Desire: The Short films of Ohm

Really enjoyed these shorts. Very worthwhile to see again and again.

I suspect that the earlier reviewer saw the Prime video version (41 minutes or so) which is mildly PG-13. The DVD version (74 minutes) is very explicit in it's portrayal of actual sex and nudity as the description appropriately warns.

This movie was under an hour and a very poor value. The "Warning: Real Sex" emblazoned on the cover was overstated. There are a few nice full frontals, but the sex, while real, is only very brief glimpses. The 4 stories are very dissociative with boring monologues, and we are not offered a story line in any of the shorts clear enough to get invested in emotionally. Picture and sound ranges from good to very poor. I have to admit, however, this movie made me want to go watch a REAL porn afterwards LOL. PS: the narrator/film maker is one seriously UGLY dude and should not have interjected himself into some of the stories.

The DVD has four short films, though the first is really the main event, the other three are shorter and similar in theme. The music at times is good. Below is a rundown of what you would find on the DVD. There's not enough story to worry about spoilers. So you shouldn't worry about continuing to read.The first, "Desire", is a trilogy. The first chapter concerns three young men - it is more poetic than narrative. Lots of staring. Staring at each other for longer periods of time than seems natural. Staring at the camera. I suppose if we knew what they were thinking it would carry meaning. But it only makes one think of bad directing and amateur writing. The actors are staring because they were told to stare until they hear "cut". The actors seem fine - handsome lads who very well might be decent actors. They do okay with what they are given. Lots of closeups of a fellow sudsing his hair in the shower (no, the camera never pans down). There is one full quick frontal from a distance at a river. But there is no story to speak of. There is apparent desire between some of the characters. None of that desire plays out on screen. At least other than as longing looks and one quick peck on the lips.The second chapter is the meeting of an underage runaway (17) with an overweight middle-aged married man at a motel. They both get naked but there is nothing sexual in this edit. There are clips online of more graphic nudity involving the young man that you may have run across - but they are not contained here. In this edit, the older guy chooses to not pursue sexual interaction after hearing the young man's age. It doesn't make much of a story. It is more a short slice of life that doesn't go anywhere. The overall tone of the second chapter is sad - lost souls looking for connections. The performances are sincere. The dialogue is obviously dialogue and does not sound like something that they would say... but in this case the theatricality of the words is not awful. It feels sort of Samuel Beckett. One keeps expecting a head to pop out of a trash can. But it doesn't get that interesting.The third chapter concerns same three men from the first chapter - now older. They are in a city - one fellow just aimlessly wanders around sidewalks for no apparent reason, and the other two are hanging out for one last time before the other moves away. One has the impression that they had some sort of physical intimacy at one time (never seen on camera) Again, it felt sort of forced and unresolved. There is no nudity to speak of in this section other than baffling clips of one guy walking towards a shower that had nothing to do with anything.All in all "Desire" is poetic, the music is pleasant, there is an overall sense of loneliness and an unsuccessful desire to connect. But if you want anything resembling a story, or anything with actual erotic content- you should look elsewhere.The other three shorts all seem to reflect the director Ohm's desire to find handsome men, persuade them to get naked and do sexual acts on camera (some do, some don't), and ask them uncomfortable questions. The young men typically seem to be straight or straight adjacent, or just not attracted to Ohm - it gets uncomfortable listening to him asking, "Do you think I am attractive?", "Do you want to date me?" and the fellows trying to politely respond. One gets the sense pretty quickly that Ohm is about control and manipulation - he doesn't really care about these guys other than as objects of his physical desire. They see this. Ohm doesn't seem very sympathetic after a bit. But we do see him having explicit sex more than a few times. There is quite a bit of nudity and occasional watersports (not the type involving swimming). Not something I really needed to see. It got rather unpleasant to watch and the second film I ended up skimming a bit of it as it was tiresome to see a fellow have to repeatedly defend his attraction to women. Some of the men gave the impression of being working boys who performed on camera because they were paid to do it. A few were extremely handsome men who perform sexually in front of the camera. Though again it is all quick clips that cut in and out of unrelated interviews... lots of quick cutting back and forth between interviews and explicit sex - but ultimately it loses its sexy quality because the clips never stay in a scene long enough. If you are buying this for its salacious aspects you might do better with a Boys Gone Wild video which does a similar interview and testing boundaries thing but doesn't feel quite so awkward. Or just get a real porn flick. This video is not quite sexy enough or quite artistic enough to be worth the purchase. But it has moments if you are feeling adventurous and don't mind wasting money.

There are several warnings about copious NUDITY in this film. Well, those warning are unnecessary. There is no nudity in this film and the film is only about forty minutes long and not the 74 minutes advertised.Another reviewer already cautions to BEWARE of buying this film. Take that advice. I did not to my own disappointment.One star is the lowest rating I can give, but in the severely edited shape that it's in, the movie deserves no stars.

Well done stories about dealing with broken lives and homophobia.

There is NO graphic sex in this film. There isnt even much nudity past a PG-13 rating.It's the usual young love and identity, dealing with sexuality crap that we have seendone much better a zillion times.Dont get suckered into the false "warning" on the cover.. It's just hype.Consider yourself warned.....

loose. Love it.