1985

Don't read any plot before you watch the film , let you simply walk into his life , fell for him and follow the flows ! And you will be moved and touched by the 1985 !

This is one of the bravest films I have seen. It stares at the subject of AIDS in the face and there is none of the ' look how well meaning I am to be in a film like this ' which can be found in such films as ' Philadelphia ' and even in some independent films which have been made over the years. All the actors are perfect in the roles and the desperation of the knowledge that death is near shown with delicacy and insight. The film's simplicity of approach is its strength and the use of black and white focused on the family issues in a way that reminded me of the concentration of Ingmar Bergman at his best. As film it worked, the black and white accentuating the draining away of colour in lives devastated back then when what I call a Holocaust was at its worst, and little hope was in sight. I do not want to single out a single actor because each and every one of them played with a sincerity rarely seen on film. In most films there are ' leads ' but there were none here, and the nearest image I can draw on is a tapestry of the times for us all to look at and to learn from. Even today stigma remains, so look closely at that inter-weaving of lives and ask yourselves how you would have behaved in 1985, so near in History, and how you would behave now. I also agree with some comments here that this film does not have a higher rating. Or for that matter there have not been more user reviews. Even disregarding the subject matter the film is compelling, beautifully made and acting that is first rate.

1985 (2018) was written and directed by Yen Tan. It stars Cory Michael Smith as Adrian, a young gay man who is out of the closet in NYC, but still in the closet in Fort Worth. Adrian is handsome and athletic. He doesn't look or act like the stereotyped version of a gay man.

His parents are working class evangelicals. All they want is for Adrian to marry Carly, the girl friend he left behind. (Jamie Chung, a Korean-American portrays Carly. It's interesting that no one objects to Adrian marrying an Asian-American woman.) Virginia Madsen plays Eileen, Adrian's loving mother. Michael Chiklis portray's Adrian's father Dale, who fulfills the stereotyped image of a tough, blue-collar right-wing guy.

This movie could have been a simple coming-out story, but it isn't. There are complexities within each character, and there are unexpected moments of love and concern.

We saw this film at The Little Theatre, as part of ImageOut, the excellent Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on the small screen.

1985 carries a weak IMDb rating of 6.8. I think it's better than that.

P.S. In a brilliant piece of programming, ImageOut showed the movie "Buddies" on the same day as it showed 1985. Buddies was produced in 1985. It was the first movie that openly referred to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The year 1985 was a really bad year to be gay.

I really loved the movie, it made me cry a lot and made me think about it many days after. It was quite confusing to me, and there could have been more "power" in the film, meaning that at some scenes, it seemed a bit weak, which is why I'm not giving it a full 10. I really liked the grey and white filter and how it's all kind of building up to the moment of truth. Overall, really great and beautiful film.

I walked into this sort of blindly. Not sure what I expected, but I was snowed in and needed something to watch. I swore I was done with films dealing with those horrible, dark times in the 1980's when I lived in NYC and everyone was dying, but there I sat viewing a yet another hopeless life for another young man. All that personal stuff aside, this is well made. It is also well acted especially by the lead, Cory Michael Smith. This is the sad story of a young man leaving his adult life in NYC to return to Texas for Christmas for what he believes to be the last time to see his very religious family. There is nothing surprising here, nothing new. It's exactly what one would expect it to be, but the love some of these characters have for each other is moving. Virginia Madsen plays the young man's mother with such delicacy, which is not unusual for this excellent actress. I was also impressed by Jamie Chung as his lifelong friend/love interest and Aidan Langford as his little brother. Michael Chiklis is also good as the father, but it's a hard role to like, though he eventually wins you over ever so slightly. It's interestingly shot in black and white and it's a very good movie if you can deal with the inevitability of the main character's fate. I, for one, have a hard time doing so anymore, but I suppose we should never forget. For some people, it might be a necessity.