''Aleksandr's Price'' is a 2013 American-Spanish

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written, edited, and produced by Pau Masó, who additionally co-directs with David Damen. Set in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and starring Pau Masó, Anatoli Grek, Josh Berresford, Samantha Glovin, and Keith Dougherty, the film tells the story of a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

boy in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

who, after losing his mother to suicide, is drawn into becoming a male prostitute.

Premise

''Aleksandr's Price'' is an exploration of American youth in

and the excessive use of alcohol and other drugs in the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

community. Aleksandr Ivanov, played by Masó, falls into the dark business of prostitution after the loss of his family, which causes him to develop

dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

Cast

* Pau Masó as Aleksandr * Anatoli Grek as Dr. Mary * Josh Berresford as Keith * Samantha Glovin as Emma * Keith Dougherty as Tom

Production

''Aleksandr's Price'' was shot over a period of 25 days in March 2012 in

. Masó scouted the talent and locations. ''Aleksandr's Price'' released its official trailer in March 2013.

Release

Prior to public release, ''Aleksandr's Price'' screened at the Philadelphia QFest on July 12, 2013. The film officially premiered on September 24, 2013.

Critical reception

The film has received mixed reviews. In September 2013, Victoria Alexander from "Las Vegas Informer" compared the film to

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

's 2011 film ''

Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

'' stating: "''Aleksandr’s Price'' can be viewed as a gay companion to Steve McQueen's ''Shame'', which also dealt with sexual promiscuity in New York City". She also stated the film depicted prostitution very well, saying: "Aleksandr’s Price is a gay-themed movie, its depiction of the cruel and shallow world of New York City and its commerce in young men and women of all sexual orientations is spot on". DVD Beaver said: "If ''

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...

'' were a film about a male escort rather than a ballerina (and had a dash of ''

Requiem for a Dream ''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name ...

'' thrown in), it would probably be something like "''Aleksandr's Price''" (although a bit more relentless, much more overblown, and without the hint of hopeful optimism).

Accolades

''Aleksandr's Price'' had its Austrian premiere on November 10, 2014, at the "Internationale Queere Migrantische Filmtage" (Eng. International Queer Migrant Filmdays) which is held every year in Vienna. Pau Masó was given an "Appreciation Award" for his outstanding work in Queer film and media.

References

External links

* * * "No Solo Cine" (es
''“SIMPLE MOVES”, EL NUEVO THRILLER DE PAU MASÓ EN POST PRODUCCIÓN''
* "No Solo Cine" (es
''Simple Moves''
* "Sosmoviers" (es
''Pau Masó presenta el thriller Simple moves con fotografías y teaser''
* Horrornews.netbr>''‘Simple Moves’ is almost wrapped shooting!''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksandr's Price 2013 films 2010s erotic thriller films 2013 LGBT-related films 2013 psychological thriller films American independent films American LGBT-related films Films directed by Pau Masó American erotic thriller films Films about prostitution in the United States Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City LGBT-related drama films American psychological drama films Gay-related films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films