The Queer Gaze

Conrad and Joe return to discuss the back half of Mike Nichols' multi-award winning HBO limited series, Angels in America . Does the series pay off its lengthy time commitment? Does the visual scope of the production justify its costly expense? And who is the real villain of the piece? Plus: Conrad's frustration with the ending; baring all (nudity!); and not caring about Mary-Louise Parker's final...

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! Li...

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 magic...

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?!) pe...

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; an...

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 Abuse Starring 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...

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 deta...

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, a...

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 episodes Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find us Follow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaz...

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...

Conrad and Joe hit pause on 'Sex Work and Pornography' to discuss one of 2025's biggest queer films: Harry Lighton's Pillion (2025). It may surprise you to discover that we're ambivalent about the film! We don't entirely understand its reception as a romance, especially given how disaffecting (and possibly abusive) the central relationship is. Plus: adaptation changes from Adam Mars-Jones's novell...

The second to last entry in our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme is Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano's Baby (2024) about a newly released convict who is introduced to a life of sex work by an older man. From cruising spots to the intersection of sex & drugs, this beautiful film features a great debut performance by João Pedro Mariano as the title character. But there are a few elements, such...

Conrad and Joe check out Sebastian , the sophomore effort of Mikko Mäkelä (see previous episode on A Moment in the Reeds ) which concerns a writer, Max (Ruaridh Mollica), who uses his sex work as fodder for his "fiction" writing. It's an intriguing concept, though the film occasionally loses focus on what it wants to explore. Plus: Conrad's displeasure at the film's end, a third act tonal shift, a...

The next entry in our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme is Gregg Araki's masterful 2005 adaptation of Scott Heim's devastating novel Mysterious Skin .  Starring a grown-up Joseph Gordon Levitt and a pre-Oscar winning director Brady Corbet, the film examines two very different responses to childhood sexual abuse (C/W). Plus: praising Michelle Trachtenberg, the strategic way Araki worked with th...

It's a Conrad pick as our theme on 'Sex Work and Pornography' continues with Robin Campillo’s genre hybrid, Eastern Boys (2013). The film tackles several uncomfortable subjects, including a significant age gap between client and sex worker, an incredibly tense home invasion-style "party" and a challenging protagonist in Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin). Plus: shifting genres, a dialogue-free opening, an...

Conrad and Joe check out writer/director Moshe Rosenthal's exquisite 80s throwback, which played Sundance 2026. Featuring incredible performances across the board, this 5 star film about a tumultuous father/son relationship feels extremely Pedro Almodovar-coded. It's one to watch when it becomes available! Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for bonus content on our other titles....

We're kicking off a new theme, 'Sex work and Pornography', with Justin Kelly's 2016 true crime adaptation, King Cobra (2016) which tells the story of underage porn star Brent Corrigan and the murder of Bryan Kocis (here named Stephen). Starring Christian Slater (superb) and James Franco (ick) as predatory older gay men, the film is stylish, but hollow. Bonus points for Molly Ringwald and Alicia Si...

Conrad and Joe are joined by Horror Queers' Trace Thurman to discuss Charlie Polinger's debut feature, The Plague (2025). Expect plenty of discussion about pre-teen bullying, queer-coding, and body horror as we're collectively triggered by this story about hazing rituals gone awry at an all-boy water polo camp. Plus: praising Kayo Martin as central antagonist Jake, Joel Edgerton's useless Coach, a...

For our final 'Cruising' entry, we've returned to France to discuss Alain Giraudie's Stranger By The Lake (2013). It's one of Joe's favourite contemporary texts, but what did Conrad think of his time watch? Plus: unsimulated sex, naturalistic sound design, Henri's separation, and the lake as a gay utopia Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGa...

Our second last 'Cruising' title arrives in the form of Nate Dushku's feature directorial debut, Birder (2023). Prepare for innuendos abound courtesy of Amnon Lourie's screenplay, which is brought to life by charming chameleon Michael Emery in the lead role. Plus: queer diversity, and why Conrad and Joe feel differently about David Sachs' father figure Miles Seen the film or want to hear more deta...

Our 'Cruising' theme continues with Andrew Ahn's feature directorial debut, Spa Night (2016) which follows David, a second generation Korean-American living in Los Angeles, as he struggles to make a human connection. This is a beautiful film, although David's near passivity could prove frustrating to some. Good thing Joe Seo is a captivating performer! Seen the film or want to hear more details? S...

We're venturing to rural India to discuss Rohan Kanawade's feature directorial debut, Cactus Pears / Sabar Bonda (2025). This heartfelt romantic drama follows Anand (Bhushaan Manoj), an out gay man in Mumbai, as he returns home for the 10 day mourning ceremony following his father's death, reconnects with his hunky neighbour Balya (Suraaj Suman), and dodges invasive questions about his personal li...

Hold onto your jockstrap because we're hunting a serial killer in the Big Apple with William Friedkin's Cruising (1980). Starring a 39-year old Al Pacino as an ambitious young police officer going undercover in New York's leather scene, the film - which was picketed by the queer community at the time - has aged well thanks to its ambiguity. Plus: debate about the success of Pacino's performance, t...

Our final preview of coming attractions from TIFF 2025 hails from queer Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar as he tackles the infamous story of Don Quixote writer Miguel de Cervantes' time imprisoned in Algier. Starring Disney Channel star Julio Peña in the lead, The Captive is an expensive period piece that follows Cervantes' efforts to develop his skills as a storyteller, execute a daring prison...

The History of Sound (streaming on Mubi) is the new film from Moffie director Oliver Hermanus and stars Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal as 1920s music students falling in love while they collect samples of American folk music. It's a beautiful film with great chemistry between the leads, but Joe and Conrad aren't entirely satisfied by the way the narrative plays out, the runtime, and the deliberate...