Marco Zanoni | Jain / 2012

pounding his way out of the closet

by Douglas Messerli

 

Maco Zanoni (screenwriter and director) Jain / 2012 [15 minutes]

 

Benni (Karim Khomiakov) wakes up in bed with Fabi (Stefan Mascheck) after a night of sex. Evidently, this has been going on for some while now, but Benni still insists he’s not gay, and only has gay sex when he’s drunk. Fabi points out to him that five-hours before he certainly wasn’t disinterested in sex, but Benni, who is a motorcycle rider and bike race contestant, clearly isn’t ready to face the truth.

 

  He does, however, invite Fabi to the motorcycle riding content that day, but Fabi resists the invite, knowing that nearly all of Benni’s friends, particularly Maik (Timocin Ziegler), hate him because he’s, as they put it, “a fag.”

     His mother, who also evidently knows of the situation suggests he just has to cut it off; she wants him to be happy again. But Fabi’s male friend, evidently a former bed partner, argues that he should go. He sees it as a clear invite to enter Benni’s world, an opportunity to further cement their relationship. With camera in hand, Fabi attends the event, getting some great pictures of the contest. There he also meets up with a woman who had once had a crush on him, who also argues he should let Benni go, just as she as learned to live without Fabi.

   Benni’s macho friends basically ignore Fabi at the race, but Benni insists he also attend the celebratory party afterwards, where Fabi is certain, he is sure, to run into Maik and others of his homophobic friends. Benni promises they won’t do anything with him there, and besides, he jokes, I’ll protect you. Fabi doubts that.

      And indeed, the friends sing the most sexist of German songs about straight boys getting all the girls. And when Maik enters he pulls the beer out of Fabi’s hand and insists, “We don’t allow fags here.”

      Fabi’s weak comeback makes it only worse, “Well if I see any, I’ll let them know.”

      “I’ll give you something to suck on,” he moves menacingly even closer.

      “And I bet you’d enjoy it,” quips Fabi.

      The slugs begin, right to the nose, bloodying it; but this time, true to his word, Benni does come to rescue, slugging Maik to the floor. Maik and the others now call Benni a “fag” as well and leave the place.

       Alone, the two boys hold hands, and Benni leans in to kiss Fabi. Benni has come out in the most macho and public way possible, defending his lover.

       This is most certainly a slightly different variation of the standard gay coming out story.

 

Los Angeles, August 7, 2024

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (August 2024).