Andrew Worsdale Movies of the week
With more than 29 shorts and 30 features, the fifth gay and lesbian film festival is expanding with massive hard-on proportions. This is because the “queer” film industry is doing so well, and is regarded internationally as the vanguard of cutting edge independent cinema.
As more than 15 000 participants took part in this year’s “moffie” parade (including myself, my wife and son … it’s a great carnival and what’s more, one gets free condoms), there should be a loyal following at the festival.
There’s a helluva feast of celluloid pleasure on offer. What follows is, in no particular order, my humble and meagre opinion of what you should see.
Chocolate Babies. This radical movie has a 1980s feel to it. A bunch of queens and HIV-positive faggots and sisters launch an assault campaign on conservative politicians who refuse to support a hospice in their New York neighbourhood. The group infiltrate the office of an official who’s deep in the closet. Gradually members of the group turn against one another. The acting is fabulous, and director Stephen Winters has injected the right amount of energy and sentiment. It’s amusing, provocative, deeply humanistic and political – everything a “queer” movie should be.
Love is the Devil. Directed by John Maybury, the film is about British artist Francis Bacon’s affair with a thief-turned-model who raids his studio. Derek Jacobi’s portrayal of Bacon is spellbinding. Maybury adds to the atmosphere by throwing in distorted Bacon-esque images in ashtrays and mirrors. Add to that the affected morbidity given to “swinging London” in the 1960s and you have a remarkable movie.
Frisk. I am probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed this film. Some may label it a gratuitous gay slasher movie, but I found it fascinating. Based on Dennis Cooper’s controversial novel, the story follows a man, obsessed with necrophilia pornography, who becomes a serial sex killer. Most of the violence is only suggested, but the movie is likely to offend many people.
Murder and Murder. Yvonne Rainer is a brilliant, fiercely passionate lesbian film-maker. In Murder and Murder she takes a brave step and exposes her mastectomy scar. She plays a film- maker who pops into the narrative about two elderly women who become lovers and set up house together. Filled with intellectual play, humour, slapstick and a great deal of potent introspection, this is an articulate cinematic picture that explores the notions of love, disease and perception.
Uncut. John Greyson, who directed the brilliant Zero Patience and Lilies, returns to more postmodern intellectual ground in his latest work. He combines an exploration of circumcision with that of copyright infringement and censorship. Three men named Peter – one obsessed with Pierre Trudeau, another with the Jackson Five and the third with whether to snip a dick or not – meet, have fun and end up in a labour camp. Filled with intelligence and humour, Uncut is perfectly engrossing. Greyson doesn’t disappoint with his dexterous use of images and music. The director will be helping facilitate the Gay and Lesbian Film Development Programme in conjunction with the University of the Western Cape. The programme intends to make 10 movies for next year’s festival.
Fistful of Flies. This coming-of-age story follows a 16-year-old girl struggling with her sexuality while dealing with a repressive family in a small Antipodean town. Her parents are obsessed with her virginity, so she decides to do something about it. Filled with weird humour and beautifully observed acting, this is a minor gem.
Sando to Samantha. Festival director Jack Lewis’s film is an amazing documentary-drama which follows a coloured drag queen who is drafted into the army and has sex with his fellow soldiers. A tribute to the drag queen, who died of Aids, this is an affecting movie. Despite a touch of artifice in its dramatic scenes, it takes a deep look at sexuality and politics.
The Short Films. Brought by the Canadian Film-makers’ Distribution Centre, this is an amazing amalgam of boys’ and girls’ movies. There is not enough space to go into much detail here, but it’s suffice to say the programme is worth watching for the innovative, funky short works by Wrik Mead, including Haven, Cupid and Closet Case.
There are too many films to mention them all. But don’t fret if you fail to catch some as several of the titles – East Palace, West Palace, Gods and Monsters, Head On, High Art, I Think I Do, Love is the Devil, The Opposite of Sex, Turkish Bath and Velvet Goldmine – will be opening on circuit next year.