Winter Kept Us Warm

'Winter kept us warm, covering / Earth in forgetful snow, feeding / A little life with dried tubers.'

T.S. Eliot

I've posted many times about the history of the male form in art and photography.  It's fascinating to look back at the history, and the artists who created works when it wasn't only risky to their lives and careers, but was also illegal.  Winter Kept Us Warm is a Canadian film that was made in 1965.  Same-sex 'activity' was not decriminalized in Canada until four years later in 1969.  Decriminalization also began in the 1960's in the US, but wasn't until 2003, through Lawrence v. Texas, that all remaining laws against same-sex sexual' activity' were invalidated.

So, back to 1965 in Canada. The independent film, Winter Kept Us Warm was written, directed, and funded by David Secter.  The film received an initial $750 grant from the University of Toronto Students' Union, along with permission to film several key scenes at Hart House.  Secter had to fight the university administration  however, for permission to film in other locations on campus. Due to the subject matter, the film was declined production grants from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the National Film Board of Canada. .

The title of the Canadian romantic drama film, comes from the fifth line of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land.  Secter found much of the cast by placing a classified advertisement in the university's student newspaper The Varsity. The film stars John Labow as Doug Harris and Henry Tarvainen as Peter Saarinen, two very different students at the University of Toronto, who develop a complex quasi-romantic friendship, 

'Its the 1960s at the University of Toronto. Doug is a well-liked senior with an equally popular girlfriend. Peter is a shy freshman, and new to the big city. Peter and Doug become best friends and soon start going to concerts, drinking, and playing in the snow together. When Doug brings Peter to a steam bath and washes his back, the friendship seems headed to a whole new level, at least in Doug's mind. But when Peter emerges from a party after having sex with a co-ed, things get even more complicated...'

I learned about Winter Kept Us Warm through DreamCap after seeing a thread about the shower scene posted by Christoph. There was something about the story, and the nostalgic feel of the clip that had me wanting to see the entire film.  It was easy to find and although the quality is not great, there is a very watchable full version on Youtube. (HERE:)

I wasn't alive in 1965, yet there were scenes in the film I found so very relatable.  Having grown up in the closet, I spent all of my school years pretending.  Regardless of ones sexuality, and no matter at what age you come out, I think we've all experienced having to hide a crush.  Gay kids in particular were forced historically to remain quiet and pretend.  They were safe only to silently long for that person who dominated their thoughts and fantasy's. 

I related to so many of the scenes in the film, especially the moments of touch.  They were not sexual, yet incredibly sensual.  I think we all remember touching our secret crush, either bumping into them in the hallway, or brushing by them on the bus.  Innocent touch, that with anyone else would be forgettable.  With someone you're longing for however, and someone you'll never have, the touch can be electric.

The sexual connection between Doug and Peter is incredibly subtle, subtle enough to insure the film could get made. Both characters were also given girlfriends in the characters of Bev and Sandra. The film's gay subtext was carefully coded by Secter, who wrote the film based on his own experience falling in love with a male fellow student, but feared that a more explicitly gay film would not attract an audience. 

Although not widely remembered among the general public, Winter Kept Us Warm is considered a major milestone in the Canadian film industry as one of the first Canadian films ever to attract international attention. The film occupies a unique place in the history of Canadian cinema as the first English-language Canadian film screened at the Cannes Film Festival. 

'Winter became the first English–language Canadian feature to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival, where it was very warmly received. Sophia Loren chaired the jury that year. I ended up sitting with her at a dinner party they’d organized. She was stunning. That was a heady experience, one I’ll never forget. Cannes made me feel like I was the closest to levitating that I’ll ever get.'

David Secter, NorthernStars