''Postcards from London'' is a 2018 British
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film written and directed by Steve McLean. It is McLean's follow-up to his 1994 film ''
Postcards from America'', which he based on the work of
David Wojnarowicz
David Michael Wojnarowicz ( ; September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and HIV/AIDS activism, AIDS activist prominent in the East Village, Ma ...
. The film follows a teenage boy, Jim (played by
Harris Dickinson
Harris Dickinson (born 24 June 1996) is an English actor. He began his acting career in British television and had his first starring role in the drama film ''Beach Rats'' (2017), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Be ...
), who escapes his rural
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
town for London, only to find himself involved with a group of high-class gay escorts in
Soho
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
.
Plot
At the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
, an art tour guide is presenting a 16th-century
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
painting when Jim approaches the painting, and upon touching it, faints. Small-town Jim has come to
Soho
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
, London, to experience art, music and culture. While sleeping on the street, he is robbed. A barmaid, who describes him as having the face of an angel, sends him to a gay bar where David, Jesus, Marcello and Victor find him perfect to join their vocation. They are not only male prostitutes, but "raconteurs" servicing wealthy older men. He takes an oath to join in and be trained in the cultural arts of Soho.
Study starts with
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
adding more art, poetry and literature to the mix. He also learns the sex trade with his own viewing booth. Jim really likes the education and meets with his first client, who is writing a book on Caravaggio. When shown a painting, Jim faints and imagines himself as the dead Christ, with the client also in the painting. He advises Jim to enjoy his youth. His next client is an old man whose fantasy involves recreating
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, in which Jim is the dead
Saint Sebastian
Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
. Jim feels guilty, so he refunds the fee. Jim soon becomes famous all over Soho. An artist named Max wants Jim to be his muse and reinvigorate his art career. After months of sitting, Jim has a real art painting of himself. Max appreciates the inspiration.
The group are concerned that Jim keeps fainting. David does not want Jim to "retire" so they send him to a doctor. He explains that when he sees beauty, it becomes part of him. If he sees a picture of Christ, he feels his suffering. The doctor shows him ''
The Musicians'' by Caravaggio. He hears music and faints. He and his mates are in the painting in Rome in 1595. The artist appears and chastises the boys for talking while he is trying to paint. Just being pretty boys is not enough but he tenderly strokes Jim. When Jim awakens, he talks as if he personally knows the artist. Her diagnosis is
Stendhal Syndrome. When a patient sees beauty, he becomes the art with emotional ecstasy.
Jim has blackouts and becomes various artists. Sometimes he is the artist Max. He is discussing his oversensitivity to art with a client and he sees Paul. Paul is the man Jim replaced in the group. Paul says that they were rent boys and quoted how Jim was recruited. Paul says he heard Jim has a special talent. Jim says it is a curse and is tired of talking. Paul solicits Jim and agrees to pay him for his time. Paul thinks they can make money if Jim's emotional response to art can determine genuine art from fake art. They have sex. Paul sets up a test. Jim thinks he has a sickness and Paul sees opportunity. His four mates feel betrayed. Two new guys solicit Jim. Doctor and Paul convince Jim that his talent is a service to the art world and he gets well paid. He suffers and faints with each masterpiece. Barmaid tells him to enjoy it while it lasts. The four raconteurs are looking for their next mate. Meanwhile, Jim is ready to create his own beauty.
Cast
Release
Film festivals
*
Melbourne Queer Film Festival
The Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) is an annual LGBT film festival held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in November. Founded in 1991, it is the largest queer film event in the Southern Hemisphere, in 2015 attracting around 23,000 att ...
, Melbourne, Australia (17 March 2018)
*
BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival (31 March 2018)
* OUTshine Film Fest,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, United States (April 2018)
* Lovers Film Festival – Torino LGBTQI Visions,
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, Italy (April 2018)
*
Pink Apple
{{hatnote, For the cultivar of apple, see Cripps Pink
Pink Apple is the biggest gay & lesbian film festival in Switzerland and takes place every springtime in Zürich and Frauenfeld.
History
In 1997 the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Pink Apple w ...
,
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland (May 2018)
*
TLVFest
TLVFest, officially the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (), is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBTQ-themed film from around the world.
The festival, based at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. is ...
,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, Israel (10 June 2018)
*
Frameline Film Festival
The Frameline Film Festival (also known as San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival and formerly known as San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) is an annual event that ...
(16 June 2018)
*
Filmfest München
The Munich International Film Festival () is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. It presents fe ...
,
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Germany (30 June 2018)
*
Outfest
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...
, Los Angeles, US (October 2018)
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title
2018 films
2018 drama films
2018 LGBTQ-related films
2010s British films
2010s English-language films
2010s teen drama films
British teen drama films
British teen LGBTQ-related films
Films about male prostitution
Films about prostitution in the United Kingdom
Films set in London
Films shot in Buckinghamshire
Films shot in London
Gay-related films
2010s LGBTQ-related drama films