Cheap Head On (DVD) (Ana Kokkinos) Price

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Customer Reviews of Head On

Excellent portrayal of cultural gaps in gay and ethnic world
If you can get past the good looks of the star- Ari (Alex Dimitriades)- and this is not easy....he offers excellent acting and insight into the clash between old world ethnicity and the closets many such worlds have. The hypocritical world in Greece, Austrialia (where this occurs) and around the world is tragically mixed with drugs, homophobia, and sexual identity conflicts in both Ari's world and the straight world. We see many play the game and also understand Ari is not the only one who hides a secret from his family. Ana Kokkinos (director) provides some striking images and allows Ari to explore, fight and ultimately feel insignificant in the scheme of things. It is not the most upbeat movie, but does show strength and determination to be who you are in spite of such pain. The Greek culture is one of many in which ties run deep and families blindly follow and with dysnfucntionality. A good film that educates and provides emotional empowerment without the over-emphasis on sex which was not easy considering Ari.

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Reality at its darkest
I saw this film in the theater last fall (1999), and the protagonist Alex's self-destructive quest into hard drugs and graphic anonymous unsafe sex still haunts me. Hitting close to home, the movie helped me realize certain things about the nature of many gay men torn between being accepted by society and being accepted by oneself. The film, more than just one down note after another, says that sometimes we cannot have both. Alex needs to express his homosexuality but has grown up in a strict orthodox Greek family in Melbourne, Austraila. The family serves as a microcosm for today's critical attitude toward homosexuality and Alex as a symbol for the gay man's (and gay woman's) struggle for acceptance. Since he can't have both, he doesn't want either. And Alex -- a beautiful, heart-breaking, masculine man -- fills his day with the most gratuitous, disturbing acts imaginable. But the film somehow breaks through the barrier of self-pity and self-loathing by portraying the most extreme nature of gay men in a way that distances itself just far enough. We the audience promise never to get as bad as Alex. We walk away shaking our heads, trembling from a life that's never too far from our reaches. Head On is a must-see for any gay man struggling with identity and how it's better to accept the hate of others than to accept it as a part of yourself.

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This is NOT for everyone
I must admit to being sadly dissapointed in this movie! I had been told a lot of good things about it by people, and read a number of reviews for it before finally purchasing it. Having watched it I must say it was not good, but not terrible. I gave it three stars just for the good acting, and because I love a good Autralian accent. lol The plot is, to say the least, lack luster, and is just as muddled and pointless as the main characters life. It was downright boring at times, and that is never good, when the viewer feels compelled to pick up the remote and fast forward. Yikes. While the main Character is attractive, he's on the cover of the box, that is not enough to carry the film, and his taste in men is apparently for the unattractive. The ending is just insane, I mean maybe I've been acclimated to happy endings by U.S. films, but this ending was neither happy, sad, nor even poignant it was just ended. I would suggest not buying this movie. Rent it then buy it, that is the safe bet.
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