From the courage to own feelings suppressed for so long, to the courage to face one’s fears head-on or seize the opportunity for a first kiss, NQV Media’s The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire is a sublime must-own collection of short films.
Courage takes many forms, as Winston Churchill reflected upon when he wrote: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” We often think of courage as a physical action, yet, as Churchill alludes to, we can also display courage of thought and the courage of listening. Courage in its many forms sits at the heart of NQV Media’s new addition to The Male Gaze series, The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire.
Exploring the moments we summon the courage held within, these five short films from France, Belgium, Spain and Morocco are by far the strongest I have seen from NQV since The Male Gaze: Heavenly Creatures. From the courage to own feelings suppressed for so long, to the courage to face one’s fears head-on or seize the opportunity for a first kiss, The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire is a sublime must-own collection of short films.
Those Who Burn
Opening The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire is THOSE WHO BURN (Brûlures) directed by Jérémy Giroux. On the streets of Casablanca, courage takes many forms, and for one young man, Kai, it is the decision to leave everything back home, risking his life for a new beginning in a country yet to be identified. Casablanca is a mere stop-off on his journey, as people traffickers and gangs dictate his next move, yet as he beds down in a storage facility, it could also be the end of the road.
The storage unit is owned by a local crime kingpin, and Samir, a young Moroccan who works for him, has been assigned to clear the unit out. After discovering Kai, Samir initially treats him like a feral dog, demanding he leave by force. But then he notices a serious injury Kai is holding, and the atmosphere suddenly changes. Does Samir have the courage to listen to Kai, and does Kai have the courage to trust a man who is holding out a hand of support?
Beautifully shot and performed, Giroux’s powerful short about the stereotypes we carry and the prejudices that lead us not to listen is wrapped in a tender story of two men discovering each other in the dust and rubble of a secret safe location away from prying and judgmental eyes.
There are many reasons why people choose to suppress memories or experiences from their childhood or teens. Not all memories are welcome; some carry pain or guilt, and others trauma, so naturally your brain filters those memories to attempt to ensure you thrive despite the events of your past. But those memories never go away, and they continue to circulate and find moments of release. In our second film, A GOOD BOY (Un bon garçon), directed by Paul Vincent de Lestrade, a young swimmer, Maxime, is about to face painful memories and truths as they rise from the deep.
Swimming is Maxime’s life, and it has been ever since he was a kid. He has spent his teenage years perfecting his technique and strength in the pool alongside his team and coach and has now earned a place on a prestigious sports study program. But the pool is also a place of submerged truths. As the police arrive during one of the team’s training sessions to talk with the coach, it soon becomes clear that a boy has made an allegation of abuse against him. The boys, including Maxime, rally behind their leader, but Maxime knows the truth as memories flood back and long-buried trauma resurfaces.
Lestrade’s urgent, beautifully written short film is held aloft by the outstanding performance of its young lead actor, Igor van Dessel, and a truly brilliant ensemble. Unrestrained in its emotion and grounded in realism throughout, A Good Boy tackles the challenges many teenage boys face in attempting to navigate past abuse head-on and never shies away from exploring the profound courage needed to unlock and share those memories.
A Good Boy
Memory also sits at the heart of TOTEMS, directed by Arthur Cahn. How we want to be remembered by our family and loved ones isn’t something we rightly give much thought to when we are young; after all, we have a whole life ahead of us. Bastien died just when his life was getting started, and now his twenty-something group of friends are sitting at his wake, eating canapés, and drinking wine, while his grief-stricken mum thanks them all for attending.
Bastian was out to his mum, and his mum was loving and supportive, but when she announces that she will be clearing Bastian’s belongings from his apartment the next day, the group spot a problem. There are some things a mum doesn’t need to know, and Bastian’s collection of dildo’s and sex toys is one of them. So our group of loving and supportive friends head over to Bastian’s apartment with a mission to get rid of the dildos before his mum arrives. But on arrival, questions about whether it’s right to erase the traces of his sex life emerge. Would they do the same if someone was heterosexual?
That’s not the only question that hangs in the air as the group places Bastian’s toys in a bag. Cahn beautifully explores the differing experiences of grief for each of our friends, each of whom saw something different in Bastian, and one of whom hid his love for Bastian for many years. But Cahn also challenges the assumption that our parents, even if they accept us as gay, never accept our sex lives, as a mother grieves and says, “I just hope he made love with many men. Men who loved him too.”
Our fourth film is a delightful story of first love and a long overdue kiss. UNTIL NOW (Hasta ahora), directed by Manel F. Gonda, is set in a world where air pollution is suffocating, and regular earthquakes shake the foundations of human life. But no matter what’s happening outside, or is that inside, nothing is going to stop fifteen-year-old Lukas from finally kissing his lifelong friend Bosco as their families get together for a meal.
Gonda’s beautiful 9-minute coming-of-age love story uses its end-of-the-world premise figuratively, much like the 2019 Guatemalan film Tremors. The atmospheric pollution represents Lukas’ suffocating feelings of unrequited love. At the same time, the quakes symbolise the energy and weight Lukas has been carrying by hiding his love, each tremor a release as he nears the kiss he has long waited for. Every gay person will understand the feelings Lukas has kept locked away, and everyone will understand the earthquake generated when those feelings finally find freedom through a kiss.
Until Now
Our final film in The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire takes us to a rugby club in France, where a close-knit team of young men have their eyes firmly set on retaining their rugby cup winners title in JEAN FELL IN LOVE (Jean est tombé amoureux), directed by Romain Pham Roellet.
The star player of the team is Jean, and he knows he can bring the title home again no matter who they play, but he has also spent several seasons hiding something from his teammates for fear that his honesty would fracture the team and end his rugby-playing career. Jean is gay, and while he is happy with that, his team’s endless homophobic jokes and remarks indicate they might not be. But when Jean meets an opposing new player who has recently moved from Paris, Ayoub, he realises that it’s time to make a choice and face his fears in the name of love.
Roellet’s high-energy exploration of gay love on the touch line is a delight as it challenges stereotypes, while also exploring how the hyper-masculine policing of often insecure alpha males often shapes male group attitudes in sport. With an outstanding young cast, many of whom are not professional actors, Roellet beautifully explores how fractures are necessary in building a team that truly works as one. Jean’s silence is at an end, and a new team is about to emerge.
The Male Gaze: Courage Under Fire is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video and other streaming platforms worldwide.
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