Rough Sketch of a Spiral (1991)

The first gay Japanese documentary, Rough Sketch of a Spiral, takes an intimate look at the personal lives of gay men in Osaka. The star is 25-year-old Yoshiichi Yano who has written a play he hopes will open the public’s eyes to the status of gays in contemporary Japan, a society with deep-rooted prejudices against homosexuality. With abundant humor and nonchalant candor, director Yasufumi Kojima follows the day-to-day efforts of Yano to produce his play while introducing us to Yano’s friends and actors in the play, including a stunning drag queen and a charming 60-year-old man who claims to be gay but a virgin.

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