Best movies like The Male Gaze: Strikers & Defenders
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Work up a sweat from the soccer field to the locker room in these drama-fueled four films from Germany, France and the UK that explore how rivalry between teams can spill over into teacher-pupil relationships, high school crushes and brotherly compassion. The short films are: Islands [Inseln] (2018); Play It Like a Man [Un été viril] (2018); Colours (2015); Through the Fields [Passer les champs] (2015).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 87
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: France, Germany, UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative
Best tv shows and movies like The Male Gaze: Strikers & Defenders (2020):
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My Best Part (2020)
Plot Summary:
Jérémie, a young man reaching a breaking point on all fronts, decides to leave behind Paris and return to Limosin, to the home of his intrusive mother.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, touching, unusual plot structure, humorous, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Woke (2017)
Plot Summary:
Describes everyday life in a Lyon LGBT centre, examining the initial political, emotional and sexual life of a man who recently came out as gay.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, disturbing
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Punch (2022)
Plot Summary:
Jim is preparing for his first professional fight but begins to rethink his life's trajectory and his sexuality after tangling with Whetu, a gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Run! T High School Basketball Club (2018)
Plot Summary:
Yoichi plays basketball at his junior high and is capable. He is granted a scholarship and attends a high school with a superlative basket team. Instead of welcoming the boy the students there decide to bully and harass the new player leading Yoichi to a new high school and basketball team. Expectedly, the basketball team is not the best. The team will have to soon play against the team from the school Yoichi was in before.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 41
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, contemplative
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Jesus (2016)
Plot Summary:
18-year-old Jesús lives with his stern, somewhat unaffectionate father in Santiago, Chile. When not doing drugs, having casual sex or simply slouching in front of the TV, Jesús and his friends perform in a K-pop boyband. But his routine is thrown into chaos one evening when he and his drunken posse viciously assault a young gay man and leave him for dead. It’s an act that propels Jesús into a profound moral crisis which have severe consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 462
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Colombia
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sexy, homoerotic, psychological, unusual plot structure, contemplative, lgbt cinema, gay cinema
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The Story of the Stone (2018)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of an 18th century Chinese classic remixed for an honest depiction of gay life in Taipei in the 21st century.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative
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Marilyn (2018)
Plot Summary:
Marcos and his family work as ranch hands. While his father and brother handle the heavier tasks, Marcos stays home, close to his mother. Each one has their future laid out before them, yet Marcos bides his time waiting for Carnival, the one moment where he can let his true self out to shine. The sudden death of his father leaves his family in a very vulnerable situation. The ranch owner hounds them to go away, while Marcos’s mother pressures him to take over the work in the fields. Nicknamed Marilyn by the other teenagers in town, Marcos is a target for desire and discrimination.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 450
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Chile
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, tense, sincere, unusual plot structure, disturbing, contemplative, crying, interesting, queer cinema
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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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Initiation (2009)
Plot Summary:
16-year old Axel and his clique are rioting in a residential home. There he meets the 80-year old Gustav who gains interest in the young boy, as he reminds him of his lost love.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 176
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative, queer cinema
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Sequin in a Blue Room (2019)
Plot Summary:
Favouring the instant gratification of anonymous, no-strings sexual encounters over meaningful relationships, high schooler Sequin is part of the always logged-on, but never-engaged, hook-up generation. He ghosts ex-partners and remains emotionally unavailable. That’s until he finds his way to an anonymous sex party, where a whole new dizzyingly alluring world unfolds before him. In one scene, Sequin connects with a mysterious stranger, but they are separated suddenly. Utterly fixated on this man, Sequin sets off on an exhilarating and perilous mission to track him down.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 878
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, queer cinema
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Night Flight (2014)
Plot Summary:
Three teenage boys who were once close friends grow apart when they reach high school: Yong-ju lives hiding his true gender identity, Gi-woong becomes the leader of the school gang, and Gi-taek an obsessive manga fan. Tired of the constant malicious bullying by Gi-woong’s gang, Gi-taek betrays them by disclosing that Yong-ju has loved Gi-woong for years. Surrounded by an insecure boundary of the school and wounded by betrayals, the boys are driven into catastrophe.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, serious, realistic, romantic, lgbt cinema, tense, bleak, queer cinema
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Beneath the Skin (2015)
Plot Summary:
After his family falls apart Joshua is forced to move to Canada to live with his estranged father. It is there he meets Jay, a local tattoo artist. The two becomes closer despite the negativity that surrounds them.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, psychological, sexy, touching, contemplative, unusual plot structure, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 79%
Land of Storms (2014)
Plot Summary:
Szabolcs plays in a German football team, as does Bernard. They are roommates, best friends, inseparable. A lost match makes him reconsider his life and he goes back to Hungary in hope for more simplicity. Yet his solitude does not last long. Soon after his arrival he meets Áron and a mutual attraction between the two boys develops when suddenly Szabolcs receives an unexpected phone call from Bernard: he has arrived to Hungary.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sport
Country: Hungary, Germany
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, psychological, captivating, lgbt cinema, meditative, cute, tense, atmospheric, touching
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Tomcat (2016)
Plot Summary:
Andreas and Stefan lead a happy and passionate life: Together with their beloved tomcat Moses, they live in a beautiful old house in Vienna's vineyards. They work as a musician and as a scheduler in the same orchestra and they love their large circle of friends. An unexpected and inexplicable outburst of violence suddenly shakes up the relationship and calls everything into question - the blind spot that resides in all of us.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, psychological, light, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, queer cinema, gay cinema
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The Slaughter Rule (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young man finds solace with a young woman, his mother, and a high-school football coach who recruits him to quarterback a six-man team.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, cult classic, indie film, independent film, emotional, realistic, contemplative
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A Skeleton in the Closet (2020)
Plot Summary:
Manuel goes back to his hometown for his parents’ wedding anniversary, but he actually wants to ask money to move to Denmark with his boyfriend. Last time he saw his family, he came out of the closet. Since then, their relationship became tense. Manuel’s plans get ruined when his boyfriend dumps him.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, feel good, unusual plot structure, humorous, entertaining, contemplative, queer cinema
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Boys On Film 11: We Are Animals (2014)
Plot Summary:
Boys On Film showcases short works from around the world that challenge genre, initiate discussion and explore issues of sexuality in beautiful ways. Volume 11: We Are Animals contains eight complete films: Dominic Haxton's "We Are Animals" starring Daniel Landroche, Clint Napier, and Drew Droege; "Burger" from director Magnus Mork; Shaz Bennett's "Alaska Is A Drag" starring Martin L. Washington Jr., Spencer Broschard, and Barret Lewis; Carlos Augusto de Oliveira's "Three Summers" starring Morten Kirkskov and Simon Munk; Nicholas Verso's "The Last Time I Saw Richard" starring Toby Wallace, Cody Fern, and Brian Lipson; Eldar Rapaport's "Little Man" starring Daniel Boys, Darren Evans, and Jamie Thompson; Rodrigo Barriuso's "For Dorian" starring Ron Lea and Dylan Harman; and Bryan Horch's "Spooners" starring Walter Replogle and Ben Lerman.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 74
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: 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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Summertime (2016)
Plot Summary:
A gay couple living in San Francisco takes in two strangers traveling from Italy to start a new life in America, discovering each other and forming the most unlikely of relationships along the way.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sincere, psychological, light, feel good, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, queer cinema
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G - Lost in Frankfurt (2015)
Plot Summary:
Kris cant land a job in Warsaw and is now trying his luck in Frankfurt, where he ends up in a design underwear store for men. After some initial difficulties he explores the foreign city in which he must now find his way around. When he gets to know Damiano at the shop, a young extremely attractive guy who wants to show him Frankfurt, he accepts the offer gladly. After tentative touches and intense eye contact a passionate affair ensues within one day. G is a small study on the excitement a new life can bring. The film talks about the many levels of sensing and experiencing the complexity of the big city with its electronic music, clubs and the licentious sex between men under the influence of the fashionable drug G (GBL). Trying to find the very essence of life and love without ever getting enough of each, and the sneaking onset of disillusionment.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 159
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, tense, sentimental, sexy, unusual plot structure, lgbt cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 77%
Boys On Film 17: Love Is the Drug (2017)
Plot Summary:
Explore hidden desires on a sleepover, fall in love with the handyman and be seduced by a stranger on the beach as you discover why Love Is the Drug. Boys On Film 17 includes nine complete films: Nicholas Colia's "Alex And The Handyman" starring Keaton Nigel Cooke, Aaron Profumo, and Hogan Gorman; Dawid Ullgren's "Mr. Sugar Daddy" starring Bengt C.W. Carlsson and Aleksandar Gajic; Brendon McDonall's "Spoilers" starring James Peake and Tom Mumford; André D. Chambers's "Tellin' Dad" starring Carl Loughlin, Ricky Tomlinson, and Michael Byron; Eyal Resh's "Boys" starring Wyatt Griswold and Pearce Joza; Martin Edralin's "Hole" starring Ken Harrower and Sebastian Deery; Lorelei Pepi's animated "Happy & Gay"; André Santos and Marco Leão's "Pedro" starring Filipe Abreu and Rita Durão; and Anthony Schatteman's "Kiss Me Softly" starring Ezra Fieremans, Marijke Pinoy, and Marc Van Eeghem.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Boys On Film 7: Bad Romance (2011)
Plot Summary:
Experience an alternative take on attraction with Boys On Film. Bad Romance explores the darker side with a collection of edgy and sexy short films, including: Alain Hain's "Curious Thing" starring Danny Bernardy and Matthew Wilkas; Christoph Scheermann's "Cake and Sand" starring Bartholomew Sammut and Jan Andreesen; Michael Rozanov's "Watch Over Me" starring Guy Kapulnik and Davidi Hoffman; Joachim Back's "The New Tenants" starring David Rakoff and Jamie Harrold; Kim Jho Gwang-soo's "Just Friends?" starring Lee Je-hoon and Yeon Woo-jin; Étienne Desrosiers's "Mirrors" starring Xavier Dolan, Stéphane Demers, and Julie Beauchemin; Christopher Banks's "Communication" starring Rudi Vodanovich and Alexander Campbell; Tomer Velkoff's "The Traitor" co-starring Shmulik Goldstein; Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein's "The Strange Ones" starring David Call, Tobias Campbell, and Merritt Wever; and Tamer Ruggli's "Cappuccino" starring Benjamin Décosterd and Manuela Biedermann.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 101
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, light, sexy, unusual plot structure, contemplative, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Ville-Marie (2015)
Plot Summary:
Celebrated European actor Sophie Bernard is in Montreal shooting a movie, and she's taking the opportunity to visit her son Thomas in the hope of bridging the rift that's grown between them. But Thomas has his own agenda for their time together; he intends to finally get some answers as to the identity of his father. Meanwhile, at Ville-Marie Hospital, paramedic Pierre struggles with PTSD, and though he has support in Marie, a nurse who keeps the overflowing emergency room running, it's uncertain whether he'll remain able to cope with the high intensity of his work. Each of these four characters is dealing with emotional damage — and on one dark Montreal night, their lives will all intersect in a fateful occurrence at Ville-Marie.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 862
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, tense, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative, erotic
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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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Happy Endings Sleepover (2019)
Plot Summary:
American CIA Field Operative, Johnnie Allen, is assigned to Denmark for his first mission. An American spy highly placed in the Kremlin is to be spirited out of Russia, and it is Johnnie's job to get him safely to Antwerp where the agent will board a freighter. Johnnie, who is a young gay man, meets and falls in love with a Danish lad named Sander, who is apparently straight. Wanting to keep his friend close to him, he makes the mistake of bringing him on the mission. What will become of their friendship if Johnnie confesses his love to Sander? And is the Russian agent all he seems to be? Set against a backdrop of European espionage, Happy Endings Sleepover is a celebration of gay youth in a world where love should never be Top-Secret.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 424
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative
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Beautiful Something (2015)
Plot Summary:
Four diverse gay men navigate art, sex and love in one sublime night.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, light, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, independent film, queer cinema
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Boys On Film X (2013)
Plot Summary:
Boys On Film presents the tenth volume in the world's most successful short film series. All boundaries will be broken as Boys On Film X promises to take it further than ever before, showcasing eight of the most sexy, unique and brilliant new short films, including: Jacob Brown's "Blinders" starring Nathaniel Brown, Byrdie Bell, and Luke Worrall; Fabio Youniss's "A Stable For Disabled Horses" starring Daniel Swan and Daniel Simonsen; Antony Hickling and Amaury Grisel's "Little Gay Boy, ChrisT Is Dead" starring Gaëtan Vettier; Till Kleinert's "Boys Village" starring Benjamin Thorne and Andrew McQueen; Lukas Dhont's "Headlong" starring Jelle Florizoone and Thomas Coumans; Evan Roberts's "Yeah Kowalski!" starring Cameron Wofford and Conor Donnelly; William Feroldi's "Inflatable Swamp" starring Francis Beraud and Paul Huntley-Thomas; and Dominic Haxton's "Teens Like Phil" starring Adam Donovan and Jake Robbins.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 87
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sentimental, romantic, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, gay cinema, queer cinema
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Against the Law (2017)
Plot Summary:
The film tells the story of Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose affair with a handsome serviceman he met in Piccadilly – during the time homosexuality was a crime – turned Queen's evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s - the infamous Montagu Trial.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, suspenseful, semi documentary, queer cinema
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One Step Behind the Seraphim (2017)
Plot Summary:
A group of freshmen in an orthodox college are introduced in a world of cons, pleasure and money, but they soon discover that's not the way one's life should be lead.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative