Look at the Dead King: "Be kind, because everyone is fighting with life." "This is one of my favorite lines in recent times, and I think it's particularly appropriate to use at the beginning of today's article. Since the opening of the "Garden" column in the middle of last year, we have intermittently recommended many LGBT movies, although the influence is minimal, fortunately it has also received the support of many fans.
In contrast, the QAF Chinese station, which has been dedicated to speaking out for gay movies for many years, really impresses us. It is also through their efforts that more fans can further understand the LGBT community. The "Gay Film Annual Report" that we look forward to most every year comes from the QAF Chinese station.
The starting | QAF Chinese station
The public name | Watch a movie and see death
2017 is undoubtedly the "year of violence" for gay films. From "Call Me By Your Name" to "120 Hits Per Minute," too many gay movies have exploded into fireworks this year. And unlike previous years, L (lesbian), G (gay), B (bisexual), T (transgender) four categories have appeared high-level masterpieces, dazzling and at the same time feel incredible.
One of the criteria for judging "high standards" is the film award. When gay films and non-gay films can still be affirmed for competing in the same field, we have reason to think that these gay films are good films, because they successfully arouse the empathy of the judges and the audience, let people temporarily stand on the opposite side of their sexual orientation, and call the artistic value of the film itself. A lot of such movies have sprung up in 2017.
Sylmar (Norway)
For example, "Call Me by Your Name" won the American Film Institute Awards (AFI) Best Picture, Gotham Award for Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture, and so on; "Kingdom of God" won the Sundance Director Award, beating "Three Billboards" and was elected the British Independent Film Award (BIFA) Best Film; "120 Hits Per Minute" won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Award and the International Film Critics Fibisi Award, and was elected to the Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver Film Critics Association Awards for Best Foreign Language Film; "120 Blows Per Minute" won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Award and the International Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film; "Silma" won the Norwegian International Film Festival Film Critics Award, was elected to the San Diego Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film, "Alief" won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor, "Darkroom Night Sky" won the Golden Horse Award for Best Animated Short Film...
Not to mention that "Moonlight Boy" was dramatically crowned an Oscar in February, becoming the first gay film to win the academy's highest honor. In 2017, which was so popular, I really couldn't find any other adjectives except "consummation"!
"Alief" (Taiwan)
1. Keywords of the year
☞ Sundance
Dream Forest (Mexico)
The "explosion" of gay films can be felt from the Sundance Film Festival in January: "Call Me By Your Name" debuted as a non-competition film, and became the king of word-of-mouth; the two gay films "God's Country" and "Beach Rat" divided the two directors' awards in the feature film unit equally; after "The Reverse Current of the Bottom", another gay film "Dream Rain Forest" won the World Feature Film Audience Choice Award; the South African film "Wound" showed signs of dark horses (and later entered the Oscar-winning foreign language film finals)... Never before in the history of Sundance has there been such a grand bloom. Will Sundance once again be a bellwether for gay films this year? We'll find out soon.
☞ #CMBYN
Call Me By Your Name was a year old, but its Chinese was so long that people invented a label: #CMBYN. This is a beautiful art film, and there are too many evaluations about it. The only thing that makes me feel compelled to stand up and refute it is that some people say that it does not look like gay movies, which itself is based on the existence of a "fixed paradigm" of gay movies.
Do you think gay movies should be full of negative struggles? Should there be no light? Should be discriminated against? Should it end in tragedy? When your preset framework can't fit into the movie you're watching, you give it to the movie? Don't you think this is very ridiculous? Thinking that gay movies should have a fixed paradigm and thinking that "homosexuality is femininity" is a typical Sterotype, and the people who make these comments are not even bothered to look at the ancient Greek records of same-sex love.
As for CMBYN's Oscar road, I hope everyone will wait for it normally. "Moonlight Boy" has already won best picture last year, and even if there is another gay movie this year, Lian Zhuang is just the icing on the cake. Instead, I value best actor in the CMBYN nominations.
Hopefully, Sweet Tea will join William Hurt of Spider-Woman's Kiss, Tom Hanks from The Philadelphia Story, Philip Seymour Hoffman from Capote, and Sean Penn from Milk as the fifth film emperor to be crowned with a gay role. Hollywood needs to accept the fact that the male protagonist on the big screen does not have to be strong and masculine, he can be very gentle, he can coddle another man, he can cry after answering the phone, and he can pick up a peach in boredom.
☞ Oscar
Moonlight Boy (USA)
The oolong that came out of the Oscars in February last year was really too big to make "Moonlight Boy" famous in history (of course, "Philharmonic City" could not run, and the high commander on the stage covered his mouth and smiled). Although the film was released in October 2016, the little golden man brought a long tail effect to its box office: As a small production that cost only $1.5 million, Moonlight Boy did not release in the United States until May 2017, and the final box office was 18 times the cost.
"Infinite Heartbeat" (USA)
This year's Oscars estimate that only CMBYN can replicate the box office curve of "Moonlight Boy". While still not being expanded, CMBYN has already grossed more than $6 million at the box office, easily crossing the $3.5 million production cost line. $4.9 million at the box office came from 2017, which means that it harvested $1.1 million in just nine days after 2018, and there is no pressure to return the money in the future.
Another nominated, "Battle for the Sexes," which was nominated less, went offline and grossed $12.63 million at the box office. In addition to these two gay films, gay films in five countries and regions have applied for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, namely "Ordinary Woman" in Chile, "Wound" in South Africa, "Silma" in Norway, "120 Blows Per Minute" in France, "Tom in Finland" in Finland, and "Everyday Dialogue" in Taiwan, of which "Ordinary Woman" and "Wound" entered the final nine short list. The student work "Heart Beats Infinitely" completed through crowdfunding also entered the short list of best animated short films, becoming a small surprise at this year's Oscars.
☞ Sexual harassment
Kevin Spacey
"Sexual harassment" is sweeping the screen in Hollywood, and the victims of this storm are not just women. Oscar-winning kevin Spacey has made his sexuality public in an extremely disgusting way: When the media revealed that he had sexually assaulted underage boys, Spacey "incidentally" confirmed the speculation about his sexual orientation for many years in his apology statement.
This use of LGBT identity to divert focus is despicable because there is no necessary connection between sexual orientation and sexual assault. Spacey's statement invisibly caters to the social prejudice that equates "homosexuality" and "profanity" and obscures public criticism of him by smearing the entire LGBT community.
Gay filmmakers also implicated in sexual harassment include Star Trek's George Takei and Oscar-winning director Brian Singer for "Very Suspect." Female victims can use #Me too# to express anger at sexual harassment, but what about male victims? Once again, Hollywood is selectively blind.
II. Seven Annual "Most" Cases
♕ Best Lesbian Theme (L)
"Disobedience"
Prolific Chilean director Sebastian Lerio not only brought a transgender song "Ordinary Woman" at the beginning of the year, but also used "Disobedience" at the end of the year to tell the love affair of two Jewish women. Human nature turned around bravely and rebelliously in the face of divinity, and the two Rachels turned beautifully.
♕ Best Gay Sex (G)
Kingdom of God
Love is like a light illuminating his world, even if this light leaves, he will try to chase it back. You could say it's a modern version of Brokeback Mountain, but it's a hundred times sweeter: changing times make happiness a thing of course.
♕ Best Bisexual Theme (B)
Professor Marston and Wonder Woman
The amazing three-sex game, there is sex, there is love, there is BDSM, there is companionship, and even in the modern era, it is extremely avant-garde and modern family. After watching the real people and real events of the author of "Wonder Woman", you will understand the deviance and bitterness behind the heroine culture.
♕ Best Transgender Theme (T)
"Life is a Tight Seam"
Gentle and wrong life, putting gender choices into small family life, stitching out understanding and tolerance, taking the audience on a transgender journey full of cherry blossoms. The body is only the skin of the mind, and emotions and family are our common desires.
♕ Best Love Presentation
"Call Me By Your Name"
The same-sex love of the ancient Greek era was interpreted to the extreme, and people only wanted to go to Sicily once again to be a teenager. The hesitation, temptation, awakening, infatuation, and bondage of two young souls will leave a lifetime mark, for they will never again find such complete and complete intimacy.
♕ Best equality presentation
"120 Hits Per Minute"
The group portrait portrayal that is enough to enter the history of gay cinema, the collective memory of the 80s and 90s is magnificent and delicate. This is the most glamorous gay film, it ignores the mainstream side-eyes and fears, and calls on comrades to feel as a group of forces with anachronistic passion. The music of life.
♕ Best record presentation
Boys for Sale
In Shinjuku Nichome, Tokyo, the physical trade between boys and men has been around since the Edo period, and they don't even need to be gay. The director uses comics + live-action forms to tell the "separation of spirit and flesh" behind the ancient oriental trade of male prostitutes, which makes people surprised in fun.
3. Hotspot map
Gay Movie Hotspot Maps help us understand which countries around the world are on the rise, and being selected as a hotspot means that there are three (or more) LGBT movies in that country in a year. (The United States and France are already regular countries because of their fixed "excesses"; see Chapter IV for China))
【Korea】
In the past year, there has been a blowout in Korean gay films, and at least six gay films have met with the audience, four of which have premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, which shows the importance of Asian A-category film festivals to promote gay film and television.
《Method school》
The four gay films unveiled in Busan, the hyped "Method School" is more like a beautiful work, which is essentially a counterattack launched by the Korean showbiz aidou on the actors; "Possible Faces" tells the parallel daily life of the three protagonists, if there is no same-sex feeling; "Black Summer" depicts the admiration of college classmates, leaving a large piece of imagination space in a minimalist style.
The most worth mentioning is the transgender theme "Makeup" written and directed by newcomer director Nan Yanyu. The film tells a heavy theme with humor, costing only 100,000 yuan, but it was recommended by the film critics of the "Film Handbook" and nominated for the Best Newcomer award of the Blue Dragon Award, and is the annual benchmark of Korean gay films.
The Poet's Love
In addition to the four "Busan" films, "The Poet's Love" tells the story of a middle-aged poet in Jeju Island who falls in love with a boy and causes his family to fall apart. Crime films have always been South Korea's strong point, and at the end of the year, a brain hole film "Long Time No See" was released, telling the story of two killers belonging to different gangs, "Flying Knives" and "Wild Dogs", who fell in love and killed each other.
In general, Korean gay films are in an upward period, regardless of the theme or style of a variety of attempts, 2018 Korean gay films are expected to continue to be strong.
【Japan】
Two of the 2017 "Seven Most" are already Japanese films. In addition to the above-mentioned "Life Is Tight Seam" and "Boy for Sale", Japan also produced a large-scale, GV-like transnational gay film "Berlin Drifting". The film tells the love story of two Japanese people floating in Berlin, Germany, whose lonely hearts are engulfed by desire because they are displaced in a foreign country.
Berlin Drift
Of course, not all Japanese comrades yearn for a life of resistance to death, "Love and Law" is a skit about a couple of lovers running a law firm and starting a family together, with a long stream of water to bring emotion. In addition, there is a bisexual theme of "You Are the Sea", the protagonist is a boy with a misogynistic complex, who has a hard time meeting the girl he loves but finds that the other party is Lala - the film tells the identity of homosexuality from a heterosexual point of view.
Love and Law (Japan)
Since Japan is at the crossroads of marriage equality (japan has recognized same-sex marriage in four cities and two districts), it is expected to maintain the momentum of gay films in 2018.
【Finland】
Finland officially achieved marriage equality on March 1, 2017 – a background that can help people understand why Finland declared it the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for a decent gay film, Tom of Finland. "Tom of Finland", which specializes in lewd gay comics, has become Finland's most classic cultural business card, and Amway biographical films must also have the intention of justifying the artist's name. (But the shot was too conservative!) ）
Time in the Reeds (Finland)
In addition, Finland has produced two gay films, "Time in the Reeds" and "Love Smashed". Both are newcomer directorial debuts, telling the growth and love of teenagers in a small and fresh style. "Love Smashed" has locked in advance the best gay comedy of the year, it not only has an eye-catching cast and a funny plot, it can be said that it is more reflective of the life of young nordic comrades in Today than "Tom of Finland".
【Uk Kingdom】
In 1967, England and Wales officially abolished the crime of homosexuality, and the conservative empire that never sets began to embark on a long evolutionary path to become today's "corrupt country". 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in the UK, and small screens have seen a flood of shows reflecting social change and LGBT history, including Queers, The Man in the Orange Shirts, and Beyond the Law.
Queers
But comparing 2017 (the fiftieth anniversary) and 2007 (the fortieth anniversary), it can be seen that mainstream British culture is changing the tone of gay themes. On the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, Channel 4 once assembled the original team of "Morris" to focus on the hidden discrimination, deep violence and inner self-hatred encountered by modern comrades with a kaleidoscope movie, "The Platform of Obsession".
Ten years later, the negative energy and hostility have been greatly reduced, the concept of "comrades and mortals" has begun to prevail, and more importantly, people have realized that the social environment does not necessarily bring tragedy - it is this recognition that has given birth to a sweet movie like "The Kingdom of God".
Strange Show (UK)
In addition to "God's Kingdom", there are two other transgender films in the UK that deserve attention: "Strange Show" and "Just Charlie". The male protagonist of the popular British drama "Go to His* World" and the actor of the teenager Turing, Alex Lauser, played a teenager who likes to disguise himself in "Strange Show", who uses a unique demon to resist school bullying and tells the joy of being himself. "Just Charlie" is a children's theme, the protagonist is a young boy who aspires to become a British international, and his body has always lived in the soul of a girl; the road from "he" to "her" is not easy to walk, fortunately accompanied by his family.
4. Chinese language trends
In 2017, the creative environment of mainland gay films and television further deteriorated. A certain association under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued the "General Rules for the Content Review of Online Audio-visual Programs" on video websites, putting together homosexuality and incest, sexual perversion, sexual assault, sexual abuse, etc. Gay movies are considered to be "rendering obscene pornography and low-level vulgar tastes".
Ignorant and backward industry regulations not only stifle creative freedom, but also produce a chilling effect that makes more gay film and television projects stillborn. At present, the Beijing Municipal First Intermediate People's Court has officially filed a case on the General Principles, and the follow-up development is worthy of attention.
The Focus of Nothingness
However, it is not rude to throw all the pots to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. In 2017, a number of online gay movies emerged in China, according to incomplete statistics, there are "Reborn Junyan", "Customized Boyfriend", "Straight Male Biography", "Why Cause Mortal Dust", "Focus of Nothingness" and "Learn to Love in Seduction 2" and so on.
This shows from the side that the market for Chinese gay films has always existed. However, with the exception of "Learn to Love in Seduction 2", which can be called a true gay film, IMHO - most of the other works are beautiful (or ugly) works made to attract the attention of rotten women, and they are separated from the real life of Chinese comrades by an insurmountable wall, and the artistry is even more minimal.
"Addicted"
After watching "Addiction", I asserted that the development of beauty in China would only squeeze the creative space of gay films, and now it is becoming a reality. Why is it that Japan, South Korea and even Thailand can accommodate American films and television, and become ugly in China? Because the arbitrariness of Chinese cultural policy is too large, there is no need for any reason to ban a subject matter, as long as the internal documents can be realized, which means that capital is likely to lose everything after entering the field of beauty.
Without the support of capital, it is difficult to refine, craftsmanship and industrialization, so that it can only be reduced to a playground of "amateur actors + dog blood scripts + shoddy production", and can only rely on gimmicks to flood the network with backwater.
"Stand-in" (Taiwan)
In contrast, Taiwan's open creative environment is obviously more favorable for gay films. As the first region in Asia to recognize marriage equality, Taiwan has seen a number of gay films that are both artistic and social in recent years. From "Girlfriend ○ Boyfriend" to "Drunken Dream Death" to "Alief", the real life of LGBT people has never been cut off on the big screen, and "Alief" is a fusion of Indigenous culture and LGBT gender identity, nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay.
Drunken Dreams and Deaths (Taiwan)
In addition, there is the transnational production "He and His Heart Journey", which tells the story of a pair of good friends who bend straight and bend "on the road". Zhou Meiling, who won the Teddy Bear Award for "Tattoo", also brought her latest lesbian movie "Stand-in", which tells the story of two judo girls who meet because of competitions and fall in love because of stand-ins. There is no doubt that there will be more gay films in Taiwan this year and next year.
Tattoo (Taiwan)
It is worth mentioning that the consumer demand for gay movies by Chinese audiences is rising sharply. In June last year, the Shanghai International Film Festival joined hands with iQiyi to hold a thousand-person viewing activity for "Moonlight Boy" at the Tianshan Cinema, from the tickets sold out to the crowds on the spot, all of which verified the Chinese audience's pursuit of excellent gay films.
"Moonlight Boy" iQIYI VIP members thousands of people to watch the movie
The French Cultural Centre screened three "120 Strikes Per Minute" in Beijing last year, and even the aisles were packed. If nothing else, this year's Beijing/Shanghai International Film Festival will also show "Call Me by Your Name", and we can imagine how hard it will be to get a ticket. Today, when the release of gay movies in theaters is far away, please cherish the narrow window of the film festival and go to the cinema to call for gay movies!
5. Outlook for 2018
Love You, Simon (USA)
The most anticipated gay movie of 2018 is Disney's (formerly 20th Century Fox) "Love You, Simon". This is the first gay commercial film released by six Hollywood blockbusters, and it is completely modeled after the model of youth romance films such as "The Fault in the Stars". Films we've seen before, such as Brokeback Mountain and The Imitation Game, have taken the literary route, first produced and filmed by independent film companies, and then bought by Hollywood art distributors.
The movie "Love You, Simon" was run by 20th Century Fox from the beginning of the project to the release, which shows that Hollywood has full confidence in the box office of the movie. In late March this year, "Love You, Simon" will be painted simultaneously in the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and other places, and it will become a touchstone for testing the purchasing power of LGBT audiences in various countries, which has important reference significance for the commercial operation of gay films.
Because of the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney will later have a gay movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" to hit next year's Oscars. The film revolves around Legendary Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, recreating the 1985 "Save Lives" rock concert at London's Wembley Stadium, which is considered one of the greatest live performances in music history. The film has not yet been filmed and announced that it will be scheduled for December 20.
Bohemian Rhapsody (USA)
At this year's Sundance Film Festival, we will see "Cameron's Wrong Education" in which "Supergirl" says no to sexual correction treatment; and "Twilight Girl" will also play the famous female murderer Liz Burton in "Liz". Behind this historical figure who killed his father and mother and escaped justice is the figure of an Irish maid. "Happy Prince", produced by BBC Pictures, will also appear, showing the last years of exile of British gay literary hero Wilde, in addition to "Child Jack" with a baby in her ears and a baby with gender identity disorder...
Liz (USA)
At this year's Cannes Film Festival, it is likely that there will be a new work "Sorry Angel" by "Little Love Song" director Christopher Honoré. Another French director, Jan Gonzalez's "Thorn Heart," which has been included in the Film Handbook's annual look-ahead, is about an AV actress who plans to make an ambitious pornographic film in order to regain her girlfriend's love.
Dolan's first English dialogue film, The Death and Life of John Donovan, has been filmed, and the possibility of going to Cannes to walk the red carpet is high, but it is unclear whether it is a gay theme. Dolan's other film, The Erased Boy, is 100 percent gay movie, with big names coming together to hold their breath (Lucas Hutches, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Xavier Dolan, Troyer Shivin...). ）。 Like the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Erased Boy" was also set for September 28, with the goal of the Oscars.
Dolan on the set of John Donovan's Death and Life
There are also some ambiguous gay film projects this year. For example, Andrew Hagrid's Alexander McQueen biopic, which is "only hearing the stairs, not seeing people coming down", makes people wonder where it has gone. "Dirt Boundary" director Dee Reese's next project is set — create a black lesbian horror film with the "Breaking Bad" team, so you guys are happy.
As for Chen Kaige, the only Chinese who has won the Palme d'Or, after being addicted to special effects and handing over a magic film that makes it difficult to tell whether it is "Wuji 2" or "The Legend of the Demon Cat", it is rumored that he will return to the theme of literary and art films. This year, Chen Kaige is likely to bring Yan Geling's novel "White Snake", which was bought 14 years ago, to the screen.
Because of the sensitive theme of the original work, the preparatory work was pushed back and forth. "White Snake" is about a girl's fascination with a Sichuan opera actress during the Cultural Revolution, which makes her absurd to the point where a woman dresses as a man to "censor" her in prison, involving a love lament in a big era. Like "Farewell to the Overlord", this story is about the same sex and not just the same sex, containing the obsession and pursuit of art, hoping that Chen Kaige can return to his position as soon as possible.
"White Snake", which is considered Yan Geling's best work