Shelter | 
| Director: Jonah Markowitz
Actors: Brad Rowe, Tina Holmes, Mat Bushell, Trevor Wright, Ross Thomas
Studio: Genius Products (TVN)
Category: DVD
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $18.99
You Save: $4.96 (21%)
Rating:  80 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: LIB00135
UPC: 858423001353
EAN: 0858423001353
ASIN: B0013D8LCW
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: May 27, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The feature-film debut from art director Jonah Markowitz (Quinceanera) pivots on the tension between responsibility to family and responsibility to self. Recent high-school graduate Zach (Trevor Wright) has one summer to reconcile the competing halves of his life. The aspiring Picasso lives in blue-collar San Pedro with his irresponsible sister, Jeanne (Tina Holmes, Half Nelson), her five-year-old son, Cody (Jackson Wurth), and their rarely-seen father. Zach gave up his art school dreams to toil in a diner and help look after his much-loved nephew. With his best friend, Gabe (Ross Thomas), away at college, Zach draws, surfs, and skateboards by his lonesome. When Gabe's novelist brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss), returns to his Orange County home to recover from a broken heart, he and Zach alternate between riding the waves and encouraging each other to pursue their aspirations. Shaun is gay, while Zach appears to be straight, but a casual kiss between the two soon leads to a secret relationship. Before the former returns to Los Angeles, the latter has to decide who he is--gay, straight, artist, cook, uncle, or father--and what he's going to do about it. Except for the location shooting, this low-budget indie plays like an extended episode of The O.C. what with all the "bro"s and "dude"s and love scenes tame enough for network TV. Nonetheless, Markowitz's heart is in the right place, and Shelter may provide some real-life Zachs with the courage they need to follow their passions. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun, returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 75 more reviews...
amazing September 24, 2008
J. Getzell
This movie is amazing. Very well acted. Very romantic. A wonderful story of friendship and love. The actors had chemistry, I watched this move 6 times already. The best gay love story since brokeback mountain.
 Great Film September 22, 2008
Vikas Sangle (Mumbai, India)
I loved Shelter. It was a beautiful film that I can watch over and over again and it was so close to life. Thank you Amazon for delivering me the DVD well before time and in good condition. I will keep ordering more stuff from you in the days to come.
An odd family, and a beautiful life September 13, 2008
calvinyw (NJ)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am gay, but I dislike most of the gay movies out there. There are only a few exception: Brokeback Mountain, Borstal Boys and Beautiful Thing. All other gay movies are always victims to one of the followings: being too sensitive, or too chatty, or too corny. This is certainly an exception: no drag queens, no drugs, no gay bars, no AIDS victim, no party boys. And it's thoroughly refreshing.
Enough good thing have been said about this movie, which is now in my very short list of favorite gay movies.
What I loved most about this movie is the dialogue: It's short, precise and yet powerful. For example: the dialogue on the patio after their dinner:
Shawn: "I admire what you are doing for Cody. You don't have to."
Zach: "Yes. I do."
Shawn: "It's a choice, Zach."
Zach: "It's family."
Zach: "The only one left."
Shawn: "You get that from your mom."
Zach: "Yeah, I know."
Zach: "Lucky me."
This is a simply love story. Even though the word "Love" was never said in the movie, there was never one moment of doubt how much they were in love. There are lots of little things in the movie that you will recognize if you were ever in love. When Zach was driving away after his first night with Shawn, a little smile slowly crept up his face, and he just couldn't hold it anymore, and scratched his head for getting a little embarassed on the silly happiness.
The most heartbreaking moment is when Zach couldn't fall asleep, flipping back and forth while images of him with Shawn were flashing through his head while Shane Mack's "More Than This" is playing.
The negatives I can think of is that for someone who's never been with a guy, Zach was quite adept in stripping off Shawn's cloths that night. Also, Gabe would have seen Zach's truck outside when he barged in, and he's not the kind of person who wouldn't say anything about it. Sorry, I know I am nitpicking. But if you are like me watching this movie 10 times in the first week, you would be too. :-)
I do have one issue with the cover of the DVD. If I hadn't read its review first to know what the movie is about, I would have easily dismissed it as another soft-core gay porn that's dressed up as a movie. There could be a hundred moments in the movie that would be a better cover than this bed shot. I have to believe that it wasn't picked by the director who has handled everything so tastefully without losing the erotic force. Thanks to AfterElton.com that listed it as the #3 of all time greatest gay movies, I didn't miss now-my-favorite gay movie that's not a tragedy (BBM and Borstal Boys) or a fairy tale (Beautiful Thing).
In the end, the only thing matters is love. Yes, it's an odd family, if you have to think about it: to couple with your best friend's brother who's 10 years older, and together to raise your nephew. And still, we were all rooting for Zach, wishing we could be as lucky as Zach to live a life as perfect as this beautiful film.
Love is about finding yourself September 8, 2008
Joseph V. Sapp (chelsea, ma)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
What we have here is denial, doubt, fear, rejection, escapism, familial disfunction,fear and all the rest of real life problems. In the end love, both familial and personal, wins out.
surfer boys September 7, 2008
Patrick Sorensen (Pocatello, ID)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a decent movie...characters were believable and the story although predictable was entertaining. I decided to keep this one in my library...
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