Doors Cut Down (2000) User Reviews (7)

Excellent short

[laduqesa · 8/10 · 31 March 2023]

Right from the start this short draws one in. The voice-over by Israel Rodriguez playing Guillermo is apt and witty - the writer had a flash of genius.

The film's about cottaging and speaks to a truth rarely acknowledged - that young gay guys make the running in these situations. No one was exploiting Guillermo although some of his conquests were persistent. Rodriguez was eighteen when he appeared in this film and did a fantastic job both acting and speaking as a confident sixteen year old.

Bi-guy Asier played by Pablo Puyol (already twenty five here but meant to be an eighteen year old) had his hands full when he and Guillermo started dating. The lure of the cottage was still strong. But the slightly crass English title gives a clue as to what had happened in the interim.

I've seen this twice and even devised a set of French subtitles for a friend some years ago. I lost my copy of the film but would gladly watch it again.

Parental Review

[Malikb95 · 7/10 · 4 January 2019]

No explicit content but several implied sex scenes. Many sexual encounters rage from casual to intimate.

For a "short" ...this is GREAT

[JJ-Chi · 8/10 · 31 March 2021]

Enjoyable, interesting and impressive film. A solid/complete story in only 18 minutes.

short film about a 16 year old

[tomwei · 29 January 2002]

Interesting short film about a teenager dealing with his sexuality, refreshingly the main character has no problem with the way society, in this case his family feel negatively about what he does, he just passively observes what happens around him. and goes about getting sex. it is erotic. and funny. as a straight male it is interesting to see (bi) homosexuality presented in a way where a homosexual character doesn't feel any shame or anything other about his sexuality. quite good, saw it on channel 4

Defiant short.

[cifra2 · 10/10 · 6 September 2002]

Shot in my town, this extremely well shot short film is one of the most interesting ones I've seen in the last years...

The story of a gay teenager who not only lives his homosexuality as openly as he can but also uses it as a weapon. The movie is fresh, and the main performance is simply amazing.

A trivia, one of the supporting characters is played by Julio Sanjuan, better known in Spain for playing one of the most charismatic characters in box-office blockbuster "Torrente, el Brazo Tonto de la Ley" (Santiago Segura, 1998).

Overly explicit hollow story, that only reinforces gay stereotypes

[bob the moo · 31 January 2002]

A school boy hangs around a mall in order to pick up older men and have sex in the public toilets. When his English tutor teaches him anal sex he is opened up to new experiences despite being caught by his disapproving father. When he meets a 18 year old he goes to the toilets only to be caught by security and charged. Despite his parent's disapproval he finds this makes him dedicated to one relationship but the sexual anonymity of the toilets is a constant lure for him.

This short starts out interesting - the boy is an interesting character and at first you want to find out more about what makes him tick. However the story quite moves into several scenes of sweaty men having sex in a shopping mall toilets. These scenes are totally unnecessary and don't add value to the character. I thought that the story was going to be a message film, however this film portrays homosexuals as highly promiscuous, lacking morals and unable to commit to a relationship. In fact the film's conclusion is that the homosexual character, even when he is happily in a relationship, still likes to pick up men in toilets and have sex with them.

I don't understand the point of the film - if I didn't know better I'd think I'd think the film was designed to reinforce gay stereotypes. The teenager is actually very good in the lead role, it's just a shame that it turns out that he hasn't got a character to speak of.

This film starts well but quickly degenerates into slightly erotic gay cinema. The story that starts full of promise turns out to be hollow and full of insulting stereotypes about young gay men.

easy story

[Kirpianuscus · 18 February 2020]

...or only a precise sketch about cruising, teenager fantaisies, a sort of revolt, half comedy, half new perspective about an old theme. Nothing remarkable but real nice for the mix of fronda, desires and not bad end. Short, a smart idea, a not bad film.