Dream Boat

A huge cruise boat populated by young men ready to party and have fun in an environment of controlled frenzy. Sounds like the opposite of depression, right? Wrong! The interviews often dwell over sad or deep subjects but the real problem is the persistent aura of sadness that permeates even the moments that are supposed to be happy. The pacing, the color, the music... everything contributes to make this documentary incredibly gloomy and overall pointless, since nothing especially interesting or poignant ever happens.

Basically it lacks of substances as a documentary. Through interviews of some not-so-ordinary gay fellows, you get to see what is is like taking a gay boat trip. The real documentary would be to show how this people live in the real world... Where they probably dress, look and probably behave differently. Aside from the clichés you could expect to see in this type of leisure activities, add the drugs they didn't seem interested in showing, just to make the perfect cocktail (probably a good aid to live in such a superficial world.) With that being said, as a gay men i feel ashamed for this documentary, it does no good as press about the community. It doesn't represent the vast majority out there. I wouldn't like my parents to see a film like this, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who actually cares to see more of what it's like being gay.

This documentary tells the story of some gay men who are on board a gay cruise to discover themselves and their lifestyles.

Some websites and blogs have portrayed this documentary as an expose of how gay cruises are not fun, and trigger insecurities of gay men. I think it is not true at all. In fact, this documentary tells how several gay men successfully understand themselves on a gay cruise. It is a documentary that is filmed on a gay cruise, but not about a gay cruise.

I think it was an honest documentary about how gaypeople try to find love in their lives, but they make the mistake by following the crowd in a wrong way.

Love isn't found on a boat where people run around naked.

Love isn't found on a cruise, where people are going for a good time.

Love isn't found when you are looking for...

You find love when you are happy with yourself and be confident.

It was a very depressing mood on the boat I must say.

When you dream about finding love, dream first about accepting who you are... if people don't like you for who you are they won't like you for not being yourself either.

It's hard to watch a bunch of guys in elaborate party drag walking down a narrow, brightly lit cruise ship's corridor underscored by a sad, Debussy-like piano soundtrack.

There is a lot of this almost clinical detachment about what is being observed. Enough so that activities--which were probably a lot of fun for most of the participants--look sad and lonely, not to mention surreal.

I have mixed feelings about this film. The detachment is the point of view. I think it masquerades as objective, but really, it's pretty judgmental. The slow-motion camera lingers on guys who are north of 60 decked out in feathers, or leather harnesses. You see every nook and cranny in their well-worn faces; any joy the guys are feeling gets scrubbed out. Is it fair? Sure. Does it tell a story? Yes. Is it interesting, and fun to watch? Not for me.

The film centers on five guys from Europe and the Middle East, so, points for that. But. One guy is in a wheelchair, and another lives in Dubai. One guy is Palestinian now living in Belgium. The film seems to suggest that their life challenges are equivalent, at least from the perspective of being gay and fitting into the gay community. So it's hard not to feel that the filmmakers see their queerness as yet another handicap.

If you're a Stonewall-era veteran like me, you may find this film pretty rough going. And for young gay guys--well, it might make them feel like voting Republican.