Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films 2004

SHADOWS ARTHOUSE FILMS ’04

Films unlikely to be showing at your local multiplex...
On this page — films from the British Film Institute's 18th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Mar-Apr.04
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN | JUCHITAN QUEER PARADISE
KOMRADES | THE ROAD TO LOVE | A THOUSAND CLOUDS OF PEACE...
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More mainstream art films have their own pages.
Other offbeat films are at: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | FESTIVAL SHORTS
last update 19.Mar.04

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

dir-scr Michael D Akers
with Aaron Orr, Matthew Montgomery, Joel Bryant, Brenda Lasker, Ariadne Shaffer, Bryna Weiss, Sandon Berg
release UK 28.Mar.04 llgff • 03/US 1h34 3/5

REVIEW BY RICH CLINE

This extremely low-budget drama has a strong enough script and characters to keep us watching even when it's rather goofy and amateurish. The story is about two brothers working as park rangers in an isolated place called Summit Valley--Paul (Bryant) is the older, more experienced, serious-minded brother; Drew (Orr) is still trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. He's never really recovered from the death of their parents in an accident when they were teens. Enter Mark (Montgomery), a stranger in town whom Drew rescues during a flash flood. But now Mark has amnesia, and while Drew helps him rebuild his memories, the two begin to fall for each other. And this wrinkle does not sit well with Paul and his wife (Lasker), especially when Mark's real life finally catches up with him.
Yes, the whole amnesia plot is very corny, but writer-director Akers is actually examining serious issues of sexuality and denial, and even though the film has a fairly breezy, rom-com feel to it, there's a sincere undercurrent that grapples with much more thoughtful ideas. But it's way down there! On the surface, it all seems pretty absurd, mostly because the film is made on such an unspeakably low budget (and it shows). The acting is a bit stiff, the sets are rather flaky and the editing is pretty rough. There are also random sequences that feel like irrelevant padding, such as a hospital corridor wheelchair race, a lame dress-up montage and a soft-porn scene that's somewhat sexy but doesn't actually feature any sex. On the other hand, the dialog is bracingly natural, Shaun Cromwell's guitar-based score is lovely, and there are some very strong scenes in which the actors get to really flesh out their characters (no pun intended). It's these moments, as well as the captivating story, that keep us glued. And win us over. [themes, language, sex] 25.Feb.04 llgff

KOMRADES

dir Steve Kokker
with cadets at a military academy in St Petersburg, Russia
release UK Apr.04 llgff • 03/Canada 1h04 3.5/5

REVIEW BY RICH CLINE

Canadian filmmaker Steve Kokker spent some five years making this documentary about camaraderie among the young Russian cadets at a St Petersburg military academy. It's a loose collection of interviews, observational footage and clips from old movies collected simply because, as Kokker says in the voiceover, he was fascinated by the intimacy, affection and free masculinity he saw among these men. How he got such unprecedented access is anyone's guess, but he is obviously captivated by what he finds--a group of healthy young men who are physically free with each other, holding their friendships as the most important thing in their lives, and somehow able to balance both the demands of cultural machismo and the more tender, physically close bonds of brotherly love.
Of course, a lot of the closeness--and the antics--are the result of heavy drinking, which is as fundamental to Russian society as mandatory military service! You can see how the barriers fall even further after a bit of the vodka, and these charming men are happy to talk about their most intimate friendships and tell stories of hilarious excesses. They also talk about such issues as hazing (apparently some 3,000 die annually in initiation incidents) and the homosexual tensions that gurgle continually but are never, ever spoken of. Technically, the film is quite rough (the movie clips look like copies of copies of bootleg videos!), and it feels padded out by lots of patriotic songs. But even though Kokker's own footage is of home video quality, its impact is still strong. There's an easy physicality to these friendly, muscled guys, some of whom conduct interviews drunk ... or naked. And the film becomes much more important as it digs into the definition of a "real man" as being honest, loving and willful.Then we begin to see how the knowledge of this truth combined with repressed sexuality and institutionalized violence affects the society at large. This makes the film much more than just a look into a Russian subculture. [themes, language] 19.Mar.04 llgff

THE ROAD TO LOVE [Tarik el Hob]

dir Remi Lange • scr Remi Lange , Antoine Parlebas
with Karim Tarek, Riyad Echahi, Sihem Benamoune, Abdallah Taia, Mustapha Khadar, Farid Tali, Mehdi Jouhar, Roschdy El Glaoui, Mohamed Garca, Madjid, Djamel Lempereur, Ali Negrem
release UK 28.Mar.04 llgff • 03/France 1h10 3.5/5

REVIEW BY RICH CLINE

This rather cute romance is disguised as a fly-on-the-wall documentary, and the trick works! It feels almost entirely improvised and natural, making the most of the home video quality images and offhanded performances. If the plot was slightly less timid, it could be a minor gem.
Karim (Tarek) is a student in Paris who decides to do a sociology project on homosexuality in North Africa, starting with the fact that gay marriages were allowed--and encouraged by Islamic religious leaders--in some countries up until the 1940s. Karim's girlfriend (Benamoune) is a bit nervous about this, and while interviewing people with experience in the matter, Karim meets all sorts of interesting guys, most of whom flirt shamelessly with him. He freaks out at most of this, especially when the sparky Farid (Echahi) challenges him to discover the gay man within himself. Karim is horrified at the thought, but can't bring himself to stay away.
Besides the intriguing glimpse of North African history and culture, the film effortlessly captures the personalities and lifestyles of French young people of North African extraction. Director Lange seems happy to just let the camera linger on his subjects, catching whatever they might say or do. This gives the film a raw honesty and openness that draws us into the story, even though it's almost infuriatingly tentative and muted. Performances are just as natural--Tarek and Echahi create characters we really like--charming and infuriatingly opinionated. Their good-natured teasing is great fun to watch. And as the film gets more and more serious, and travels from Paris to Marseilles, Amsterdam, Morocco, Tangiers and even Jean Genet's beachfront grave, it has a universal truthfulness that deals with the cultural issues sensitively and frankly. Meanwhile, the sweet romance is winning us over minute by minute. [themes, language, nudity] 21.Mar.04 llgff

JUCHITAN QUEER PARADISE

dir-scr Patricio Henriquez
with Oscar Cazorla, Angel Santiago Valdivieso, Eli Bartolo, Hector Matus, Vicente Martin
release UK Mar.04 llgff • 02/Mexico 1h05 3.5/5

REVIEW BY RICH CLINE

Tucked down at the bottom of Mexico, the town of Juchitán (pronounced, naturally, hoochie-táhn) is an anomaly in Latin America, where the traditional maternalistic society has grown to such an extent that the women completely run the place and there's a deeply ingrown tolerance for varieties of ethnicity, religion and sexuality. Legend has it that God gave the region's patron saint a bag of homosexuals to scatter around South America, but he spilled them all right here. Made for Canadian television, this bright and engaging documentary focuses on three of the most colourful residents of a Xapotec community that has no idea how progressive its ideas are in a world of intolerance and prejudice.
Oscar is a businessman who organises the town's biggest annual party, the Vela of the Authentic Intrepid Danger Seekers, an Aids benefit that runs for days. An obvious queen, he has also fathered a teen son and is a prominent pillar of society. Angel, on the other hand, is a muxe, a man who lives as a woman, and we meet him with his parents, see him working in his beauty salon and follow him en route to be the queen of Intrepids' party. And Eli is a teacher with decidedly unconventional views (he believes zoophilia is a legitimate sexuality, for example, and that marriage is more immoral than prostitution). But his lifestyle and opinions are respected in Juchitán, even if no one really agrees with him.
The film's colourful, slightly camp style and travelogue segments mask something much more serious going on here, namely an examination of how Western cultures have imposed artificial man-made roles on the world in the name of religion. Juchitán is a rare culture that's deeply steeped in religious tradition, and yet the women, indigenous groups and sexual minorities are integral and valued. It's simply not like this anywhere else in Latin America! And it's clearly the way we the world should be. No, this isn't paradise--some violent homophobia is still present, and there's only one long-standing gay couple. But we have a lot to learn from a tiny community that celebrates human diversity in such a unique way. [themes, language, brief sex] 9.Mar.04 llgff

A THOUSAND CLOUDS OF PEACE FENCE THE SKY, LOVE, YOUR BEING LOVE WILL NEVER END
[Mil Nubes de Paz Cercan el Cielo, Amor, Jamás Acabarás de Ser Amor]

dir-scr Julian Hernandez
with Juan Carlos Ortuńo, Juan Carlos Torres, Pablo Molina, Miguel Loaiza, Salvador Hernandez, Manuel Grapain Zaquelarez, Mario Oliver, Llane Fragoso, Rosa Maria Gomez, Martha Gomez, Clarisa Rendon, Pilar Ruiz
release UK 29.Mar.04 llgff • 03/Mexico 1h20 3/5

REVIEW BY RICH CLINE

This dreamlike Mexican film kicks off with a strong, sexy scene that sets the tone beautifully. Alas, filmmaker Hernandez can't quite sustain that sense of excitement and yearning. Yet while the film begins to drag badly, it's also visually very impressive and full of thoughtful, emotional themes. At the centre is Gerardo (Ortuńo), a 17-year-old who simply can't come to terms with his break-up from his boyfriend (Torres). So he goes looking for love in all the wrong places, desperately in need of sex but knowing that it's won't be nearly enough. He wants much more--love and respect ... and most of all an end to this aching loneliness.
Hernandez films this beautifully in black and white, filling the screen with close-ups of expressive faces. He's clearly influenced by Cocteau's iconic and surreal filmmaking style--it's evocative, poetic and more than a little pretentious. This is a film about images and feelings, so there's very little dialog. The story itself is elusive, and yet the film effectively captures the disparity between love and sex on the gay scene (or any other scene for that matter). These are people trying to be happy but continually running into roadblocks--issues of attraction, lame excuses, a fear of commitment. Gerardo's immaturity doesn't help either; he has no idea what he really wants and he's always in need of money (and someone's always ready to give him some, for one reason or another). As an actor, Ortuńo captures this very well, although like the rest of the cast he's so muted that we never feel like we get beneath the surface. Flashes back and forward in his story help fill things out, but in the end it's hard to tell whether the film is any good or not. It's certainly lovely to look at. But it's also very dull. [themes, language, nudity, sex] 25.Feb.04

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