Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

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On this page: DESIRE LINES | HIDDEN MASTER: THE LEGACY OF GEORGE PLATT LYNES | MERCHANT IVORY

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 20.Mar.24

Desire Lines
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir Jules Rosskam
scr Jules Rosskam, Nate Gualtieri
prd Amy E Powell, Andre Perez, Jules Rosskam, Brittani Ward
with Aden Hakimi, Theo Germaine, Andre Perez, Angel Piedra, Evin Hunter Luehrs,Elijah Valentin, Juju Minxxx, Lee Andel Dewey, C Michael Woodward,Sam Berliner, Samy Nour Younes Figaredo, Sy Simms
release US Jan.24 sff, bUK Mar.24 flare
24/US 1h21

SUNDANCE FILM FEST

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With an almost restlessly inventive approach, filmmaker Jules Rosskam mixes documentary and drama to explore the rarely recounted experiences of gay trans men, asking whether testosterone treatment can shift sexuality. The film knowingly grapples with larger ideas of identity and attraction, offering vital firsthand observations alongside intriguing dramatic scenes. And it is an important rebuke to anyone who insists that there are hard and fast rules about these things.

In a historical archive, researcher Ahmad (Hakimi) is seeking material about gay trans men, assisted by the archival clerk Kieran (Germaine). And their exploration takes on the form of a vintage bathhouse as they interviewees speak about experiences firsthand, frankly discussing sexual situations and noting how their personal thoughts and feelings often come into conflict with both society at large and various queer subcultures. This history has also of course been complicated by the Aids epidemic, during which trans men were homophobically refused treatment because they were considered low-risk.

Because this topic has so rarely been covered anywhere, each salient comment opens a new rabbit hole of ideas, opinions and information. These men have a unique place in the queer timeline, simply because of the way they have been treated by the gay and trans communities as well as wider culture. So the issues they have faced are worth discovering, because they say so much about everyone else.

Rosskam's approach is inventive, playful and unflinching, allowing the to-camera interviewees to speak with unusual frankness about their personal journeys. So there are constant eye-opening moments throughout the film, along with a steady stream of earthy humour and sharp wit. Even the dramatised sequences with the engaging Hakimi and Germaine are cheeky and engaging, adding further subtext and resonance. In other words, this film already has the power to change lives. And it's only the first document to open this subject.

themes, language, sexuality 26.Mar.24 flare

Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir Sam Shahid
scr Sam Shahid, Matthew Kraus, John MacConnell
prd Matthew Kraus, John MacConnell, Nando de Carvalho
with Bernard Perlin, George Platt Lynes II, Don Bachardy, Jensen Yow, Bruce Weber, Steven Haas, Duane Michals, James Crump, Jarrett Earnest, James Smalls, Mary Panzer, Allen Ellenzweig
release US Mar.23 sff,
UK Mar.24 flare
23/US 1h36

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Essentially making the case that photographer George Platt Lynes deserves a place in art history, this well-researched documentary recounts his career with eye-opening detail. Director Sam Shahid spent a decade compiling interviews and hunting archival material that fill this movie to overflowing. And Lynes' stunning images gain meaningful context through fabulous first-hand anecdotes about this little-known but hugely influential artist who broke new ground from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Heading to Paris as an 18-year-old in 1925, George was planning to become a writer but discovered a gift for taking pictures. His portraits of artists led him into a dazzling career during which he reinvented fashion photography. He lived a freely artistic life in a 30-year-long three-way open relationship, throwing lots of very sexy parties. And it was his more artistic work that particularly pleased him: namely lavish photos of beautiful naked young men. But George was far ahead of his time, and the images have remained largely hidden until recently.

Briskly edited, the film has a wonderfully driving narrative in the assembled interviews with people who knew Lynes as well as artists, curators and researchers who wish they'd met him. Together, they paint a knowing picture of a man who lived large, adored beautiful things and loved deeply and unconventionally. And perhaps it's his unapologetic nature that relegated him to obscurity in America's prudish art scene of the period, a time when being publicly gay was illegal. Lynes died at 47 of lung cancer in 1955.

Even though the film only barely dips into Lynes' childhood, there abundance of self-portraits as well as other artists' depictions of Lynes that tell his story visually just as vividly as the interviewees recount it. Although Shahid perhaps includes too many photos here; they look simply spectacular on the big screen, but we wish we had a pause button. So it's impossible not to agree with the film's final note that these astonishing photographs deserve to be taken out of the Kinsey and Koch archives and placed in major museum exhibitions, so people get a chance to luxuriate in them.

themes, language, sexuality 18.Mar.24 flare

Merchant Ivory
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

Merchant Ivory
dir Stephen Soucy
scr-prd Jon Hart, Stephen Soucy
with James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Richard Robbins, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Vanessa Redgrave, Rupert Graves, James Wilby, Felicity Kendal, Madhur Jaffrey
release UK Mar.24 flare,
US May.24 mff
24/US 1h52

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Beautifully assembled with extensive interviews and film clips, this engaging documentary takes thorough look at the team behind the eponymous game-changing production company best known for its 1980s period dramas. Filmmaker Stephen Soucy unearths eye-opening details about filmmakers making first-rate projects against the odds outside the system. And it's an involving account of a decades-long love story that had to remain hidden because society couldn't accept it.

Merchant and Ivory met in 1962 New York and hit it off immediately, partnering both romantically and to make movies in India and the US with screenwriter novelist Jhabvala and composer Robbins. Then they broke through into the mainstream with their award-winning British literary adaptations A Room With a View, Maurice, Howards End and Remains of the Day. Despite the lavish production values, these films were assembled family-style with a group of loyal cast and crew members. But the filmmakers' sparky personalities and shoestring approach meant they were always on the verge of disaster.

Recounting the story chronologically, moving film by film, this documentary creates a lovely sense of progression in Merchant Ivory's productions over the decades. Each film has some sort of notorious chaos attached to it, and yet they came together in ways that have a timeless quality. Along the way, Soucy also explores the fascinating life stories of Merchant, Ivory, Jhabvala and Robbins. And to add context, he assembles an astonishing range of interviews with top actors, crew members, friends and family, each of whom offers witty, knowing observations.

This is a wonderfully entertaining documentary that's packed with terrific material. Most of the behind-the-scenes story has never been told, which makes it fascinating for movie fans, and also adds a pointed thematic edge because of how these men had to conceal their true relationship. As a film, this is perhaps a bit straightforward, recounting the story without frills. But this is an important chapter in cinema history, and in society at large.

themes, language 16.Mar.24 flare

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL