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On this page: BALDIGA: UNLOCKED HEART | LADY LIKE

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

Baldiga: Unlocked Heart Baldiga: Entsichertes Herz
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir Markus Stein
scr Ringo Rosener
prd Olaf Jacobs
with Jurgen Baldiga, Ulf Reimer, Birgit Baldiga, Bernd Bossmann, Timo Lewandovsky, Hermann Jansen, Juliette Brinkmann, Volker Wierz, Keikawus Arasteh, Bernd Gaiser, Kaspar Kamaleon, Sakine Meral
release Ger Feb.24 bff,
UK Mar.24 flare
24/Germany 1h32

BERLIN FILM FEST

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Shot and edited with an artful sensibility, this documentary focusses on thoughts and feelings as it recounts the life of German photographer Jurgen Baldiga, remembered depicting the truth in his images, which was uncomfortable to gay men during the Aids epidemic. Even if it's a bit slow and ponderous, the film is a remarkable depiction of a man who was hungry for everything life had to offer.

From a working class background, Jurgen moves to Berlin and turns to prostitution to fund a drug addiction. Tiring of this, he becomes an artist. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he refuses to give up, documenting the epidemic with his camera alongside photos of life in Berlin and the city's lively gay scene, from leather bars to drag queens. He also takes photos depicting his insistent libido, which he refuses to resist, as well as the physical evidence of Aids. Just a few years after the wall came down, he died at 34 in 1993.

Accompanying his photos, journal entries allow Baldiga to narrate his own story along with commentary from people who knew him. These interviews are filmed on locations, interspersed with grainy film footage that brings the period to vivid life. This also allows us to see Baldiga in action, mixed with clever new footage that recreates behind-the-scenes moments and other events. His sister describes his childhood, accompanied by terrific snapshots and some remarkably unapologetic anecdotes. Others speak of his relentless "self-confident egoism".

Remarkably soft-spoken, the film has a contemplative tone, even with the inclusion of Baldiga's unflinchingly explicit photographs. With chapter headings that come from his personal journals, the film captures his curiosity to try everything, understanding that he only had one life, and his was going to be short. Like his photos, Baldiga's words are knowing, witty and astute in describing his feelings. So his final years, both with his illness and his warm relationship with Reimer, are powerfully moving and ultimately both sweet and heartbreaking.

themes, language, sexuality 24.Mar.24

Lady Like
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

Lady Like
dir-scr Luke Willis
prd Cookie Walukas, Luke Willis
with Rex Wheeler, Shiloh Brody-Clarke, Jeanne Pacella, Adriana Roy, Tye Olson, Mara Guevara, Laundra Tyme, Marco Marco, Nia Politan, Rosie Petals, Sasha Pikul, Nina West
release UK Mar.24 flare
24/US 1h27

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There's a terrific story at the centre of this documentary, tracing the life of drag star Lady Camden from her London childhood to TV stardom and beyond. Filmmaker Luke Wheeler has wonderful access, capturing Camden's alter-ego Rex Wheeler with unusual openness. But the editing is at odds with the narrative's momentum, circling around and repeating emotional points. So it's entertaining, but never as moving as it wants to be.

After being cruelly bullied as a child in North London for his love of dance, Rex attends the Royal Ballet School then moves to California as a dancer and choreographer with Sacramento Ballet and San Francisco's Smuin Ballet. Following an injury, he develops his drag persona as Lady Camden in local clubs before being cast in RuPaul's Drag Race in 2022, finishing in 2nd place. This leads immediately to the international Werq the World arena tour. Eventually, Rex returns to London to triumphantly headline at Heaven, an old haunt from his clubbing days.

Enjoyably, cameras follow Lady Camden as she returns to Sacramento to watch the Drag Race episodes with crowds as they air, then as she plans for the finale with her team in San Francisco. There are also fabulous animated sequences that offer background details about the Drag Race experience, as well as segments that return to Britain to explore aspects of Rex's childhood and the devastating death of his older brother, which led him to seek the lightness of dance as an escape. Interwoven with this are dreamy dramatised scenes featuring Lady Camden's inner child (Brody-Clarke).

All of this is beautifully produced, with wonderfully open-handed fly-on-the-wall sequences in which Rex grapples with a range of emotions relating to his life up to this point and the future that is unfolding. These scenes are so honest and revealing that they can't help but be involving, especially as they capture Rex's unique blend of dance and comedy skills. So it's a bit frustrating that the film as a whole hasn't been structured to take us on this journey, continually cutting back to restate key moments while leaving other important elements off-screen. Fans will still love this material, and it offers a fascinating backstage look at Drag Race for the uninitiated. But there's a much stronger narrative in here screaming to get out.

themes, language 23.Mar.24 flare

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL