It is a psychological anomaly to see gay film-makers equate homo-eroticism with violence and death, yet three of the four short films on this disc do just that. The first of the four, Dare, is a the only non-reprehensible film here, offering gently adolescent titillating eroticism, with a warm tease of later fulfillment. The worst is Late Summer, which should have been called Photo-Finish, which is the cheap shot of the lot. A semi-autistic kid stays with his aunt and uncle and his lively, clever cousin shows him through the ropes of nascent sexuality and adulthood. His reward for this? Death. Ironically, though this is the worst of the films, it offers the best acting, particularly from the vital cousin and his mom. Fishbelly White is, seemingly, a gay homage to Dilverance. Despite some excellent mood photography, the plot rages with hate, violence and death. Time Out is seemingly filmed through a pock marked lens covered in dust, with a soundtrack of 1902 quality. The story and acting is stolid, the script amateurish in the extreme. Acting was on the level of a provincial high school production of Our Town. This is the first of the Boys Life series I have viewed. I was disappointed, obviously, but plan to see the rest of the series and hope for better productions on these discs.
Review of Boys Life 5
