Shelter (2007) directed by Jonah Markowitz

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Director: Jonah Markowitz

Writer: Jonah Markowitz (writer)

Genre: Drama, Romance, Sport

Plot: The feature-film debut from art director Jonah Markowitz (Quinceañera) pivots on the tension between responsibility to family and responsibility to self. Recent high-school graduate Zach (Trevor Wright) has one summer to reconcile the competing halves of his life. The aspiring Picasso lives in blue-collar San Pedro with his irresponsible sister, Jeanne (Tina Holmes, Half Nelson), her five-year-old son, Cody (Jackson Wurth), and their rarely-seen father. Zach gave up his art school dreams to toil in a diner and help look after his much-loved nephew. With his best friend, Gabe (Ross Thomas), away at college, Zach draws, surfs, and skateboards by his lonesome. When Gabe's novelist brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss), returns to his Orange County home to recover from a broken heart, he and Zach alternate between riding the waves and encouraging each other to pursue their aspirations. Shaun is gay, while Zach appears to be straight, but a casual kiss between the two soon leads to a secret relationship. Before the former returns to Los Angeles, the latter has to decide who he is--gay, straight, artist, cook, uncle, or father--and what he's going to do about it. Except for the location shooting, this low-budget indie plays like an extended episode of The O.C. what with all the "bro"s and "dude"s and love scenes tame enough for network TV. Nonetheless, Markowitz’s heart is in the right place, and Shelter may provide some real-life Zachs with the courage they need to follow their passions. (Kathleen C. Fennessy) 

@IMDb 
@Amazon: Shelter
@Netflix
@Wolfe Video











Cast (in credits order)
Trevor Wright... Zach
Tricia Pierce... Partier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christina Blevins... Partier
Matt Bushell... Alan
Cherese... Art Student (as C-Sharp)
Caitlin Crosby... Actor
Tina Holmes... Jeanne
Devin Leigh... Party Goer
Don Margolin... Father
Sybil Martinez... Art Student 
Albert Reed... Billy
Brad Rowe... Shaun
Alicia Sixtos... Amber
Ross Thomas... Gabe
Katie Walder... Tori
Jackson Wurth... Cody
Tarek Zohdy... Drunken Partier

 

Comments

[debbie1701.livejournal.com]

It's a very sweet movie. I've seen so many depressing older gay movies that it's refreshing to find a positive one. Hopefully, the new generation of gay writers are having better experiences and their positive experiences will be reflected in their movies and books.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

"By this time, however, I had become a gay activist, and I began to look askance at that "sad-young-men" school of gay writing, in which, I regretted to admit, I now included The Why Not. When I read it again, I was dismayed to realize that there was hardly a happy character or incident in the book. Mostly it was gloom and doom. Now, it is true, gay life in those early years could be painful, burdensome, and dangerous; but in dwelling exclusively on those aspects of our society, I thought those books, mine included, were essentially dishonest. I decided that I wanted to write a book about a happy homosexual who remained happy, and alive, and gay, in the final chapter."

When I read your comment I remember this words by Victor J. Banis, about his experience at the end of the '60. I think the "sad" gay theme is something that persist, but yes, it's refreshining to see an happy film here and there :-)