The threat of a Russian jail looms large over Roman, who feels responsible for Sergey as well. The prying major (Margus Prange) has his eye on Roman, and never misses an opportunity to remind him the KGB is watching. Pressed breathlessly against each other in a forest trench, they erupt into a passionate kiss once in the clear.Įach rapturous high is followed by a heart-stopping low, and as soon as they consummate their love they are interrupted by an ominous knock on the door. After a trip to the opera, which gives the film its title, the couple is almost caught at a checkpoint, though it’s unclear by whom and why they must hide.
Another swimming scene, this one more erotic, is shot from afar, under the watchful eye of an unknown meddler who brings an anonymous report up the line. The opening scene’s drama repeats itself almost cyclically, with the stakes climbing higher each time. The film runs on a steady rhythm of danger and pleasure, or tension and release. After many charged glances and rousing brushes with danger, they give in to their desires with little resistance. Intrigued by Roman’s skillful flying and smooth confidence, Sergey is invited to his private dark room when the men discover a shared interest in photography. He shows promise as a pilot, however, and is assigned as convoy to a newly arrived, hotshot lieutenant named Roman (Oleg Zagorodnii. A fresh-faced recruit with his head in the clouds, the gentle Sergey ( Tom Prior) nurses dreams of becoming an actor. The horseplay is interrupted when two uniformed men point guns their way, a stark reminder that a military base is no place for fun. The film’s tragic throughline won’t break any molds, but with smoldering performances by its two strapping young leads, the target audience is unlikely to care.ĭespite the heat of its title, “Firebird” begins in the water as three lithe bodies splash playfully in a dark sea. Taking an altogether different tack, the stately period drama “ Firebird” tells the true story of an ill-fated military romance between two men in Soviet-occupied Estonia during the late 1970s and early ’80s.īased on a memoir by Sergey Fetisov, the steamy Cold War drama honors this lost chapter of gay history with a handsome rendering that only occasionally stumbles under the weight of historical accuracy. David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” documented the horrific genocide being waged against LGBTQ people in what is now a Russian Republic, a terrifying sign of what could lay in store for LGBTQ Ukrainians. Rather, my point is that a long history of excluding same-sex affection from public view and the refusal to see or reveal queer lives has had specific effects on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people.Not that we needed a reminder, but Russia’s recent human rights violations - while flagrant - are sadly not a new phenomenon. I certainly don’t mean to suggest some causal link between American sitcoms and the acts of a mass murderer. In light of the horror of Orlando, discussing Will and Grace seems trivial. It’s just shocking imagery and I didn’t want to shoe-horn it in. Director Jonathan Demme argued that a kiss might have repelled audiences, telling Rolling Stone in 1994: The lovers dance together and hug, but they never kiss. But the arrival of that first gay screen kiss didn’t mean that things had changed forever.Īs late as 1993, the film Philadelphia focussed on a gay male couple, one of whom was dying of AIDS. In cinemas, the first gay kiss seen in Australia may well have been in the British film Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971), released locally in 1972. Long-running soap opera Neighbours (1987-) waited 27 years before showing two of its male characters kissing.Ĭam and Mitchell kiss for the first time on Modern Family, in the second episode of the second season. Australian television has been equally reticent. Modern Family’s Cam and Mitchell live together and have adopted a child, but it wasn’t until season two that they exchanged even the most innocent of kisses.
Sit-com Will and Grace (1998-2006) went several seasons before gay character Will ever kissed a male partner. Whenever it looked like he might be about to kiss, the camera panned away discreetly.
Popular 1990s soap Melrose Place (1992-1999) was known for its steamy romances, but gay character Matt only ever participated in an occasional manly hug. The growing presence of gay characters on television has not necessarily indicated growing comfort with displays of same-sex affection. But similar acts between two men continue to be framed as something from which audiences must be shielded. This is accepted as appropriate children’s entertainment because the desire these kisses convey is heterosexual.
The entire premise of stories that became films like Snow White and The Little Mermaid is that a kiss from a man will save a woman (or girl).