Love Is All You Need? (2011)

This has been called an anti-bullying film; don't let the rhetoric fool you, or anything else, this is as insidious a piece of propaganda as any totalitarian régime has ever produced. It is set in a world or at least an America where homosexuality/lesbianism is the norm, and heterosexuality is tolerated only in the "breeding season". Our heroine is a young girl who fancies a boy and is subjected to intense persecution on account of it, with tragic results.The reality is that homosexuals were never subjected to this kind of persecution in the West, even when queer sex between consenting adults was illegal. Indeed, even most Islamic countries do not persecute homosexuals provided they do not allow their sexuality to invade the public space. The message of this short film is not that violence against homosexuals or more generically "the other" is bad - there have always been laws against that sort of thing - but that homosexuality should be normalised. What is so disgraceful about this film is its blatant exploitation of the young, something that should rightly be called child abuse.

What if being gay was the norm and heterophobia existed?In this thought provoking short film we see a world where being gay is the norm in society and being heterosexual will subject you to prejudice, bigotry and hate. I have heard reviews stating this film is very graphic. I don't feel that it is overly graphic. There is simulated and implied violence but nothing too overt. But I imagine that this film will make some people uncomfortable, which I think, is what the film makers are aiming for. I love it when someone turns something on it's ear and makes you think, and this film does just that, it turns societal norms around and hopefully will make you think :)

This is such a powerful and emotional movie that everyone should see because it just goes to show what everyone in the LGBT communities goes through everyday just because they go against what is considered to be social norms. There is a high rate of death among the LGBT community because they are bullied for just for being themselves. This was such a powerful movie that brought me to tears the first time I saw it because it hits home for me. I lost two of my friends because of bullying. Both of them committed suicide because apparently they thought that only in death would all the pain go away. This story is almost identically to what one of my friends went through only she wasn't gay, she was transgender. She was teased and tortured by fellow students all throughout high school but it wasn't until she was outed at work that things took a turn for the worst. I don't really think the ending was right for two reason; one, suicide is never the answer and two, the ending should have been extended a little bit more to show the repercussions that her death might have had on the community. Putting all that aside, I thing that everyone should see this movie because maybe then they might have a little more appreciation and understanding of the LGBT community and what they go through on a daily basis. I also think that with an alternate ending to the film, this movie would make a wonderful educational video that could be shown in all the classrooms, maybe then it might help to end bullying in our schools. Overall this was an excellent movie and I will definitely be recommending this movie to all my friends and family.

Let me start out by saying this movie is a must-see. Not because it is happy, or funny, but because society needs to watch this; maybe most peoples' opinions on gays will change.I don't think i've ever seen a movie quite like this. Also, the fact that it was condensed into 20 minutes of quick, but powerful shots aided the smooth flow. The actress who plays Ashley delivers a solid performance, and the others are convincing as well.I don't want to give too much away (you need to watch this for yourself), but it will make you rethink how most of society treats gays. Whether you're for it or not doesn't matter here. This movie, in a way, responds to both sides of the argument, rather than just one; and that is probably one of the reasons why it is so powerful. You will be able to connect with Ashley on an emotional level, more than what most movies try to throw at you. The emotion in this film is raw; original; not Hollywood-forced emotion. You will be able to feel her pain and anguish as if it is your own. And unlike most short films, the plot isn't hard to comprehend and isn't slow moving; you will get what's happening right from the beginning; a feat almost impossible with this complex, hard-to-explain plot. But fear not; director Kim Rocco Shields directs.To close, the cinematography and raw emotion make this short film a must-see.HandHStudios Rating:10/10