The fifth and most consistently rewarding entry in the Boys Life series of anthologies, this collection of gay shorts avoids the alternating callow humor and dull self-seriousness of previous installments. Each of these four segments feels like a first-rate mini-feature rather than a student experiment or a Hollywood audition. With its rural setting, offbeat protagonist, and less-is-more approach to both dialogue and sexual tension, Fishbelly White could hardly be confused for a typical gay indie. But its subtle insights into adolescence and its undeniable sensuality mark Michael Burke as a director to watch. David Ottenhouse's Late Summer proves equally restrained, its "gayness" a matter of sensibility and subtext rather than overt content. A rare example of a flashback story whose framing sequences actually add to its emotional heft, Late Summer provides an intriguing suburban contrast to Fishbelly White's farmland lyricism. Dare, written by David Brind and directed by Adam Salky, offers the most explicitly gay subject matter of the collection. Yet it shares with the other films a tension between childhood innocence and erotic awakening. The odd film out seems to be Time Off (aka After) , which was shot in Hebrew by Israeli director Eytan Fox a decade before any of the other films. With its military setting and political backdrop, Time Off engages with the real world rather than just its characters' inner lives. Yet its subtlety and ambiguity fit in perfectly. By focusing on the inner contradictions and unspoken longings of their protagonists, these four films collectively allow the Boys Life series to grow up.
by Brian J. Dillard
review
