Customer Reviews

Wild Tigers I Have Known

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With all the good reviews and all, I couldn't believe how this movie alternated between irritating and boring.. If you are a fan of art house movies, or special effects, then you might like this movie. But if you are looking for a sympathetic look at the stirring of same sex intimacy among adolescent boys, this movie was big disappointment.

Too bad, because the basic plot had a lot of potential as a sweet coming of age story about an the confusion a young gay boy experiences with his first infatuation--the kind of puppy love we have all experienced at least once in our lives. 13 year old Logan is a clumsy nerd who has trouble fitting in with his classmates. Logan had sexual fantasies about his classmate, Rodeo, the school's wrestling hero. To Logan's surprise, he finds that he has more in common with Rodeo then he expected. Rodeo likes Logan's iconoclastic attitudes toward their boring junior high school social life, not to mention the fawning hero worship that Logan heaps on him. An unlikely friendship develops, and they begin to hang out together, taking walks in the woods and on the boardwalk.

The budding friendship ends when sexually confused Logan calls Rodeo on the phone claiming to be a girl called Leah. Not surprisingly, when Rodeo discovers that Leah is really Logan, he finds the deception too weird for him to bear. Word gets out about Logan and his world comes crashing down on him.

The movie did receive an award for special effects, but I found the special effects took up entirely too much of the movie. The lack of dialogue led me to wonder whether the filmmaker was making a special effects movie instead of romantic drama. There too many long, lingering shots of Logan's face. Several times I was tempted to fast forward through them until the next scene. What dialogue there was consisted of monosyllables, so there was very little character development, or any insight into why the boys were attracted to each other.

The only good part of the movie were the heartfelt performances of the 2 young actors--Malcolm Stumpf and Patrick White. Unfortunately, as good as they two boys were in their parts, they were not enough to save the movie from it's defects.

Adolescence is a tough time for any boy, but doubly so for someone who is coping with the realization that he is gay. "Wild Tigers I Have Known" (2006) successfully conveys this via the isolation, loneliness and despair of Logan, a 13 year old middle school student who is infatuated with one of the popular, athletic boys, Rodeo Walker. Logan not only dotes on the limited friendship Rodeo is willing to extend to the shy boy, but constantly daydreams about developing the relationship, making it obvious to his schoolmates who proceeds to taunt him unmercifully. Ultimately, Logan's obsession drives him to attempt a dangerous charade in hopes of conveying his feelings to the other boy.

This is a difficult film to watch, with many "artsy" touches and slow, confusing segues from reality to Logan's dream world, justified in trying to emulate the confused, seemingly pointless state of Logan's emotions. While Logan eventually learns to accept his feelings, the film remains mostly a depressing hodge-podge of conflict and fuzzy images of reality, not really the thing to brighten up the day of someone going through what Logan is experiencing. While it may be highly original, beautifully photographed and outstanding as an "art" film, my rating is based on the likely reaction of a regular viewer of gay-themed theatrical films, who would likely consider this just satisfactory overall. Three stars out of five.

All the wild tigers and all the Logans chasing thereafter. A soft,sweet dream of a movie,and brave. To approach the most important person in your life, in this case, Rodeo, and to climb that tender, delicate, so perishable ladder and say I love you, knowing giddily, so perfect, please.

And the bravery pays off--I still live, I am not destroyed--as Logan runs off into the world, knowing finally, he is of worth and immense value. The simplicity, the hard-won complexity, and the naceant knowledge that some day someone will phone Logan, full of fear, and Logan's gentle creamy voice will say back, don't worry, you are safe, relax.

One person's need for another human being in the wild tiger years of adolescence and faith in tomorrow, done in lovely cinematography and summery memory colors, a film of healing, a film of hope.

I saw part of this movie on the independent film channel, I was instantly drawn to this movie and bought my own copy. The film focuses on Logan who is 13 and gay, the assults and hate he endures at school are all too real, he is mostly a loner except for his friend Joey who is also basically a loner also. After a session with his counsler he meets Rodeo a teen who is about 3 years older than him just guessing. Logan becomes fixated on Rodeo, part of it is sexual, he visualizes Rodeo while mastrubating, and part of it must be he is an outcast and a loner and needs a friend. Logan takes on another personality as Lea a seductive teen girl to try to seduce Rodeo, after some seductive phone calls they meet in the caves and Logan must live up to his actions, he does but Rodeo walks away, they still meet in the next scene roller skating, so it;s kind of left up to the viewer to decide if they did anything Logan fanticized about. I disagree with the back of the DVD description that describes Logan's crush as impossible, you know these kind of relationships happen, the hang up about age difference is a social predjuice. Logan would benefit from having an older friend/possible lover who would love him and help protect him from being beaten and harassed, is that so bad, I don't think so, maybe some people would rather he end up like Matthew Sheppard. The description also says they are mis matched, the fact that they hung around and got along good together countradicts that, again the ageism curse. I don't hold that description against the movie though. Some of the filming is strange in spots but that doesn't hamper the message or plot of the film. This film touched my soul mainly because I have lived it, as have many others, it had a profound impact on me. Again, excellent realistic film.raven skater.

This is one of those films that when you first see it, it shocks you with its intensity. There hasn't been a really great film, at least that I can think of (and I do see a lot of movies!) about what it is like to grow up different.
Wild Tigers is also intense on another level virtually unexplored by movies and that is the boredom of being a kid. Literally these kids in the film lay around and stare at the wall; yet Cam Archer makes it interesting because he is aware of the interiors of his characters. There are moments when you feel as if you know what these kids are feeling and yet powerless to make it any better (like most adults).
Most people might be turned off by the homoerotic storyline but actually that is where it is most interesting, like Brokeback Mountain.
Not everyone really knows what it is like to be different (and they probably don't care to know) but this films seeks to explore what it is like to grow up being different.
Right there is where the film is most powerful because Cam Archer manages to say a lot with few words and a lot of images. By exploring the interiors of these bored kids Cam Archer has actually made an original film which I thought wasn't possible anymore.
If you can get past the differences of others and you are interested in what it is like to be different in all its painful incarnations you will find this movie interesting and heartbreaking.

Wow, I have been waiting for this movie to come out for some time. I must say I was highly disappointed. I stumbled across the film while looking at Fairuza Balk's filmography, I read the synopsis, and I immediately wanted to see it. She is great, however she has a very small role.

The rest of the film makes little sense. Without the weird imagery, I think the film would have been around 20 minutes in length. There was little to no character development and the plot was boring and weak. Furthermore, there was no real climax nor any resolution. The movie just ends...and does not leave you pondering over anything except what you could have been doing other than watching this movie.

From the reviews I read online and the theatrical trailer, I was expecting a "disturbing teen angst" movie...something with emotion and it was none of that. If you must see this film, I highly recommend downloading it or renting it...it is not worth buying.

In my opinion (and that's all this is), this movie is more than just a 'coming of age' or 'gay-themed' story. The cinematography and the way the narrative is presented is very much an artistic statement. I think to some people this might seem distracting from the main plot of the movie. However, I feel like this movie is more situational rather than plot-driven, so its context depends on dislocated and sporadic moments and states of mind in the characters, rather than a linear progression of events. The film is as powerful in content as it is in its formal qualities, and should be appreciated for both of these merits.

It is clear that this movie is not intended as a mainstream film production, and perhaps not a mainstream mindset or understanding of narrative.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

...If you are not into true independent and experimental film, please do not view this film, because it was not made for you!!!!

To Everyone else who is free thinking and able to enjoy true art, then this film is a must see. If not for any other reason then to see a fresh young talent at the start of what I believe will be an exciting career. I do agree with people that this film is hard to watch, but I think that is because the filmmaker gets so close to his subject that the audience feels uncomfortable, like we are intruding into someone's private thoughts. I think that if you can not relate in any way to this story, then you should pay attention to the visuals. The cinematography is amazing! And showcases Cam's photographic talent. He truly understands how to tell a story with pictures.

The story is unique and not for everyone. The subject can be very uncomfortable for people who are not open minded. The story follows a young boy who does not fit in at his school. While everyone makes fun of him, there is one exception, Rodeo, an upperclassman, who is good looking. As Logan and Rodeo hang out, Logan starts to fall for Rodeo. He struggles with his sexuality, and to make up for it, he creates an female alter-ego who he uses to "seduce" Rodeo. This coming of age story is unique because it deals with more than the normal "I don't fit in" story. It also deals with the boredom of being a young kid, with no friends in a small town.

Overall, I think it is a fresh, unique take on growing up. Also, the song "Wild Tigers I Have Known" is quite possibly one of the best songs ever used in a film. I am looking forward to seeing what else Cam has in his future.

I was looking forward to the arrival of the DVD having only seen this excellent movie as a dark and grainy download from Veoh. Boy, was I disappointed to find that some key scenes have been cut from the DVD! How dare they do that and destroy the integrity of this fine piece of coming of age teen angst!

You know you're not in Hollywood territory when a film features long, static shots of the main character watching television. I knew this was going to be an arthouse movie going in, and I believe that helped with my expectations. If you label it a gay coming of age story (although it, intrinsically, is), I think you get a much different view of what you are in for. Knowing that I was going to watch a slow but lovingly crafted film light on plot but long on beauty, I went in not expecting much and came away enchanted with this little movie. Honestly, I had to look up Malcolm Stumpf's credits as I hadn't remembered him from anything else, and the last thing he did was a Madonna movie almost ten years ago. Your appreciation of this movie will no doubt depend on how beautiful you think Malcolm is, as he is in virtually every scene, or how much the gay coming of age stuff resonates with you. I was affected on both counts, and so I would highly reccomend this film. It's frame of mind can be summed up by one scene in particular, during lunchtime in an outdoor school cafeteria. Malcolm sits by himself eating some pudding and proceeds to spill some on his crotch. He begins to clean himself and proceeds to get an erection. With utter simplicity, the scene covers adolescent alienation, desire, and the sometime humiliation of school life and boyhood in general, without a single line of dialogue. Check it out if you are in the right mood to watch it.