a short film by Sven J Matten 2005 | 20 mins | Germany ›› Out Now a gay winters coming out tale Set in a high school during the middle of a cold Bavarian winter, this German tale could just as easily be located in any country, given it charts the homophobic bullying a gay student habitually faces from his fellow classmates. Only here our gay boy Tom takes refuge not in the arms of the object of his longing, too shy as he is to ask the local candy kiosk guy out on a date; rather in his online friendship with the creator, a man of mystery who prefers to keep his personal life private, apart that is from a photo taken of him from the neck down, showcasing not so much his manly chest, but more a pair of - crazy boxer shorts. Yet keep your eyes on those shorts, for when they come off, a lot more is revealed than just a pert posterior. Ingrained with feelings of adolescent angst, this naturally acted short for all of its pros, charts the well worn scenario of a teenager crush, gay style. Only here writers Tina Schulte and Renatus Töpke, together with director Sven J Matten have gone out of their way to detail both the verbal and physical act of homophobia itself, from a prejudiced mother to a vicious towel slapping incident in the school shower that leaves lead actor Dennis Prinz as Tom, a quivering wreck, forever sick and tired of being different to those around him. And yet few things in life are what they appear to be. For this is a work in which the true meaning of its sensuous soft-focus opening sequence only comes to bear in the closing minutes. By then, experienced eyes may well have guessed the twist to be had, given those shorts with a difference are but one of the clues to be found in a piece that packs a lot of emotions, let alone vistas of the snow covered Bavarian Alps into twenty minutes, being a gay winters coming out tale. But for who? Check out the trailer for this short courtesy of YouTube: Trailer - Out Now Kurzfilm available on DVD as part of the Wolfe Video catalogue - 'Boy Crush' release starring: Dennis Prinz, Veit Messerschmidt, David Langer, Jennifer Schmid, James Matthews-Pyecka, Dunja Bengsch, Hanno Dobiat Copyright 2009 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #257 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹