KdogHeaven

While I've seen some over-the-top homophobic comments of two 'reviewers'. This is not a "gay-themed" film. There's a small, but bright facet that is gay-themed.

Family, sibling rivalry among brothers, loss, teenage high-jinx, and a lot of surfing overshadows the fact that one brother is gay. The few PG moments of sex are between two older teen boys and their girlfriends. If seeing a male butt, (in a non-sexual context), makes you squirm, you better stay away from a ton of "regular" movies and museums too.

Anyway, "Newcastle" is the story of how a tragedy enables a family to overcome nagging internal tensions. There are no villains, just victims of their own fear and disappointment. The performances are all topnotch. A minus for US viewer: occasionally the Aussie accents are a little hard to understand.

"Boy" was the third segment of "Boy Briefs 4", a gay-themed compilation.

This short film is about a small town teenage male prostitute (Jesse Lee) and a killing. The boy knows who did it. Entirely without dialog, events are wrapped within an eerie sound track and interspersed with almost subliminally quick captions, flashed in different parts of the screen. It's beautifully made, with all the elements of a meditation.

His day-to-day life, made up of a loving grandmother, the creation of junkyard doll art, the abuse from his schoolmates and and from just about everyone in the town, gives context to the conclusion where justice prevails.