The Queer Gaze

Conrad and Joe drop a (mostly) spoiler-free review of writer/director Adrian Chiarella's feature debut Leviticus (2026) about two boys who fall in love in a religious community that punishes them by using their attraction against them. It's a beautifully shot and acted film - more of a romance than a horror film, though several moments still unsettled us. Don't miss this when it plays near you!Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Settle in because we are discussing the first three episodes/hours of the HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer-award winning play, Angels in America.Directed by Mike Nichols and starring a combination of prestige A-list actors (Pacino, Thompson, Streep) and rising newcomers (Wilson, Kirk, Wright), Millennium Approaches proves to be a dense, challenging watch.Plus: Harper's magical realism; our interest in Joe, Prior and Louis; Thompson's American accent; and how the $62M budget makes things a bit too glossy.Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~20 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

We're discussing the most popular title from our slate of 1993 films depicting HIV and AIDS: Jonathan Demme's Oscar winning movie, Philadelphia.Starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, the film is equal parts character drama (for Washington's Joe Miller), and courtroom/activist piece as Hanks' fights his discriminatory firing.Plus: Demme's intrusive direction; Washington's (not nominated?!) performance; the film's failure to critique homophobic/uninformed beliefs; and why this film feels soooo 1993. Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Conrad and Joe check out Roger Spottiswoode's sprawling 1993 adaptation of Randy Shilts non-fiction tome, And The Band Played On.Featuring a star studded A-list cast, the film falls somewhere between medical procedural and contagion film as scientists and activists try to identify the AIDS virus and overcome systemic/bureaucratic hurdles.Plus: villainous Alan Alda; tension in the editing bay; and questioning the representation of queers who want to keep the bathhouses openSeen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21.5 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Conrad and Joe checked out Elliot Tuttle's feature directorial debut and we had to record our spoiler-free thoughts on the film. C/W: Sexual AbuseStarring Kieron Moore and Reed Birney as a camboy and his older client, this intimate "delicious onion film" is a dialogue heavy two-hander that is controversial, challenging, and confronting. We *highly* recommend it.Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for our spoiler-heavy discussion on TuesdayLike the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Conrad and Joe travel BACK to Canada for John Greyson's New Queer cinema entry Zero Patience (1993), a musical about the Quebec flight attendant scapegoated for bringing AIDS to North America.Plus: the use of real historical figures; assigning blame for the disease; and the first of two appearances this theme by actor Michael Callen (playing Miss HIV) Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~23 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Joe and Conrad kick off a new theme on 'HIV and AIDS' with a look at the earliest text to discuss the disease: An Early Frost from 1985.NBC's made-for-TV film is something of a marvel considering advertisers wouldn't touch it. Thankfully audiences, awards bodies and an all-star cast had no problem!Plus: Aidan Quinn's lead performance, the lack of intimacy between Michael and his partner Peter, and how the film may be more about straight people than queer people...Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

After six films, Conrad and Joe wrap up our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme by revisiting common threads and themes, our favourite discoveries, and the titles we'd most recommend to listeners. Want more content? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for bonus episodesLike the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

Conrad and Joe wrap up our theme with Camille Vidal-Naquet's 2018 film Sauvage ('Wild'), a purportedly "judgement-free" documentary-style, gritty depiction of 'Sex Work and Pornography.' The trauma porn narrative, however, feels pretty moralistic to us!Plus: comparisons to 2024's Baby; Félix Maritaud's "brave" central performance; Léo and Ahd's interesting relationship; and a tease of why Félix and Claude's romance doesn't work.Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find usFollow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com