What to Watch: Spring Brings New Gay Cinema

Raise the rainbow flag! After a lag in LGBTQ film content on the big screen, there are a slew of terrific queer films being released this spring. And a host more about to hit the major gay fests beginning with Wicked Queer in Boston and then Outshine in Miami – stay tuned to EDGE for details.

Here are some of the most exciting queer and queer-friendly movies coming to theaters, VOD, Digital, and Streaming this spring.

"Jump, Darling"

Phil Connell wrote and directed "Jump, Darling," Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman's final star performance. And it's a gem. The film tells the story of a failed actor, Russell (a darling Thomas Duplessie), who is happiest performing in drag. He leaves Toronto and his annoying boyfriend, and moves back to suburbia to live with his elderly grandmother (the marvelous Leachman), where he starts performing in the local dive bar. Both actors find dignity in their respective struggles. The film is about taking charge of your journey and not allowing anyone to deter you – a vital theme, and a fitting farewell to the 94-year-old Leachman, whom we lost to COVID.

Click here for an interview with director Phil Connell.

"Jump, Darling" is currently in theaters on DVD and VOD platforms.

"Poppy Field"

The gripping Romanian film "Poppy Field (Camp de Maci)" opens as Cristi (Conrad Mericoffer) and his long-distance BF Hadi (Radouan Leflahi) come together. They flirt. They fuck. Then Cristi becomes distant. The film then dramatic shifts focus to a Bucharest cinema where the showing of a lesbian-themed film has been interrupted by ultra-nationalist protesters. The uber-closeted Cristi is one of many gendarmes (officers) called to handle the conflict. Based on actual events that took place in Romania (with the showing of "BPM," to which the film pays homage), "Poppy Field" is a powerful reminder that being gay is still verboten in many countries. Director Eugen Jebeleanu has fashioned a powerful examination of hate, self-hate, and intolerance. My only complaint is the film could have benefitted from a third act.

"Poppy Field" opens via virtual cinema, VOD and digital on April 8, 2022

"White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch"

Who hasn't worn an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt and/or walked into the store and browsed, pausing to lust after the boys at the door? In the '90s and early 2000s, A&F represented everything sexy yet wholesome, especially when it came to hot young guys. They were the cool brand: Very All-American, yet super homoerotic. CEO and closeted gay Mike Jeffries was doing something right, until he wasn't. A host of allegations about "exclusionary marketing and discriminatory hiring practices" began to scandalize the company internally and bring the brand down with it. The doc gives us the raw detail (with lots of yummy pics) about just how fucked up the company was, and what led to the downfall. And we get interviews with guys like armpit dude!

"White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" premieres on Netflix on April 19, 2022.

"The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes"

"Marilyn and the truth. It's like going into the lion's den."

Netflix searches through hours upon hours of "never before heard" recordings of the late movie icon, Marilyn Monroe, and delivers "The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes," an exciting new documentary series that sheds more light on the legend's complex life and offers some new insights about her fateful end. Emma Cooper, director of "Tiger King," leaves no stone unturned in her attempt at getting at the truth... some truth.

"The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes" drops on Netflix April 27, 2022.

"Firebird"

A 2021 Festival favorite, Peeter Rebane's captivating Cold War thriller "Firebird" is finally being released in theaters, where it should be seen on the big screen (thank you Roadside Attractions). Set in the late '70s into the '80s, this gem explores the forbidden love between an Estonian private, Sergey (Tom Prior), and his Lieutenant, Roman (Oleg Zagordnii), during a time when being gay was not an option. The film keenly takes us through Sergey's sexual awakening and chronicles the love affair between the two men against the repressed backdrop of the locale. Prior is a find. He's appeared in few films, notably, "The Theory of Everything," but as co-writer, co-producer, and lead here, he proves he's a fierce filmic force.
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"Firebird" will be released in theaters on April 29th.

"Anaïs in Love"

"My problem is I'm too carefree," the titular character offers, not really thinking it's a problem, in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet's delightful and insightful first feature, "Anaïs in Love." For the viewer, it is a boon. Anaïs (richly brought to life by Anaïs Demoustier) is young and might not have much money, but she is "headstrong," as celebrated author Emilie (the amazing Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) notices, and Anaïs always seems to be running somewhere. Tired of the stifling men in her life, Anaïs crushes on Emilie, who appreciates her combination of "audacity and timidity," and a sweet and profound love story takes shape with the help of a dance to "Bette Davis Eyes." Both Demoustier and Tedeschi deliver such authentic and graceful performances that we are left feeling enchanted.

"Anaïs in Love" will be released in theaters on April 29, 2022, and On Demand May 6, 2022.

"Mascarpone"

Italian cinema starves for good LGBTQ fare. In fact, if it weren't for Ferzan Ozpetek, Italians would have little to no gay representation onscreen – save for some safe, lesbian-ish flourishes in male-directed movies. That is one of the many of reasons that "Mascarpone" is such a daring delight. Directors Alessandro Guida and Matteo Pilati deliver a delectable, queer-positive treat that has all the ingredients that the gay male audience desires: Hot men, nudity, witty dialogue, and even tragedy!

But there is much more going on underneath the pretty boy surface, as the filmmakers (along with co-writer Giuseppe Paternò Raddusa) use these tropes to delve into the fears and anxieties that marginalized people feel each day when society is demanding that they somehow alter who they really are in order to conform. It's difficult to forge your own path, as the spectacular lead Giancarlo Commare discovers in the film, but it is essential. Enjoy this film on whatever level you choose to, but celebrate its audacia (boldness).

"Mascarpone" will be released on DVD and VOD on May 10, 2022.

"Benediction"

Terence Davies' exquisite non-linear cinematic telling of the life of 20th century English poet Siegfried Sassoon, "Benediction," proves an exploration of identity and a depiction of the desire between men at a time when acting on such feelings was forbidden. Young Sassoon (a smashing Jack Lowden) dared to think for himself, which often got him in trouble. He lived openly as a gay man (one of the "bright young things" of the 1920s), but old age and a newfound dive into Catholicism would result in his eschewing his queerness, marrying a woman, and turning into an irascible old man (Peter Capaldi). Jeremy Irvine flies his queer flag once again as actor/singer/divo Ivor Novello, one of Sassoon's lovers. Look for a host of attractive newbies, including "Bridgerton's" Callum Lynch.

"Benediction" will play limited theatrical engagements beginning May 13, 2022