In last week's [#1] column [/#] I mentioned that Erma Fatima plans to make a movie called Bulan dan Mahatari , which would be memorable not only for its mysteriously Indonesian-sounding title, but for foregrounding the theme of homosexuality.

Would this be the first time that the subject rears its lavender head in our cinema? No.

There have been films with secondary gay characters before, but their plots have not always been progressive in the liberal-humanist sense. While waiting for Erma's movie to materialise, let's just look at three recent examples.

The KRU brothers have been in two movies: Awas and Cinta Metropolitan . In Awas , Edry became a lust object for a marauding homo who would lure him to an apartment and make him drink many cans of Coca-Cola. (The soft drink was featured instead of something alcoholic in order not to offend our censors, and also to protect the clean-living reputation of the pop trio - but then again, you knew that.)

Edry is portrayed as someone so thick that he never notices this guy trying to jump his bones. Watching this movie in a full-house midnight crowd was one of the most entertaining experiences I've ever had. The audience would fairly squeal in alarm at regular intervals. But fret not: the lascivious same-sexer recedes from the picture when he's discovered to be HIV-positive.

Edry, in a manly way, tells him to keep his chip up - and that's the end of that.

Cinta Metropolitan featured a villainous lesbian who's out to wreck the plans of Yusry, another one of the brothers. Yusry finally gets her to back off by showing her his fist. This is unintentionally funny because Yusry is the puniest-looking of the trio, and any self-respecting bull dyke would be able to take him on. This rather subversive trend isn't followed through, and she recedes from the picture in an ill-humoured way.

The plot justifications for same-sexers in both of KRU's celluloid escapades would be to function as The Other, demarcated against the hip but wholesome values embodied by the pop group. But then again, you knew that.

Better than either of these films is the thriller Lenjan , about a married couple (Eman Manan and Nina Juren) being pursued by a black-clad serial rapist (Rosyam Nor) to their hilly retreat. There are several twists in this movie, chief among which is the fact that Nina isn't the virtuous wife she initially appears to be.

Nina is actually a kinky slut in cahoots with Rosyam, who's not a genuine serial rapist but her lover. They plot to kill Eman and then they have some mind-bending sex under a bed. (Under-bed sex was featured instead of on-top-of-bed sex in order not to offend our censors - but then again, you knew that.)

What's intriguing about Lenjan is that Eman has a very handsome best friend, whose name unfortunately escapes me. This friend exists almost solely to warn him against Nina and, by extension, women in general. Well, Eman actually survives the murder attempt on him and discovers how duplicitous Nina was. Nina is guilt-ridden and then promptly recedes from the picture when she falls off a steep hill.

In the movie's final scene, Eman is reunited with his best friend. They meet wordlessly at the top of a KL building. They look at each other while the camera soars above them. Maybe I'm weird, but I sense quite a bit of homoerotic tension in this friendship.

The director of Lenjan understands film language. Think about it. The fertile (and therefore female-identified) jungle growth where Nina's deception becomes clear is counter-pointed quite blatantly against the phallic (and therefore male-identified) sky-scrapers of the closing scene. Did Eman discover his true sexuality in the denouement of Lenjan?

I think that the main love triangle in the movie isn't Eman-Nina-Rosyam but Nina-Eman-unnamed best friend. Rosyam is merely plonked there as a plot device and also to sell more tickets. If true, this steamy "menage a trois" is reminiscent of one of my favourite Hollywood movies, Gilda (1946), in which Glenn Ford finds himself torn between Rita Hayworth and a not particularly handsome guy, whose name unfortunately escapes me. Gilda ended with the triumph of heterosexuality. Could this Malay movie prove to be far riskier?

Lenjan was directed by Ismail Yaacob and written by someone whose name escapes me. Ismail also acts. He played a man caught for khalwat in Perempuan, Isteri dan ... . Do you want to find out more about the role played by khalwat in Malay movies? Of course you do, you pervs. Tune in next week and prepare to be suitably enlightened.