Shelter

It is a film deserving be loved. That is all what can be said about it. The first motif - seductive simplicity. A clean film about family, youth, surfing, love, duties, dreams. The second one - the acting. Not the last, the absence of demonstrations, so often preferred in this film genre.

Two guys and their love. Not stereotypes, no manifestos. Beautiful images and convincing message. A short of return to normality.

So, Shelter.

What an amazing movie about love, family, and relationships. It was great to watch a film that used characters that stepped outside of the gay stereotypes seen in most films. It was even better to see a movie that focused on the love (rather than the sex) between the two lead characters.

While there are some scenes that scream "low budget," the end product as a whole was very rewarding. The acting, writing, and directing were all solid.

After so many disappointing gay films, I'm thrilled to have a movie like this come along. If this is a sign of things to come in gay cinema, then I am excited about future films. If you haven't seen "Shelter" yet, go give it watch. You'll be glad you did. Enjoy.

It's not really about rich and poor, it's about honesty and honor, and the lack of it.

The one stand-up guy (Trevor Wright) reminds us that there actually *are* good, selfless people in the world. Zach has to deal with and master an unfair world, and part of that iniquity is himself, because he's gay. Trouble outside, trouble inside.

This is a very kind, wonderfully acted movie. Kudos to all involved.

It's odd that we need straight actors to convince us that gay folk are actually human, but these guys do it without apologies.

We should all be so kind.

This has got to be the best film I've seen at the San Francisco LGBT film festival in years. The director and cast were in attendance at the world premiere and they were given a worthy standing ovation. Writer/director Jonah Markowitz did a fantastic job of flushing out real characters. Trevor Wright was a real natural and convincing as someone struggling to come out. He really made you feel his pain. The story about his codependent sister is dead-on. Brad Rowe is like a young Greg Kinnear. You can't help liking him. The soundtrack was excellent and I hope to see it released. This is the first film from here! Network and I hope to see more of this quality. Incidentally, I've noticed on the IMDb search that there are two other films being released in 2007 with the title "Shelter" and there a half dozen films in the past with the same title. Also, on the allmovie guide (AMG) site there is an Italian film with the same title. Interesting enough, that film is being shown at the SF LGBT festival and was changed to Shelter Me. Hopefully, the "surfer gay movie" will stand out.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Brokeback Mt., but I saw a screening of this film at the SF Gay and Lesbian Film Festival tonight and loved it as much as BBM and in some ways appreciated it more. At the Q & A after the screening the producer mentioned that the production company exec who green-lighted the project said he wanted to make "the anti-Brokeback," and in this I think they have succeeded magnificently. This is a genuine, heartfelt story about gay love minus all the tragedy and shattered lives. Which isn't to say there's no drama... Let's just say that some characters in the story have some problems, but mostly they're not a direct result of the love story at the film's core. For my money the acting (with avowed heterosexuals playing the gay roles, as in BBM) was more convincing, the kissing more natural, the sex scenes extremely sexy and moving; another milestone in the realistic portrayal of gay love and sex. The family setting provided a context that allowed one man's coming out story to be just one among many changes all families go through together while simultaneously putting some evil homophobic stereotypes to bed, you should pardon the expression, rather than dwelling on them as in BBM. Bravo to the filmmakers and excellent cast, and I hope you get a chance to see it soon if you weren't lucky enough to be among the 1400 people at the Castro theater tonight. Oh, and the lead actors are drop dead gorgeous and playing surfers. Enough said.