A Very Natural Thing (25th Anniversary Edition)

"A Very Natural Thing" is an important early gay film by a gay man documenting the gay scene of its time (early to mid 1970's). The documentary interviews are not as integral a part of the film as the director apparently thought, but that may be more apparent due to the passage of time since its release (1974). the human story told by the film comes out in the interaction of the characters as they search for what they want in life. The lesson of the film seems to be that at different portions of your life you want different things in your life. I don't know that I COMPLETELY agree with this view, but that seems to be what the story tells the viewer. Now the problems: 1) The packaging & the info from IMDB / Amazon get the basic plot & identities wrong. In reality, the monk / schoolteacher is named David (not Jason), the advertising executive is named Mark (not David), & the photographer is named Jason. The official info says that the teacher & the ad executive learn to respect & love each other: in the film, however, they can't live with each other, and end up breaking up because living together causes too many problems and winds up being psychically toxic for the teacher. After that (& after giving up on trying to fix the relationship with the ad exec), the teacher meets / gets together with the photographer (who is not even mentioned in the official summation). He is this time reluctant to jump into a commitment with guy he's with, while leaving that possibility for the future (& admitting that it would be a possibility). 2) The bathhouse scenes are visually pretty dim, & it is sometimes difficult to tell what's going on. That may be realistic and true to fact of the actual reality of the time, but it makes for difficult viewing. Since this is a psychically "dark" part of the plot, however, so it may help for it to have been filmed in dim light. In spite of the problems listed, the plot of the actual story still holds together to give some cautionary lessons: make sure where you stand before you commit to a relationship (& as best as possible, that you are both defining the relationship the same way), then work on problems TOGETHER as they come up after you commit to be with each other so that your life situation doesn't end up becoming psychically toxic for you. From my experience, that lesson is vital for all human sexual relationships, gay or straight!

This is a film with extraordinary vision as it was way ahead of its time. 1973... the gay rights movement that started at Stonewall was only 4 years old. Gays, in general, were still mostly "closeted" with their own underground society. Psychologists had just a few years earlier declared homosexuality not to be a personality disorder. Homosexuality as a topic for discussion was a new frontier for most Americans.... So here comes a film depicting gay men in an in-depth way involving their feelings, their relationships, their social interactions- full frontal nudity- and prophetically, the main character, David, as a priest who leaves the church after coming to terms with his sexuality. All "taboo" subjects in mainstream America involved at the time with Richard Nixon and the Watergate hearings. It is amazing that this film was made in 1973 and that the producers were able to get actors with the courage to participate in the making of such a film. The storyline, in a nutshell, shows David wanting to commit to Mark. Mark does, hesitantly, due to his commitment-phobia and having a different value system, which finally drives a wedge between them and ends the relationship. David goes through the emotional ringer and then meets Jason. Jason wants to commit after a time, but David has become jaded about relationships- and commitment-phobic- and doesn't want anything more from Jason than a relationship where they just "want to be together. In a sense, David evolves into a "Mark," and Jason comes along as the new "David" about to get the same treatment that David originally did. I liken A Very Natural Thing" to be a primitive "All Over The Guy." The story shows a vicious cycle about relationships that both gay and straight people can relate to and presents some universal truths about how gays feel about themselves being a minority group and their self-destructive tendencies due to limitations society puts on them. These are circumstance that are still very relevant today. The ending of the film is very open-ended and doesn't resolve any of the issues the movie brings up as there are no answers for the questions this film raises. That is actually what gives the film relevancy today given the current debate on same-sex marriage (especially with the flick's marriage scene), which has the potential of breaking the "glass ceiling" on the limitations of how gay relationships can evolve and how gays can feel about themselves. Ok! The hair styles and clothes are dated, but it's not too hard to get past. Just concentrate on the characters and the storyline/dialogue in relation to the plots you see in most current films and today's current events and this film will feel as relevant and "run-of-the-mill" as any film made in 2003, but very "visionary" and "ground-breaking" for 1973!

For the era in which this film was made, it is one I would consider pretty good overall, but by today's standards, It is not something I really want to watch again. It is a rather confusing story and doesn't deliver on the promises it's description would imply. Perhaps a second viewing would fill in some gaps and shed a little more light on some of this. The acting is alright, but could be better. The content is disappointing and the lighting throughout is not very good. It does have a few high spots and the actors aren't bad looking, and the ending IS surprisingly pretty good. I was not impressed real well with the casting on this one, and felt they could have found better people to fit many of the parts. It does deliver a little nudity which gives it more appeal, but also done tastefully as not to turn the film into a porn flick. It starts out with a whole lot more appeal than it ends with, and kinda loses steam as it goes along. This is an openly exposed look at some of the difficulties of the gay life, and finding love, versus shallow sexual fulfillment. It is also a historic look back at gay life in the 1970's which exposes a few differences to gay life today and how much it has changed. It does have some fun and entertaining moments here and there, especially in the ending. I would have to say I really do like this film up to a certain point, but there's just something missing that makes it a little disappointing as well. In it's time, this film was probably satisfying to it's audience, but I think maybe it's time is too long gone, and we've progressed today to much better films, which puts this one in it's own little time capsule, making it more suitable for history, than entertainment. I'll give it one thumb up and rate it with three stars, but I honestly wouldn't recommend buying it unless you just can't find anything else. If you're looking for something special about this being the "25th Anniversary Edition", you can stop looking. It is different from the original only in format as it is now on DVD. I found nothing else about it to differentiate it from the original release. Pretty good, but pretty disappointing overall.

After the shrill campiness of the movie adaptation of 1970's "The Boys in the Band" (which had the characters tearing each other down during the bulk of its running time), along came this more gentler study of gay life in 1973. This is probably the first mainstream film to deal honestly with gay love, friendship & relationships. The story centers on Jason, who has just left the priesthood because he couldn't balance his devotion to God with his sexuality. Moving to New York, he becomes a school teacher, quietly living out his life, and soon meets the handsome David at a gay bar. Delving into a passionate love affair & soon living together, time wears on. Later, the differences between the two men become more glaringly apparent: David is more casual & liberated, while Jason is intensely romantic & monogamous. David's discreet infidelities and their agreement to experiment to "spice things up" in their relationship succeed in undermining their stability, and they break up. Shortly after some quiet soul searching, Jason attends the local Gay Pride Festival & meets another handsome man, who has declared his homosexuality & emerged from a dissolved straight marriage. Once again, Jason delves into another passionate affair, but he is wiser this time around: He tells the man to just take things slow & simply enjoy each other's company. Jason assures him that this decision does not mean he likes him any less. A rather dated film in its depiction of bad hair, bad clothing, and bad disco music (which, in respect, it's powerless to change), AVNT manages to address some very real issues in relationships. Such issues are people's tendencies to expect "the perfect love" or the disillusionment that the other person can conform to our expectations. Some viewers might find the insertions of interviews with gays & lesbians during the Pride Fest to be an intrusive element to the story. I was slightly annoyed of the interruption, but also found the atmosphere functioning as an important time capsule of the earlier days of gay rights movements. The slow motion climax of the two lovers frollicking nude in the beach waves was sweetly moving, a symbol of them revelling in love & freedom. I was disappointed there were no extras; even an interview with filmmaker Christopher Larkin would've been nice. Although the film is not exactly superior in its cinematic scope, and has some rather stilted 70's dialogue, it is honest & often moving.

Just watched the movie. It's excellent! It's a very good look back at the 1970's and what it meant to be gay in that decade. A few years before the AIDS crisis, it was a time that should not be forgotten. Many wonderful people living their lives. Outstanding acting and wonderful directing! I highly recommend. It's a must see!

Sadly, this groundbreaking film has not aged well, and is now more a historical artifact than a compelling drama. The plot is fairly simple: Boy meets Boi; Boy and Boi try to copy hetero marriage; Boy dumps Boi over infidelity; Boy gets liberated; Boy meets Boi2; Boy and Boi2 find happiness by rejecting hetero values. Quite daring for its time (and tremendously affirming for Gay men trying to adjust to life post-Stonewall), the film now seems archaic when viewed through a modern Gay sensibility defined by current issues such as civil unions, domestic partnerships, adoption rights, hate crimes and safer sex. The film's production values are also outdated. The DVD is grainy, with poor color balance and often muffled sound ... which is not the fault of the DVD producers, but rather reflects the financial constraints often faced by pioneering Gay filmmakers of the period. Compare this movie with more recent Gay-themed releases like "Trick", "Jeffrey" or even TV shows like "Will & Grace" ... we've come a long way on both sides of the camera (as filmmakers and as a commercially viable audience), and that's a very good thing! Deserving of respect as a Gay cinematic milestone, but pretty rough-going for anyone seeking pure entertainment.

This movie should be viewed by any and everyone whom looking for their true voice. It's hard to believe that this film was done in the early 1970's. Great depiction on the ups and downs of relationships regardless if you're gay or straight.

Love this Movie and glad i bought it! rented it first on Netflix then liked it so much had to buy it.