Aron Ranen | Portraits: Two Male Prostitutes / 1981

one foot in the grave and the other foot on a banana peel

Aron Ranen (director) Portraits: Two Male Prostitutes / 1981

 

Documentary director Aron Ranen, only two years older than the 18-and 19-year-old individuals, Richard and Jessica he was interviewing, put to screen one of the most original and honest early portrayals of gay hustling.

     Both Richard and Jessica define themselves basically as drag queens, and Jessica has evidently been undergoing a transgender operation, although of what that consisted in the Boston streets where she lived at the time is not made clear. But they speak of a Mexican doctor with great reverence. 

     Richard and Jessica together recreate a childhood disaster which sent Jessica to the streets, after which her parents suggested she leave, at age 13; another such experience led Richard at a slightly later age to evacuate his own family’s home. Like so very many, these two were sent off into a nowhere land, eventually finding their way through performances at the prostitute bar Jacques and other such places as high-end prostitutes who make up to, apparently, $1,000 a month (at one point it even seems higher). They comment, however, on the younger boys from ages 10 and above who get virtually nothing, reliant on pimps who take most of their earnings.

     Both specialize in blow-jobs, Jessica, in particularly, almost cringing at the possibility of further sexual contact. But Richard strongly makes it clear as well that he finds no sexual pleasure in this business, that it’s just a matter of putting flesh in his mouth and going through the necessary actions in order to please others. 

     And both, when asked if they had the ability to begin again, would have chosen other professions. Richard, who’s now turning to drag performance, suggests he might have gone into men’s retail; after all he’s a great salesman.

     Jessica, the dreamer of the two, suggests that when her transgender operation is complete she would like to be a model. Jessica also admits to being a good artist who likes to draw and paint. If only….she seems to dream, but doesn’t follow the logic there, knowing that without a legitimate sexual identity and no education that there is no hope.

     At the same time, both have grown quite adjusted to their role as on-the-street prostitutes, proud to be known amongst their many friends and no longer embarrassed—despite their earlier fears and discomfort—for making a good living, something that even their parents haven’t always been able to accomplish.

 

     These figures are tough and yet, in their teen youths, still fragile, realizing the dangers surrounding them, Jessica at one point even admitting to her scars from, presumably, attacks by knife. Richard describes an occasion when he met up with someone interested in S&M. The prostitute insisted that he wouldn’t perform as the masochist, while the other agreed to be tied up and, after being tied and gag, told Richard he could do anything he wanted to him. So Richard, quite amusingly admits, I took all his money and school ring and left. Oh, I did call back to the hotel to let them know there was a man in knots in room___.

     In this truly revealing interview, although we always sympathize with the hustlers, we are not made to feel sorry for them, and there is almost a sense of joy and recognition in their chosen professions, knowing that many others work much harder and are paid far less.

     But Richard has the clearest vision of the two, admitting that in just a couple of years, at age 20 his career will be over. “A prostitute’s life is really over at 20 years old. He quickly adds before the film ends, “I realize I have one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana peel,” perhaps the most profound and fascinating statement of the movie.

      A couple of the people who commented on this film which is posted on YouTube (the film has no listing on IMDb or Letterboxd, nor has it had, apparently, any substantial press review), commented that they knew both men, well-remembered in the Boston gay scene. One, “JPGeorge,” argues that they kept a careful eye on him when he, even younger, was on the streets. Another, “Filmmaker 100,” reports that he was told by a friend that “Jessica (Pre-op Transsexual in the film) was murdered in jail.” “Realitysurfer” confirms something to that effect: “Jessie died MANY years ago. Probably soon after the film. My guess is 1983ish. It is the popular belief that she was killed in jail, but the actual details are unknown. She was an enigma…she never shared many details about her original (pre-‘Jessica’) identity.”

      It’s certainly unfortunate that this fascinating film has had little attention and has no recognition in all the standard gay resources. I hope this short piece helps the alter that fact.

 

Los Angeles, October 27, 2023

Reprinted from World Cinema Review (October 2023).