Reviews:
"My Polish Waiter" was the funniest one.
The first film, "Death in Venice, Ca" is well-done and sexy to watch, but it is also boring and pretentious. "Achillies" is a major, accomplished work. "My Polish Waiter" is a really dry, funny, understated comedy, that's pretty sophisticated for a gay film.
How Can We Say These Are Only-Average?
Low art. Just because you feel something vague about your vague life, doesn't mean you can start the camera running and create satisfying art. (1) Death in Venice Beach, CA seems just a knock-off re-telling of Thomas Mann's novella without inspiration, just with carbon-copy-catting. (2) My Polish Waiter: the waiter is inarticulate and static, his infatuated would-be lover flies awry all around him, what does this become except a true portrait of--unreal romantic obsession? True but blah. (3) Miguel: this does show the character moving from clinging dependency, toward mature self-respect--but not artistically with foreshadowing, just at the end after unrelated plot. (4) The puppet-drama about Achilles and Patroclus was scenic, anyhow. See instead Boys Life I and II, even Boys Shorts, Boys Briefs? I was so unimpressed by Boys in Love (1) that I returned Boys in Love (2) to the rental store unwatched.....
Artsy-Fartsy
I usually like this films that no one else likes, but this collection just sucked. All the acting was terrible. The only short that was worth it was that last one. It actually had a story and some cute characters. The others were just stupid. They were the kind of stories that only happen to people in short films like these.Also, they didn't have very cute actors. I mean, if you're gonna have bad acting and stupid stories you should at least have some cute guys without that much clothing on to hold some attention from the audience. The cover of the video is very misleading.I was very disappointed with this collection of short films, except the last one, it was cute. I say get "Boys' Life" 1 & 2. Those are far better than this series.
Synopsis
"In this scintillating collection of gay shorts, a repressed academic is drawn in by the seductive wiles of his landlady's Italiante stepson in Death in Venice, CA; Greek bad boys Achilles and Petroclus battles the Trojans and their desire for each other in Achilles; a young man falls secretly in love with a silent, inscrutable waiter in My Polish Waiter, and in Miguel, Ma Belle, a Latin man, recently spurned, find love again with the help of a canine friend." - From FirstRunFeatures
Synopsis
"Boys in Love (1994-95, 83 min, United States/Great Britain) Collection of short films which include: Death in Venice, CA (1994, 30 min, United States, David Ebersole) Based upon A Death in Venice and with lots of references to literary works, this short film describes the love of a married intellectual man for his landlady's cute stepson. Achilles (1995, 11 min, Great Britain, Barry Purves) This is a great claymation film showing the love between Achilles and Petroclus. My Polish Waiter (1994, 12 min, United States, Terracino) A quirky short film about a young guy, Timith, who falls in love with an older, Polish waiter named Balki. Miguel, Ma Belle (1994, 30 min, United States, George Camarda) This is a cute dog film, about two lovers, one with AIDS, who have broken up. The negative guy gives Miguel a puppy to help him worry less about his HIV+ condition. It's a very inspirational film." - From QCinema
