Shadows off the beaten pathBoys on Film 1: COWBOY FOREVER | GAY ZOMBIE
MIRROR MIRROR | SCARRED | SERENE HUNTER | SUMMER
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last update 13.Mar.09
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R E V I E W S B Y R I C H C L I N E
From the BFI's 52nd London Film Festival, Oct.08
with Matthew Underwood
08/US 32m
By just letting 12- to 17-year-olds talk to the camera about their attitudes to money, filmmaker Greenwood creates one of the most unsettling half hours in the cinema, almost as scary as all of the doom-and-gloom global warming docs. It's also expertly shot and edited. These American young people fully believe that they should have all they money they want without working for it, and that they are worthy of fame without doing anything to earn it. You could it Paris Hilton syndrome. Style is everything as they define life through fashion, cars and the stuff they own, and have absolutely no sense of perspective about their lives or the world around them. They manipulate their parents into giving them whatever they want; even the poorer kids are greedy materialists. At the other extreme is Underwood, a 17-year-old actor (from Zoey 101) who pays his mother a salary to do everything for him. These kids are all full of personality and extremely aware of how to work the camera, and Greenfield merely allows us to watch them expose their hideously ugly souls. If this is the future of society, it won't be global warming that kills off mankind.
R E V I E W S B Y R I C H C L I N E
Boys on Film 1: Hard LovePeccadillo presents this first-ever collection of gay-themed short films, many of which have been presented at film festivals around the world (several were reviewed over the past few years in Shadows). They plan to continue this series, giving short filmmakers a badly needed outlet.
release UK 9.Mar.09 dvd • 09/UK Peccadillo 2h28 • 18 themes, language, sexuality, violence • 28.Feb.09
with Govinda Machado de Figueiredo, Jones Carlos Fialho de Araujo, Ronald Rosa, Palativa Flower, Raica, Leandro Rumao de Lima
06/France 27m
Presented doc-style, but clearly part fictionalised, this film is beautifully shot and edited, with a gorgeous sense of the Brazilian landscapes where the story takes place. Govinda is a cattle driver who notes in the narration that his name means "friend of a cow". The story starts when a new guy named Jones joins his team; they're the only two bachelors in the group, so bond instantly. Jones takes Govinda to visit his friend Ronald, an activist who introduces to the gay world. From here the story takes on an "will he or won't he" vibe, as we wonder about Govinda, who is not only a virgin but had never met a gay man before. But the film is relaxed and unhurried, warmly observing these likeable characters without pushing any message beyond friendship and tolerance. There's a lovely sense of searching as Govinda and Jones talk about what love an attraction mean. And even in such an isolated setting, filmmaker Erreca reveals real hopefulness. A gorgeous little film.
with Brad Bilanin, Ryan Carlberg, Robbie Laughlin, Craig Olsen, Andrew Miller, Robin McDonald, Paul Hicks, Michael Foley
07/US 20m
This silly satirical short is full of extremely funny dialog. The clever premise has the young zombie Miles (Bilanin) in therapy because he can't cope with being undead. Or being gay. While in a West Hollywood bar, he meets two goofy guys (Carlberg and Laughlin), and they become friends, as if being a zombie isn't that much different from being a vegetarian. When they decide to give Miles a makeover ("you have what we call problematic skin") and take him to a yoga class, things start to get very strange. Essentially, filmmaker Sim is poking playful fun at the gay subculture in an extremely deadpan way. The humour is so dry that it can't help but keep us giggling, even if the plot doesn't really go anywhere very interesting.
scr John Trigg
with Roy Billing
08/Australia 10m
with Chris Anderson, David Durham, Lara Cazalet, Dan Styles, Stephen Hill
06/UK 10m
with Eric Debets, Jonathan Stringat, Jason Bushman, Flannan Obé, Thibaut Chassigneux-Laqueille
07/France 13m
with Peter Peralta, Jay Brown
06/UK 9m
See also: SPRING (2011)
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© 2009 by Rich Cline, Shadows
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