a film by Markku Heikkinen 2009 | 72 mins | Finland ›› All Boys - Poikien Bisnes a telling documentary on the ugly underbelly of Czech gay porn. If anyone is under the impression that the gay porn industry is a business full of the glamour, then this informative, if bitingly honest documentary from writer and director Markku Heikkinen, details the stark reality behind its air brushed image. Devoted to the Eastern European gay porn industry and in particular the pretty boys of the Czech Republic, this cutting work focuses for the main part on the highs and lows of ex porn producer Dan Komar; infamous for having brought bareback to Prague, but who would eventually move on to other, non-pornographic ventures, having seen his porn bubble burst. Along the way, we witness the life and times of some of the young men who worked and often lived within his house of man sex. In particular, Heikkinen details the rise and fall of porn star Aaron Hawke aka Ruda in real life, who following a three-year involvement with Komar on both a professional and personal level ended up homeless, addicted to alcohol, last seen living in a disused container on an industrial site littered with discarded waste; a poignant analogy if ever there was one of how the industry treats its fallen stars. Thankfully far from descending into a downward spiral of drink and drugs, if not prostitution, others get out in time and as Heikkinen illustrates, move on to gain regular employment, backed by the support of their family or girlfriend, a point that reflects the fact that many of the just men cast are in truth straight, being gay for pay. Many are also orphaned, homeless or unemployed. All are seduced by the appeal of fame and fortune. Aided by Viagra, hetero porn or other such stimulants, they go on to get it on, man style, during the two to three years of their limited shelf life, before fresh faces come to replenish seemingly expendable twenty-year-old stock in the endless Cycles of Porn. Frankly, it’s not a pleasant sight. That of the human cost involved in the fleeting nature of pornographic stardom, namely a profession that and in the words of porn star Kevin Kramer, "chews people up and spits them out." Yet unlike the X-rated industry itself, this feature is relatively inexplicit by comparison, with pixelated blurring masking any rampant exposures. Rather this is an exposé of the business, that of a telling documentary on the ugly underbelly of Czech gay porn. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - mainly, strictly from the waist up.  Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.  available on DVD as part of the Breaking Glass Pictures catalogue 28.09.2010 screened as part of the 24th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2010 featuring: Ruda, Dan Komar, Josef, Petr, Irena, Petr Soukup, Peter, Tobias, Filip, Michael Taubenheim, Alan Pelikan, Josef Rychtechy, Lenka, Bubble B Boys and Mario Zieroth. official website: www.firsthandfilms.com Copyright 2010 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #342 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹