Courts mais Gay: Tome 1 was the very first in this series of mostly excellent short Gay and Lesbian films, although in this the first, male relationships dominate. I cannot possibly single out all of the eight on this DVD. That is a pity as quite a few of them hold up quite well without a knowledge of the French language. 2001 is already quite far away but the essential situations as presented are constantly with us. ' L'Abandon ' for example shows how one act of sex can lead to HIV, and it is moving without being dogmatic. My personal favourite is Gabriel Monteynard's ' La Vie des Autres ' which shows the daily isolation of a young man who can only look at the life of others, either by filming them from a distance or watching them in night clubs where he sees male couples, but cannot cross the unspoken divide that holds him back from having a lover or a companion. A glimpse of hope closes this very fine piece of cinema. Francois Roux's ' Aniel ' which closes the eight is if I timed it correctly the longest; a handsome ' foreigner ' in a workplace who makes it clear that he is attracted to a male fellow worker. I will not spoil what happens. Without subtitles most of these films work and despite the fact I know the language I was convinced that non-speaking French people could get a lot out of seeing this very fine compilation. See this first in the Courts mais Gay series if you can.
