Jonathan Agassi was one of the world’s most successful gay adult stars, but a meteoric rise in the industry led to a difficult decline, accelerated by drug addiction and depression.
Filmmaker Tomer Heymann approached Agassi soon after the performer had made it big and proposed a documentary. He had no idea what sort of film he’d end up making.
“I wanted a very happy film about a man who left Israel and became a huge [adult] star all over the world,” Agassi told The Guardian. “But life came along, and things happened. Everything changed very fast.”
Filmed over eight years, Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life offers a rare and intimate look at the world of gay adult entertainment and escorting, as well as a unique relationship between a mother and son.
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“This film definitely saved me,” Agassi, who has since left the business and embraced a healthier lifestyle, said. “When I saw it for the first time, I said, ‘I will never go back to this state of mind again.’”
Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life won the Ophir Prize (Israeli Oscar) for Best Documentary and screened at several international and LGBTQ film festivals including IDFA, Newfest and Outfest. Later this month, a reedited cut will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles, with a wider distribution to follow.
Check out the trailer below, and head here for more info:
Sqwoah
sounds boring
John
Yeah, the trailer bored me. It might be an interesting movie but the trailer didn’t show that.
Bromancer7
I don’t even know who this is. ?
willward
He was big in Lucas Enterprises movies. He made lots of hot WS movies. The movie doesn’t mention his specialty but he must have been in at least 20 WS movies. Couldn’t find him on pornhub but the movie is interesting.
mateo
*Lucas Entertainment (not Enterprises).
Mister P
WS=Water Sports?
BGreen1963
Your name is Mr P and you don’t know WS is Water Sports?
KyleMichelSullivan
Looks fascinating…
SDR94103
gross.
Beachman
So original….gay porn star turns to drugs and spirals downward. Just what I want to spend $18 to watch in a theater…..
ShiningSex
Who?
Yeah sounds boring. A porn star with some addictions? Wow, never would have guessed such a thing would happen when you live your life in bars, clubs, scene parties, escorting, etc. hmmmmm….never would have guessed.
BrokebackBob
Get a copy of the Lucas Entertainment film Men in Love if you want to see Jonathan at his best. Seems like a sweetheart.
Gadfeal
This biographic documentary came out at least a year ago; why is it only now being “reviewed”? Jonathan Agassi was one of the most refreshingly convincing adult performer; he seemed authentically to enjoy his sexual encounters, and he was a great physical specimen. The film is not “moralistic” but delves into his specific life story. His mother was and is loving and supportive. His father, absent in his childhood, now remarried seems somewhat proud of his son.
His story is not one of disastrous childhoods, rise to adult film success and then crashing. What it does show is the banality, or ordinariness of just one gay person’s life. Any film that doesn’t feed into the mainstream depiction of ostracized, unloved gay children adds to the integration of gays into society.
Jonathan is a very endearing person, and I wish him well in his next phase.
Popeye1965
No thanks.
Donston
It is a fairly predictable “downfall” for a porn performer: mental health struggles, awkward relationship with their queerness, insecurities, resentments, hyper-sexuality, an overindulgence of partying and drugs. However, Jonathan does come off as earnest and honest and self-effacing (which is not typical for a lot of these dudes). And it’s good to put faces and fleshed out experiences on this stuff instead of reducing folks to cliched stories and stats.
gjpd
I agree. You’ve explained it very well. There is a ‘difference’ in the character of Jonathan that makes this a worthwhile watch.
woodroad34
This sounds like a ‘redemption film’…not some depressing morality film where the protagonist dies. So it would be interesting to see his path to this redemption and the strength of character it took to get there.
CityguyUSA
Wonder Bread and Ecstasy The Story Of Joey Stephano. Sounds very similar only Joey lost his life.
Doug
This has been shown all over, it’s almost five years old now. I think both Amazon and Netflix both carried it for awhile.
gjpd
I was really surprised by this film. I saw it as part of a local Jewish Film Festival. I found it a very interesting character study and I was moved by the relationship between Jonathan and his mother. Jonathan really learned to be get real and honest and his personal growth made for a good film. It’s worth considering.
lilycarver55
Which festival? I only ask because as far as I know the only Jewish festivals that played it were outside the US ( Warsaw, Barcelona, Australia and some others).
furryfuzzynavel40
I found kind of arrogant for the guy to compare himself to Marilyn Monroe, but I guess such are the egos of these porn stars. I don’t even know who this guy is, this seems to me like the director over exaggerated this porn stars fame and career to create hype for his film. I can easily think of other porn stars more recognizable than this man. I do realize that the film is about this porn stars particular life and his journey, I just felt it was pitched differently in the trailer.
Donston
That was definitely cringe. I don’t even recall him being that popular by gay porn standards. These dudes really develop oversized egos because some randoms on social media hype them up or because some people are willing to pay cute coin to hook up with them. However, besides the perhaps inflated status, he does come off more likable, less annoying, less problematic and less insecure than many of these dudes in porn.
Manrico Jimenez
Um no sweetie, the “Marilyn Monroe of gay porn” is actually Johan Paulik or Lukas Ridgeston.
lilycarver55
First full disclosure I am working on the film’s American release but I wanted to clarify a few things. It played FILM FESTIVALS in the US in 2019 including Outfest and NewFest and it was released in theaters in Israel, Germany, and the UK. There were plans to release it theatrically in the US in spring 2020 but then the theaters shutdown so this is the long delayed American release. The director did not want to go straight to streaming ( i.e “virtual cinema”). He wanted it seen in theaters, as old fashioned as that may be. It has never been on Netflix, Amazon, etc in the US, only the festival shows. I am hoping those of you in NY where it opens next Friday and LA ( actually Glendale) where it opens on May 20 will give it a chance. The director Tomer Heymann will be at many of the shows in both cities.
SPEEDOSWIMMER
Yum.
Lorenz
According to IMDb (Internet Movie Database), this “film” was released on 30 August 2018. A whopping 423 people have rated it, for an average score of 6,7 (out of a possible 10). 5% of viewers have rated it “1”, including me (I can’t even remember where I saw it: I downloaded it from somewhere, possibly The Pirate Bay).
Five people have written reviews, which tend to be negative. One states: “Director Tomer Heymann reveals a young man in turmoil. Jonathan lives a destructive lifestyle, taking crack and needing to inject his penis to keep it up for sex scenes”.