We finally discuss Andrew Haigh’s Weekend on the podcast. To celebrate the film’s 10th anniversary, we are going into detail on the film and discussing another great film about a brief encounter between gay men, End of the Century.
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This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and staff writer Lena Wilson.
We discuss Weekend (Andrew Haigh, 2011) on the podcast
Russell (Tom Cullen) unexpectedly spends a weekend talking to, having sex with, and getting to know Glen (Chris New), an artist he picks up at a club for sex — in exchange for a conversation about it that Glen will tape the next day and use as part of an art installation. Glen is moving to America at the end of the weekend, so their connection is inherently fleeting. But it sparks a sea change. Their discussions about coming out and past flings are the first time we see that Russell really yearns for a partner and for romance. Glen pushes Russell out of his comfort zone, challenging him to enter spaces he wouldn’t otherwise — emotionally and physically.
Weekend is available on VOD, and streaming on the Criterion Channel in Canada and the US and BFI Player in the UK
We also discuss End of the Century (Lucio Castro, 2019) on the podcast
Lucio Castro’s directorial debut, End of the Century, starts out like an Iberian sequel to Weekend, only to become a kind of post-modern exploration of love, sex, intimacy, and possible lives. Two men repeatedly cross paths in Barcelona and eventually, after what one of them refers to as a “chess game” of sending signals, fall into bed together. Ocho, an Argentinian poet (Juan Barberini) who makes his living in advertising in New York City, is renting an AirBnB in the city for a vacation; Javi (Ramon Pujol) is a local. Intimate conversation follows the sex, and the long, uninterrupted takes feel like familiar territory. But when Javi drops that they have actually met before, we suddenly cut quickly back in time for the film’s second act: to that meeting a decade previously, when they spent a day together, sharing stories, looking at art, and possibly going to bed together.
End of the Century is available on VOD, and streaming on BFI Player in the UK
Show Notes for Weekend and End of the Century
- Purchase our ebook on Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, which includes an essay on home in all of Haigh’s films.
- Weekend was our 5th favourite film of the 2010s. See the other choices.
- Read our list of 25 unsung queer cinema treasures, featuring End of the Century
- Stay tuned to the site for more coverage of Weekend this week
Related Episodes
- Ep. 96: Girlhood and compulsory heterosexuality: Water Lilies and Jennifer’s Body
- Ep. 94: Looking
- Ep. 91: AIDS on screen, featuring It’s a Sin
- Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (Members Only)
- Ep. 66: Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country and Ammonite (Members Only)
- Ep. 29: Films about finite romance (Members Only)
- Ep. 7: Lean on Pete (Members Only)
