Mike Dytri

Craig Gilmore

Mark Finch

Mary Woronov

Johanna Went

Darcy Marta

Scott Goetz

Brett Vail

Nicole Dillenberg

Stephen Holman

Magie Song

Peter Lanigan

Jon Gerrans

Jack Kofman

Chris Mabli

Michael Now

Michael Haynes

Peter Gramé

Craig Lee

Torie Chickering

Jordan Beswick

Paul Bartel

Andrea Sperling

Jim Stark

Marianne Dissard

Dave Cash

Joyce Brouwers

Michael Matson

Tommy Huie

Karen Kennedy

Gregg Araki

George Lockwood

Evelyn Hu

Jon Jost

Henry S. Rosenthal

Mike Thomas

Cole Coonce

Marcus Hu

Crime

Drama

Romance

The Living End

Desperate Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

Anyone else remember those robotic fish that you'd prod and they wagged their tails? We had one that also sang Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife"! Here, one features occasionally, but quite amusingly, in this quite provocative drama that follows a road trip taken by "Luke" (Mike Dytri) and "Jon" (Crag Gilmore). The former guy is a gay hooker who's got by on the streets using his looks and his wits whilst contracting HIV along the way. The latter man is a journalist who has managed to arrive at the same fate - though not as a result of the same s(t)eamy existence. With nothing much left to lose, the unlikely pairing embark on a fairly hedonistic journey that pitches their two completely different personalities into a series of scenarios that ultimately, well you can guess what ends up happening. It doesn't pull it's punches this. It is gritty and sleazy and honest and illustrates well just how human beings react when faced with certainty - even if it's timeline isn't so set in stone. It's a love story, an hate story - and juggles loads of attitudinal and judgemental horrors as the two men meet homophobia and violence as they begin to rely more and more on each other (whilst simultaneously winding each other up fairly spectacularly). There's a bit of sex - nothing very graphic, and loads of ripe language - but nothing here appears gratuitous. It's a plausible road trip that Greg Araki has constructed to make us think, squirm, smile and well, endure too. It won't be for everyone, but it does remind us of how, just 20-odd years ago, AIDS was still killing people and there is a definite and engaging chemistry between the two actors charged with delivering this story of a messy and frequently anachronistic existence.

English

Trailer