Fireworks (1947)

Directed by

Kenneth Anger

Genre

LGBTQ-related film

Country

United States

Runtime

20 min

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 80 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young man wakes from a dream and ventures into the night in search of a light. He endures a violent and sexually charged encounter before returning home changed.

dreamlikevisually lushprovocativeunsettlingintensesurrealrawbold

What happens

Fireworks is a 1947 homoerotic experimental short film by Kenneth Anger. Filmed in his parents' home in Beverly Hills, California, over a long weekend while they were away, the film stars Anger and explicitly explores themes of homosexuality and sadomasochism. It is the earliest of his works to survive. Fireworks is known for being the first gay narrative film in the United States. Anger synopsizes the film thus: "A dissatisfied dreamer awakes, goes out in the night seeking a 'light' and is drawn through the needle's eye. A dream of a dream, he returns to bed less empty than before." Adding later, "This flick is all I have to say about being seventeen, the United States Navy, American Christmas, and the Fourth of July." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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