Retake

Anyone who has ever lost anyone they loved or a family member, brother, sister, mother, father, lover, will relate to this movie. For the most part, the film is about Jonathan, an older guy who has lost someone that he loved. But, in my opinion, instead of trying to move forward, he is trying to recreate "Brandon" - his deceased lover - through other guys. Considering what's going on in the film, I'm going to go ahead and assume that Brandon was a male prostitute of who Jonathan picked up and then developed a relationship with. Unfortunately, Brandon was an addict. One day, on a road trip to see the Grand Canyon, Brandon o.d'd in a motel bathroom and dies. Jonathan blames himself for not being able to stop him, or do anything about it. So Jonathan begins the process of trying to recreate Brandon by picking up male prostitutes and making them "role play". Most of them haven't worked out .. until he picks up Adam.In my opinion Jonathan is clearly grieving. Everyone has to go through the grieving process and everyone goes through it differently, but in my opinion, I don't think what Jonathan is doing is healthy. There is no one on the planet who has not and does not grieve for their loved ones or want them back more than I. I have experienced a lot of loss in my life time, so I definitely understand Jonathan, but I just don't think the way he's going about "healing" is a good way to go about it. Loss and grieving is exhausting. It takes all of the mental and physical and emotional strength and energy out of one. If I tried to do what Jonathan is doing in this film I'm more than certain it'd kill me. And, I will add, I too have asked God to bring my loved one's back, but no amount of grieving or re-creation will do that - the only thing that one can do, is to ask God to help one heal, and try to keep moving forward - and while we mourn for our loved ones, and honor their memory, we ourselves still must go on living.

to begin with, this is one of the best gay oriented movies I had watched in a very long time! The acting was top drawer with Tuc Watkins taking on a character who is boorish,arrogant and supercilious bent on redeeming himself over the guilt of his past actions with his lover, Brandon, was a tour de force The hustler, portrayed by Grayal was also an act of redemption, in that both realized that their choices in life, up to that time, put a burden on them that kept them from being the person who they really are! The ending, I felt, was somewhat open-ended, and like a good soap opera, 'tune in next week and see, 'did he or didn't he?' In any event, I think the director was trying to show us that Jonathan realized that the vision that Brandon had of the Grand Canyon was as awesome as he imagined and not the 'hole in the ground' as he ruefully told Brandon! And he was telling Adam, give up your life as a hustler, you are much better person than that , go home and reconnect with your loved ones, make me proud of you! (I say open-ended-because Adam knows all about him where he lives--phone # etc. --remember going through his wallet? and Adam realized that for the first time in his life he has found someone he really loves and RESPECTS, and will not give up on him! [Do I sense a sequel?]

It’s been a long time since I was affected as much by an LGBTQ movie, as I was by “Retake.” In fact it’s been a long time since I was affected on a deeply emotional level by any movie. The fact that the acting was of high quality more than makes up for the low budget production, and also the fact that both actors are gay, helps sells the sex scenes and enhances the obvious chemistry, not only between the characters, but the actors as well. The story begins with middle aged Jonathan hiring a San Francisco hustler for a road trip to the Grand Canyon. The hustler is told that he will role play a guy named Brandon, and will in fact wear Brandon’s clothes on the trip. Jonathan even provides a verbal script for the role playing hustler to recite. Of course, Brandon will be handsomely rewarded for his part in this traveling road show. At first all goes as planned. Along the way, the audience and Brandon learn the nature of the trip, and who Brandon really was. However, when the hustler doesn’t follow the script, and Jonathan begins to show signs that his affection for the brazen young man may be more than role playing sex, the story takes a dramatic turn leading to a fill-in-the-blank ending that leaves the viewer conflicted over the possibilities the ending implies. The leads, Tuc Watkins and Devon Graye, beautifully portray the principal characters with finesse and authenticity. Many middle aged men can sympathize with Jonathan’s need to reconstruct a past filled with a love suddenly ripped away. At the same time, young men who have ever had affection for an older man can identify with the role playing hustler. Though the ending may be unsatisfactory for some, it is more than made up for by the journey, and the portrayal of same sex love is very tantalizing. I suggest watching this film once for the overarching story, and then again for the nuances of the characterizations. It’s worth the time.

Great movie. I liked it.

ストーリーも良く分からないし、肝心なセックスシーンも迫力なし。ボカシをかけるような映像もないので、全くもって購入する価値はありません。

At the end, we understand. But strange and difficult to follow. A bit overlong... Not bad, but...André A. Dumont

Just FYI there ain’t no subtitles. Not even English, let alone SDH/ HOH. That aside this film is good. Not great. The ending is hugely unsatisfying. I dislike endings where the audience has to decide for themselves what happens after the credits roll. That having been typed, the guys are pretty and there’s some nice male nudity. There’s also at least one great gay sex scene. Extras wise, you got a making of that runs twenty five minutes approx. There’s also an interview with the lead actor. But no trailer or ers.

I cannot write a review for this DVD, simply because I cannot remember it.