There does seem to be a certain mythos around Australian guys, doesn’t there? Just hearing the term “Aussie boys” you immediately start to conjure up an image: Sun-kissed, ripped and rugged, smelling like the beach (but not in a bad way), gentle eyes…
Whoops, we got carried away.
What we meant to say was: There’s a new, gay anthology film that taps into that mythos, exploring the stories of these oft-deified beings from “Down Under.” The Aussie Boys is a collection of seven shorts from seven up-and-coming directors, each said to be about “the lives and loves of these men and boys from across Australia.”
Not just a brand of gay apparel—or something one might type into the search bar of an adult website—”Aussie Boys” is a mood, it’s a vibe, it’s a mindset. And the film aims to explore it from all angles: “From historical beginnings in the 1600’s all the way through to noughties truck stop dilemmas, present day road trip romancing and faces from the past returning for a final goodbye.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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Related: Seven hot swimwear brands from designers down under
But, as expansive as that may sound, we will note that The Aussie Boys appears to present a fairly limited view of gay life: Namely that of white, able-bodied cis men who nearly all (but not entirely) fall between the ages of 18-35. It’s perhaps not the fullest representation of gay life on this expansive, diverse continent.
Still, we’re always happy to shine a light on projects that center and celebrate gay stories, and The Aussie Boys is certainly that. As of today, the film is available to rent and stream globally on Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo On Demand.
You can watch the trailer here, and then check out a brief synopsis for each Aussie Boys short below:
Burning Soul
Australia, June 1727, a ship from the Dutch East India Company wrecked on the hostile coast. Pieter and Hendrick are friends like brothers—they grew up together, sailed together, survived together. But when Hendrick discovers the true nature of Pieter’s heart, the two men are taken in a storm where friendship and faith collapse. Director: Cédric Desenfants.
Miles
Lifelong friends Edward, Michael and Ashley are involved in a love triangle but not all of them are aware of it. Embarking on a road trip, they start the process of untangling their feelings for one another. Director: Christopher Sampson.
Infidels
An apartment at night. Three men cross paths, engaging in a dance of desire where words left unspoken bubble to the surface. Director: Luke Marsden.
Eric
Tucked away in a forgotten and isolated motel, a “lad” meets a returning soldier coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. The brief encounter is a soft collision of two characters both lost and trying to find themselves within each other. Director: Andrew Lee.
What Grown Ups Know
Teenage boy Roy and his ailing mother Elizabeth live an aimless life on the road, shuttling between gas stations, temp jobs and cheap motels. When they end up at a desolate caravan park, fractures begin to appear in Roy’s relationship with his mother as he starts to fall head over heels for park manager Maurice. Director: Jonathan Wald.
All Good Things
Levi and his partner Isaac embark on a road-trip together before they break up. Along the way, Isaac realises he isn’t prepared for his first romance to end. Director: Simon Croker.
The Dam
A lifelong friendship is under siege when two mature Australian men visit the monolithic dam that defined their young lives and are confronted by feelings that were impounded long ago, but cannot be contained any longer. Director: Brendon McDonall.
Diplomat
Nice. Temptation reeks in that trailer. Hotties galore.
bachy
I dig Australian guys!
spiralx
Australian “boys”, huh. Not ” young men”, perhaps?
Decades after Stonewall, gay men are still being encouraged to objectify bodies, rather than get to know people. And to fantasise about “boys” in a sexual way.
I realise that our delayed sexual awakening (still the majority case when viewed globally) means an even more pronounced ongoing lack of sexual maturity than even straight men tend to show.
But can we not start to make a bit more effort, perhaps? I will appreciate this collection like any other healthily sexual gay man. But I also recognise it’s a bit of a nonsense, as well. As is Queerty’s article, here.