FILM AND TV
Movies and TV to Watch in May
Add these LGBTQ options to your list this month
BY GARY M. KRAMER
Several queer-themed
fi lms — and a couple of
TV shows — are available
on streaming platforms,
DVD, on digital, and on demand in
May. Here is a rundown of what to
watch.
“Pose“
The fi nal season of the acclaimed
FX show based on the queer ballroom
scene returned on May 2.
The fi nal season is an abbreviated
one, with just seven episodes, but
the anticipation is greater than
ever for a show that has grabbed
the undivided attention of queer
viewers for two seasons. Led by a
cast of transgender people of color,
“Pose” — which starts during the
late 1980s and goes into the early
1990s — touches on themes ranging
from HIV/AIDS to sex work,
discrimination, fashion, and more.
“Tu Me Manques”
Out gay Bolivian fi lmmaker Rodrigo
Bellot’s stunning and impactful
fi lm, available on demand since
May 4, is not to be missed. This multilayered
drama, adapted from Bellot’s
play, has a conservative father,
Jorge (Oscar Martinez), grappling
with the death — a possible suicide
— of his gay son Gabriel (played by
three actors: Jose Duran, Ben Lukovski,
and Quim del Rio). Jorge
contacts Gabriel’s lover, Sebastian
(Fernando Barbosa), to learn about
his late son. Sebastian, meanwhile,
is channeling his grief by staging
a play about Gabriel. Bellot deftly
weaves these and other narratives
together to immerse the characters
and viewers in Gabriel’s world and
“The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” comes out on May 11.
experiences.
The play created awareness in
Bolivia about at-risk queer youth,
and the fi lm will likely amplify its
important messages about love
and acceptance.
“The Obituary of Tunde Johnson”
Out May 11, this is an ambitious
story about race, masculinity,
and sexuality. Tunde Johnson
(Steven Silver) is fi rst seen coming
out to his parents Adesola (Sammi
Rotibi) and Yomi (Tembi Locke) before
heading off to meet his closeted
boyfriend Soren (Spencer Neville).
However, Tunde is stopped by the
police along the way, and is shot
and killed. Tunde then wakes up
in a “loop of experience,” where he
relives a half-dozen variations on
his “death day.” Much of the drama
involves Tunde grappling with his
best friend Marley’s (Nicola Peltz)
relationship with Soren. The prismatic
approach to the storylines of
love and death is certainly useful for
unpacking issues of fear, courage,
WOLFE RELEASING
and pride. But the fi lm’s emphasis
on Soren’s anxiety about coming
out shortchanges the impact
of Tunde’s story. Ultimately, this
timely fi lm about police violence is
well-intentioned, but uneven.
“Twilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk)”
Out gay writer/director Ray Yeung’s
gentle, bittersweet romance
is also available May 11. This poignant
drama has Pak (Tai-Bo), a
taxicab driver meeting Hoi (Ben
Yuen) in a park where Pak was
cruising one afternoon. The men
slowly embark on a friendship that
soon turns into a sexual relationship.
However, both men are closeted
to their families. Pak is preparing
for his daughter Fong’s (Hiu
Yee Wong) impending nuptials,
while Hoi seems to constantly disappoint
his religious son Wan (Lo
Chun Yip). A subplot has Hoi secretly
participating in a seniors’
group to develop a nursing home
for LGBTQ older adults. Yeung’s
sensitive fi lm captures the quotidian
aspects of these lives that undergo
deep and profoundly subtle
changes. A shot of Pak and Hoi’s
hands clasping or feet touching
brims with genuine affection, and
an episode where Hoi visits the
home of his friend Chiu (Kong To),
speaks volumes about loneliness
and aging. Yeung’s exquisite, and
wonderfully acted fi lm is full of
such quietly powerful moments.
“Supernova”
Available May 18, this fi lm has
Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley
Tucci) facing a critical time in
their 20-year relationship. Tusker
has dementia, and while Sam has
been caring for him for the past
two years, life as they know it (and
knew it) is ending. Writer/director
Harry Macqueen does not succumb
to too much handwringing
with this melodramatic material,
and the straight actors playing gay
roles give restrained performances,
but even as “Supernova” goes more
for sentiment than sensibility, it
fails to jerk tears.
“Why Not You”
This curious drama, available
May 18, is set mainly in a small
village in Austria. Mario (Thomas
Prenn) is a dancer who apparently
has feelings for his dreamy
gay best friend, Lenz (Noah Saavedra).
When Lenz heads to Italy for
an acting job, Mario accompanies
him. However, while they are having
drinks in a gay bar, a group of
Muslims open fi re, killing Lenz.
Full of survivor’s guilt, Mario returns
home where he grapples
with PTSD. He starts using needle
drugs again and soon meets Nadim
(Josef Mohamed), a Muslim in
the local town, and falls under the
spell of Nadim’s Imam (Kida Khodr
Ramadan). Despite Prenn’s committed
performance, writer/director
Evi Romen never quite makes
the narrative jumps credible.
“Special”
Writer, producer, and star Ryan
O’Connell’s funny, sexy, and poignant
series based on his book,
“I’m Special: And Other Lies We
Tell Ourselves,” returns to Netflix
May 20. As Season two opens,
Ryan (O’Connell) has not spoken to
his mother, Karen (Jessica Hecht)
for two months. He is also experiencing
a case of writer’s block at
work. He does fi nd some joy when
he connects with Tanner (out actor
Max Jenkins), but there are, of
course, complications. Meanwhile,
Ryan’s Bestie, Kim (Punam Patel),
who is still under crushing debt,
meets Harrison (out actor Charlie
Barnett) and begins a relationship
with him. The season focuses more
on how Ryan fi nds both love and a
sense of belonging.
MAY 6 - MAY 19, 2 32 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
