Boys on Film 21: Beautiful Secret (2021)

Boys on Film 21: Beautiful Secret (2021). 2h 3m

“This is a bit unfair. The films presented here were very variable in quality, storylines and acting ability. Iu0026#39;m afraid that some very good films are going to be dragged down by the utter bilge that most of the films consisted of.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe bilge? Memoirs of a Geeza, Dungarees, Clothes and Blow, My Sweet Prince. Really, if you have nothing useful to say or no story to tell, just be quiet and choose another career.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe absolute rubies amongst the dross? We Are Dancers and Lu0026#39;Homme Jetée. I loved even the clever title of the latter – Iu0026#39;m a translator but I canu0026#39;t get the sense properly over in three words but maybe in four, u0026quot;Jettisoned on the Jettyu0026quot;. The two protagonists were perfect. Théo shone with his desperation and Giuseppe with his beauty – no, thatu0026#39;s wrong, itu0026#39;s his horniness – and disillusion.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe Are Dancers provoked real emotion. I had an inkling of the selfless act that would happen before it was made clear. I was born after the war but it was a presence in my life through my parents. The sorts of choices that had to be made in Nazi Germany would have tested anyone anywhere. Some failed their exam, some passed. I hope the guys saved by Hansi Sturm, who was a real person, emulated his bravery. As his true ending is not known to history, this was necessarily an imagining of his final days.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn between? My Dad Works the Night Shift, A Normal Guy, Pretty Boy. The latter was clichéd but acceptable. I liked A Normal Guy particularly for its reading of the situation for gay guys in Romania – casual homophobia but more or less an acceptance of other lifestyles. My Dad Works the Night Shift? A pretty erotic set of circumstances leading to a denouement that I should have seen coming – the religious are often twisted. And an affirmation that itu0026#39;s not always the older guy who makes the running.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf it werenu0026#39;t for the two jewels, this would have got a two. The other acceptable films raised this to a six. As I said right at the beginning, this is unfair on all of the films – some deserved a one and others an eight. Well we work with what we have.”