Customer Reviews
why is this not in wide release 
2008-10-09
discovering yourself, coming out, a sweet love story and the variability of "family" -- truly well acted, a first rate production that could find a wider audience.
gorgeous 2008-10-07
so much love in this movie. You can feel it and find it. I loved it.
Very Good Movie 2008-10-03
This was a easy to watch, find yourself in it kind of movie, the actors were great to look at and the story was filled with are you loyal to your family at all cost, or are you true to yourself. I did like the end, this is one I will watch over and over again.
It's a good movie...cheesy...but good. 
2008-10-01
This is kind of one of those predictable, cornball romantic movies where, as soon as you get into the plot, you can predict each following step of certain characters...granted, there isn't anything wrong with that sometimes, even here, it was still a lovely film that served it's purpose and I would recommend at least getting a used copy of and sitting down with a new boyfriend and watching it.
amazing 2008-09-24
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 
2008-09-22
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.
An Old Story that Rises Up on Emotional Authenticity 2008-09-13
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. A lot of reviews give credit to Trevor Wright for his excellent performance. Credit well deserved. However, I think director Jonah Markowitz deserve the most credit for putting together a movie in which everything feels so natural and real.
The best part of 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.
Shane Mack also deserves high praises for the songs he wrote for this movie. When Zach couldn't fall asleep, flipping back and forth, the images of him with Shawn were flashing through his head. The moment wouldn't have such an emotional impact without Shane Mack's "More Than This" playing in the background.
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 my opinion, David Wiegand from SF Chronicle has the best review on this movie: "Sometimes a film that otherwise relies on stock storylines and even skirts the fringes of old-fashioned melodrama can rise up on the strength of other elements. In the case of writer/director Jonah Markowitz's feature film debut, "Shelter" rises very high indeed, thanks to a superb performance by Trevor Wright in the lead role, a strong supporting cast, very good cinematography and, most of all, emotional authenticity."
Love is about finding yourself 2008-09-08
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 2008-09-07
This was a decent movie...characters were believable and the story although predictable was entertaining. I decided to keep this one in my library...
An AmazingFilm 2008-09-06
I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it. It was great to see a movie which wasn't steeped in gay culture, that was about normal people going through hardships and while doing so discovering who they where and where they wanted to go in life. The story follows Zach, a young man who instead of going to college, stayed behind to watch over his sister and her son. His sister is a poor mother, leaving Zach to fill the parental role for his young nephew all the while trying to express himself through his art and surfing. When his best friend's older brother Shaun comes back into town for a month, Zach begins to discover himself and driven by Shaun, starts to go after a better life than the one he had chosen.
