Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Perry King & Meg Foster in A Different Story (1978)

Obscurity factor: 7

This film, from the early days of gay liberation has a controversial reputation. It's about a gay man and lesbian that were thrown together by circumstances and fell in love. Coming, when it did, at the dawn of public recognition and acceptance of gay identity, it rubbed a lot of gays and lesbians the wrong way, which is certainly understandable - with so few productions focusing on gays and lesbians to begin with, it could be seen as a slap in the face to produce a film that shows them denying their identity as gay and coupling together.
However, when you look at it with the perspective of 30 years you can see that it's a film about the fluidity of sexuality and two people who place too much value on societal norms and expectations. I think if we can set aside the politicized notion of gays and lesbians pursuing heterosexual relationships and view it as an exploration of the gray areas of sexual attraction and personal identity, the film still has something to say.
 
Above, is a tribute to the film that was put together by momentbymoment78. Clicking on the video takes you to the YouTube page with a nice write-up of the film. It was released on DVD in 2006, but is still pretty obscure. The only video I could find of it online is the tribute above. The poster is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (on DVD, hard to find online, largely forgotten)

1 comment:

  1. I saw this film years ago and loved it.I found it inoffensive and forward thinking. The main characters were so good in their roles. I am aboit to purchase a copy of it from Amazon.
    Perry King

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