Best movies like The Male Gaze: Nocturnal Instincts
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Strap yourself in for an exhilarating journey into darkness with these five award-winning short films from across the globe that delve into heart-pumping escapades varying from the intensely erotic to the ultra-violent to the warm-inside feels. The night has never looked so inviting. Segments: After Dawn [Passée l'aube] (2017), Poof (2018), Spiral (2018), Night of Love (2018), Floating Melon [浮果] (2015).
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 90
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Sweden, Israel, China, Belgium
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, disturbing, anthology
Best tv shows and movies like The Male Gaze: Nocturnal Instincts (2021):
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Boylets (2009)
Plot Summary:
School friends who pass the time stealing copper electric wires and steel, betting cash in online computer games and doing sexual services to gay patrons. Krys’ best friend Joef is the leader of the pack and he is turning eighteen and is leaving the next day. Krys tries to control Joef’s last day and birthday celebration as he attempts to stop him from his plans. But will Krys be able to stop the guy he likes from leaving?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 17
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
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Insatiability (2003)
Plot Summary:
The film Nienasycenie / INSATIABILITY, directed by Wiktor Grodecki based on the novel of the same title by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. The film will be screened as part of the festival's Panorama section.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 257
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, Lithuania
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
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The Male Gaze: The Heat of the Night (2019)
Plot Summary:
When darkness falls, temperatures rise in these six stories about late night confessions, intimacy for sale, high speed hookups and full moon frissons. But when the sun comes up and reality reveals itself, will it have all been worth it?.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 114
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Israel, Belgium, Spain, Sweden
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, thought provoking, touching, poignant, compassionate, queer cinema
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Thirty Years of Adonis (2017)
Plot Summary:
Yang Ke, a Beijing Opera actor, is fatefully driven into the underworld of masculine sex workers, and becomes a class of his own. He finds himself on a roller coaster between heavenly love with both men and women, and a living hell ensnared by devious villains and hypocrites. Despite his faith, endeavor and willingness to give, he remains a prisoner to his karma. Hell awaits when heaven seems near, and the ultimate truth is revealed only in a heartbreaking moment from which there is no return.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 265
Genere: Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, psychological, touching, suspense, erotic, art film, weird, queer cinema
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First Taste (2008)
Plot Summary:
The title "Binyag" translates to 'loss of innocence,' and this little-known film from the Philippenes shows, very effectively, the process in which one young person loses his own innocence. A boy living a quiet, picturesque life in the Filipino province, spending his days swimming in the sea, is offered a job as a "film star" when a shady "talent scout" visits his small village. He promises the naive Leo that he can "make him a star." Leo, excited at the idea of escaping his seemingly mundane life, accepts the offer, thus beginning his journey to the city of Manila, where he will learn some hard facts about the world he lives in.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 64 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 79%
We Are Thr3e (2018)
Plot Summary:
Nacho is an accountant, an average guy. At a party he meets Ana, a recently divorced young woman. Then they meet the charismatic bartender Sebastian, who starts flirting with both of them and they accept his invitation to spend the night at his place. A few days later, they decide to go on a weekend trip to a secluded farm. It seems like it will be a fun one-night-stand, until Sebastian confesses that he desires a long-term relationship with a man and a woman together. Sweet love story for those who believe in (unconventional) romance.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 357
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, controversial, art house, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Praxis (2008)
Plot Summary:
Praxis peels away the layers of narrative even as Brian, the film's axis, struggles to create his true self. Brian, a writer on the verge of a breakdown, is aided by Joe and an Elusive Woman as he sifts through the fragments of his persona to discover his true core. Fighting against fear and the indifference of society - aptly symbolized by the medical establishment - his quest reflects the classical mythos of Proteus and the human search for meaning in the universe.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags:
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Hard Paint (2018)
Plot Summary:
While facing criminal charges, Pedro must grapple with his sister's sudden decision to move away and leave him behind. Alone in the darkness of his bedroom, he dances covered in neon paint, while thousands of strangers watch him via webcam.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil, Netherlands
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, suspense, melancholic, disturbing, independent film, queer cinema
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Body Electric (2017)
Plot Summary:
Elias is a handsome young deputy manager in a garment factory in São Paulo. When he’s not working, he enjoys casual encounters in the big city. The arrival of a young African, Fernando, on the production line piques his interest and Elias finds himself increasingly drawn into socialising with his work colleagues.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 896
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
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Sagwan (2009)
Plot Summary:
Sagwan is a story of an 18-year-old boy named Alfred, whose routinary life as a boatman becomes complicated as he discovers how much more life around him has to offer. His family's haunting dark past inhibits him from living his young life freely.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, queer cinema
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Daydream Obsession 3: Legacy (2008)
Plot Summary:
While visiting his recently-divorced father, Wylie discovers the camera and video diaries of Clayton. With his college friends over, Wylie begins to explore his desires through daydreams and reality. His roommate Greg is the object of his obsession. Can their friendship survive?.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 40
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
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Boys Briefs 5 (2008)
Plot Summary:
The successful short film compilation series continues with six outstanding films focused on school and college-age youth.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 177
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 84%
Natural Enemy (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in Brittany, a detective called Nicolas Luhel is asked to unravel the circumstances of a teenage boy's death. The main suspect is the boy's father. Shattered by the suicide of the main witness, Nicolas lets himself get snared by the strange and fascinating influence that the father exerts on everyone around him. Eventually, Luhel discovers the truth about the murder and feels that the law is inadequate to deal with it. As a consequence, he decides to destroy the evidence and keep it a secret.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 336
Genere: Drama
Country: France, UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, detective, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Little Gay Boy (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young gay boy, from his birth to his teenage years, in which he experiments his sexuality and his own boundaries, to the day he finally meets his father.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 164
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, experimental, avant garde, queer cinema
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José (2018)
Plot Summary:
José (19 years old) lives with his mother (50s) in Guatemala: a tough life in one of the world's most dangerous, religious, and impoverished countries. José is her youngest and favorite child, and her life is going to church and selling sandwiches. Jose spends his days on crowded buses and in the streets delivering food. Resigned and aloof, in free moments he plays with his phone and looks for random sex. When he meets Luis, Jose is thrust into a dimension of passion and pain and self-reflection that was previously unimaginable.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 820
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Guatemala
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, queer cinema
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Young Hunter (2020)
Plot Summary:
Ezequiel, a sixteen-year-old gay teenager in his sexual awakening, meets a boy of twenty-one. They quickly start a relationship and the situation unravels unexpectedly.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, stylized, queer cinema
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My Fair Son (2005)
Plot Summary:
When young art student Ray moves in with his estranged businessman father after years of separation, the two tentatively begin to reconcile their many differences -- including Ray's revelation that he's gay, which his father struggles to accept.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 94
Genere: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, suspenseful, independent film, queer cinema
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Ranchlands (2019)
Plot Summary:
The story of a spiritually scarred man whose life changes forever when he must return to his estranged family to help care for a brother who is suffering from brain cancer. With the help of a spiritually enlightened caregiver, he faces the demons of the past and a secret that has haunted him and his family for many years.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 161
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 69 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, suspense, suspenseful
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I Promise You Anarchy (2015)
Plot Summary:
Miguel and Johnny know each other since childhood. They are dedicated to skate and have fun. To earn easy money and continue skating, they sell their own blood to a clandestine contact in a hospital. The activity becomes business until a large transaction is not as they imagined.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico, Germany
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, queer cinema
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Aya Arcos (2014)
Plot Summary:
When successful writer Edu falls in love with a young hustler, Fabio, his initial fear is about contracting HIV, but emotional matters soon loom large as well.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil, Germany
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Like You Mean It (2015)
Plot Summary:
When Mark commits to falling back in love with Jonah, he is forced to look at himself with unprecedented courage and honesty.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 732
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, tense, sentimental, unusual plot structure, contemplative, lgbt cinema, cute, queer cinema
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Boys to Men (2001)
Plot Summary:
A four-part anthology film dealing with homosexuality from the young to the old. Crush, detailing the budding friendship of a 12-year old girl and a 16-year old boy, who bond over their favorite TV program and musical tastes. The Mountain King, details a young street hustler who makes a play for a straight man on a deserted beach one afternoon. . Lost is a look at a day in the life of a young man who is first seen engaging in unsafe sex with a random partner,. The Confession, a dying Catholic asks his partner of 35 years to send for a priest, even though the partner is greatly opposed to such a request. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 438
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, psychological, captivating, disturbing, anthology, queer cinema
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Great Freedom (2021)
Plot Summary:
In post-war Germany, liberation by the Allies does not mean freedom for everyone. Hans Hoffmann is repeatedly imprisoned under Paragraph 175, which criminalizes homosexuality. Nevertheless, over the decades, he continues his quest for freedom and love, even if he finds it in the most unusual places.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, touching, unusual plot structure, emotional, talky, lgbt cinema, queer cinema, gay cinema, cult film
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Paths (2017)
Plot Summary:
Andreas and Martin share all the ups and downs of everyday life, and their son is maturing. A cautious approach to the traces of a long relationship. The love story of two people. Not about how they come together, not a phase they go through, but all of their shared experiences: all the years between the first kiss and today.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 508
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, queer cinema
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Label Me (2019)
Plot Summary:
Sex is power, and Waseem, a Syrian gay-for-pay hustler seeking asylum in Cologne, wields it like a shield. Keeping his johns at an emotional arm’s length while satisfying their most carnal desires in order to eke out a living, he meets his match in Lars: a kind, affluent professional with a growing personal interest in Waseem. This gripping tale of transactional identity explores the tactical exchange of trust and intimacy in a partnership, and the divisions between immigrants and their host countries in contemporary Europe.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, gay cinema
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Boys Life 2 (1997)
Plot Summary:
Compilation of four short films about homoerotic situations involving young men. In "Trevor", by Peggy Rajski, a teenager faces homophobia and falls in love for the first time. Tom DeCerchio directed "Nunzio's Second Cousin", telling the story of a gay cop who forces a gay-basher to come to his house and have dinner with his family. In "Alkali, Iowa", by Mark Christopher, a young gay man finds out some of his father's past secrets. And "Must Be the Music", by Nickolas Perry, follows four teenagers looking for love in nightclubs.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 487
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: independent film, anthology, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sketch comedy, sexy, unusual plot structure, sweet
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Boys Life: Three Stories of Love, Lust, and Liberation (1994)
Plot Summary:
Each of the three short films in this collection presents a young gay man at the threshold of adulthood. In "Pool Days," Justin is a 17-year old Bethesda lad, hired as the evening life guard at a fitness center. In the course of the summer, he realizes and embraces that he's gay. In "A Friend of Dorothy," Winston arrives from upstate for his freshman year at NYU. He has to figure out, with some help from Anne, a hometown friend, how to build a social life as a young gay man in the city. In "The Disco Years," Tom looks back on 1978, the year in high school that he came out of the closet after one joyful and several painful encounters.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 531
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: anthology, independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sexy, feel good, sweet
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Interior. Leather Bar. (2013)
Plot Summary:
Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine the lost 40 minutes from "Cruising" as a starting point to a broader exploration of sexual and creative freedom.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, sexual, offbeat, serious, realistic, independent film, sexy, queer cinema
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Wandering Heart (2021)
Plot Summary:
Santiago, gay single father, has reached a tipping point in his life. Reeling from a bitter breakup, he is facing the impending departure of his daughter Laila, with whom he shares a close yet emotionally charged relationship. As the fear of being alone threatens to swallow him whole, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Over the course of a chaotic summer divided between Argentina and Brazil, Santiago must learn to let go of Laila so each can find their own freedoms.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 601
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Chile
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, touching, emotional, talky, lgbt cinema, queer cinema
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End of the Century (2019)
Plot Summary:
Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: unusual plot structure, sexy, psychological, sentimental, romantic, captivating, melancholic, lgbt cinema, queer cinema, gay cinema