of the film he’s trans. I think the film leaves an openness to his future. What I really hope, my first film was about a gay closeted teenager and the suffering he experienced and caused. Whatever these kids future is, I hope it’s not as tortuous as my own at that age.

    JAKE: Keep The Lights On was about the millennial age group, Love Is Strange was about older men – Little Men is about teens… Which has been your favorite generation set to talk about?
    IRA: Each film, if I don’t find it passionately interesting, I can’t make it so I’m incredibly engaged with the work that I choose to do. I haven’t had a favorite … Different films have different pleasures. It was a real pleasure to work with these kids and kids aren’t as demanding as adults!

    JAKE: You’re one of the most visible out directors. How hard is it in circulation, how hard is it to be out and a director?
    IRA: For me, it is not hard experientially in terms of my life and the community and the world and I think I’ve actually been given a certain amount of affirmation by just taking that position and making the work that I do. I think what is challenging is sustaining a career telling the stories that are meaningful to me. I say that from a position of having done that successfully and it’s still very hard.  It’s about content and the content’s and ability to move past the economics of the culture. That is the challenge.

    JAKE: The film industry it gets a lot of criticism for lack of diversity and  homophobia, maybe the industry is internally homophobic?
    IRA: It certainly is. Gay men are some of the worst in Hollywood.

    JAKE : Oh really?
    IRA: Well, for understandable reasons, people live by fear and they make choices based on fear. Look at this film, it’s all about what economics do to individuals and the choices they make. When the choice is about your job and your fear of what happens if you don’t succeed, if you take a risk that’s actually personal, so there’s a lot of reasons people choose to be safe.

    JAKE: Are we still in that place where a Hollywood leading man wouldn’t be able to come out as gay? Is that still a fear?
    IRA: Of course, people are engaged in the narratives of actors’ lives. I’m making a film about Montgomery Clift, who is a gay actor who lived in New York who was a Hollywood leading man and four time Academy Award nominee and didn’t like Rock Hudson, have a beard and married a women, but struggled with the imbalance of his private life and his public persona and died at 46.

    JAKE: There’s a lot of people in the past who have talked about the fact that maybe gay men shouldn’t play straight parts or the other way around. What do you think?
    IRA: In that way I agree with, isn’t it Olivier who says, “That’s why they call it acting?” Natalie Portman isn’t Jackie Onassis either. I think transformation within the context of fictional storytelling is part of the job.

    JAKE: Do you genuinely enjoy watching the film as a punter?
    IRA: What’s a punter?

    JAKE: A fan… Someone who pays money to go and watch something…
    IRA: Oh yeah, I very much do and I think I go to films in general that are like films that I make. I think I go to films that are going to move me. Now, I have 4-year-old kids so I’m going to some different ones. We just saw Wizard of OZ for the first time with our kids and that was an amazing experience. My husband, he’s a painter, he goes to many more movies than I do he’ll go every week to see the newest horror film and I love that there are still people like that. Have to get their popcorn and be in the cinema and watch a movie every week.

     

    Little Men is in Cinemas now, click here for showing times.