Departure (2015)
★★★☆☆
A delicate debut of sexual exploration and lifelong frustration, Andrew Steggall’s poetic Departure comes undone with its exquisite manners.
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Rester Vertical (2016)
★★★★☆
As a scriptwriter turns shepherd, Alain Guiraudie’s Staying Vertical reveals an existence of fear and lusting in the Midi-Pyrénées.
Festival Review: Inside The Chinese Closet (2015)
★★★☆☆
With fake marriage markets and illegal babies, Sophia Luvara’s intimate documentary Inside The Chinese Closet reveals gay men and women shouldering their parents’ burden.
Festival Review: Théo et Hugo Dans le Même Bateau (2016)
★★★★☆
A deliciously simple story of one night of romance, Ducastel and Martineau’s Théo et Hugo Dans le Même Bateau uncovers the ins and outs of gay love.
Festival Review: You’ll Never Be Alone (2016)
★★☆☆☆
A portrait of Chilean society waking up to homosexuality, Alex Anwandter’s You’ll Never Be Alone turns homophobia into a vigilante fight for justice.
Festival Review: Being 17 (2016)
★★★☆☆
Exploring themes of identity, masculinity and desire, André Techiné’s Being 17 is a delicate portrait of adolescent confusion and first love.
Festival Review: Kater (2016)
★★★★☆
Set in Austria’s musical circles, Klaus Händl’s sensuous and delicate Kater sees an idyll of gay love torn asunder by a moment of violence.
The Danish Girl (2015)
★★★☆☆
With a powerful pair of performances from Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl is dressed to the nines, but can’t quite get under the skin.
Chemsex (2015)
★★★★☆
Exposing a drug fuelled, self-destructive seam within London’s gay community, William Fairman and Max Gogarty’s Chemsex makes for intoxicating viewing.
Carol (2015)
★★★★☆
A sumptuous adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s sensational novel, but can Todd Haynes’ Carol bring new life to forgotten Fifties optimism?
Drown (2015)
★★★☆☆
Flexing its tale of a man caught between masculinity and homosexuality, Dean Francis’s Drown is overturned by an overwrought history of self-hate and hopelessness.
Festival Review: Carol
★★★★☆
Adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Todd Haynes’ Carol basks in a 1950s glow of glorious chiffons, illicit love and stifled emotion.
Festival Review: Gayby Baby (2015)
★★★☆☆
A neatly observed, fly-on-the-wall documentary on gay parents, Maya Newell’s Gayby Baby adds fuel to the fire of Australia’s hottest topic.
A Girl At My Door (2014)
★★★☆☆
Combining gay rights with all the tropes of a horror movie, July Jung’s A Girl At My Door is strangely haunting, but struggles with a split personality.