There where the air is free
We'll be what we want to be
Now if we make a stand
We'll find our promised land

I know that there are many ways
To live there in the sun or shade
Together we will find a place
To settle where there's so much space
Go West - The Village People

Funny, the guys shaking their fingers on-line in disgust at this movie! Several have pointed out that the film is bad because it never states what these people were doing was wrong... Man have we changed from proud denizens of a new Gay frontier exploring sexuality and new relationships to what time seems to have left now huddled together like scared rabbits of an oppressive moralistic world afraid of them seeing what some may consider the dirt under the rug. Snickering at folks like George Michael in some holier-than-thou way for being caught getting sucked off in the bushes or in some bathroom just like most of us have at some time in our own sordid sexually confused lives. We just did not have a crowd of photographers snapping our photo as we left or were taken away in handcuffs.

Was I ever taken away in handcuffs? You bet I was, caught during my first Gay sexual encounter no less. I remember the late 70s very well. The sad part is I guess I am one of those few left who seems to remember the sense of what we were doing it for I guess. This documentary if looked at closely might give you a few other perspectives before the tired moral police we have allowed to claim to be the voices of our community bash it, for the men interviewed admitting readily they would do it all again, while gracefully rewriting history to make the 70s a sad Gay tale, a spiral into cultural decadence, decay, and death instead of an in your face "f@ck off" that it really was. It was a Punk attitude with a Disco soundtrack just don't bring up the shoes.

I have mixed feelings about this film on one hand it is WAY too New York City centric making the island an almost mythic place like Sodom and Gomorrah as if it were the only location in the whole US where you could get your kicks in a back room. It totally ignores San Francisco, P Town, LA and all places in between. It ignores the fact that the back room bars and bath houses were franchises by the end of that era and that casual sex was becoming increasingly rampant everywhere. On the other hand though I was caught yearning for the feelings I had back in those free times when people waxed poetic about how we were loosening things up and people like Harvey Milk hinted at a promise of greater things to come.

Even with the obligatory AIDS epidemic discussion that eventually occurs in the documentary I was surprised by the brief moments of politically incorrect honesty of some of the guys interviewed about how they saw the exciting era of their growing up. Hinting at certain topics I would have found fascinating if they had been discussed more in depth. Brief references to the difficulties of keeping solid relationships going back then when greener pastures of instant sex were so readily available. The other was someone stating they had gotten to the point of seeing the constant sexuality and the ever present drugs as almost required and mandatory and a jadedness had crept into what was once a moment of liberation. Interesting points from those who were actually there in the middle of it all and quite accurate from my own limited experiences at the end of this era. It made me mad that the interviews were so short and chopped up limiting our context for what is shown and not giving clear voice to the lessons learned.

Gay Sex In the 70s is an extremely limited documentary about a very big and unexplored taboo subject about how Gay men rebelled sexually once upon a time while defining who they were because sex did not equal death in peoples minds and in fact it was a celebration of their life, their homosexuality, and let's hope despite AIDS and the moral backlash towards sex harped upon continually in our community more people will explore this era not as faddish kitsch but maybe as a review of what was being discussed when we were so rudely and cruelly interrupted.

I remember the general feeling back in the 80s when the bombs started to drop and when many of my friends disappeared forever and it was one of conviction that we would fight this thing but with some agreement we would all get back to the party when it was all over. Maybe I still think that way even after all these years and consider it a little more honest especially among the young (Who rebel even against the safety messages we barrage them with today.) than the implied conformity of Gay Marriage debates or trying to accept heterosexual relationship norms as our own. What is normal and why do people so desperately want there to be such a thing?

A must see film that gives a sense of something lost and yet a hope for something better to come out of it all, especially if you remember some of the things I do. Oh and the Disco music in the film; the soundtrack is also a must have of the summer.

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Ending