Monday, October 18, 2010

BearCity

Urbandictionary.com defines a bear as "a term used by gay men to describe a husky, large man with a lot of body hair." BearCity, the opening night feature of the 15th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, explores this group within the gay community with so much laughter you cannot help but want to go out and hug the first bear you see.

The film follows three distinctive stories of the close knit group of friends: Brent and Fred deciding if they want to "open" their relationship, Michael and Carlos deciding if their relationship can survive Michael's decision to get a lap-band to aid his job prospects, and Tyler (a young twink) and Roger (a daddy bear) finding the courage to admit their love for one another and as a result turn their back on culturally defined stereotypes.

The Filmfreak Mafia moment in the film is when Tyler is admits to his former roommate and slightly effeminate twink friend Simon, played superbly by Alex Di Dio, that he likes bears. The moment is best described by Tyler earlier in the film as "having to come out twice." Indeed, a twink admitting he is into bears, or a bear to admit being attracted to a twink, is cause for shunning in the gay community. But by the end of the movie when Roger defends Tyler, now his boyfriend, against a sarcastic verbal assault from one of his friends, the audience sees that love is truly blind.

At the end of the day BearCity gives its audience nonstop barrage of quotable one-liners, amazing performances by newcomer Joe Conti as Tyler and for fans of the Big Gay Sketch Show, Stephen Guarino, and an understanding that bears need love too.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Avatar

The Filmfreak Mafia is all about the narrative in the film with the stars and special effects being secondary -- a distant second. It's films like Avatar that make the family's mission necessary. With all the hype and awards and buzz this film has been getting, you would think it was the final apocalypse. Frankly, it might as well be, since Avatar is the epitome of what is happening to filmmaking.

The plot of Avatar follows how corporate and military interests have become entangled to engage in what amounts to an imperialistic invasion of the Na'vi's home of Pandora in search for the latest and greatest power source. Through the assistance of a new technology to allow infiltration of the native's villages, a dedicated Marine falls in love with and begins to defend against his compatriots.

The story of Avatar was brilliantly told before in Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai. The major difference is that Avatar paints a future in which corporate greed is alive and well through the extensive use of CGI and other special effects. For those lucky enough, the film's already heavy handed special effects can be seen in 3D, with reports of South Korean theaters showing Avatar in 4D.

It's uncertain if James Cameron intended any parallels between the events of Avatar with certain current modern events. But even if it was intentional, the point appears to be missed through the multiple layers of special effects which serve as a distraction to the deeper implications to the story. In the end it's a very sad day for culture when slick special effects can carry a movie to awards for Best Picture.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Naked Boys Signing!

Reprinted courtesy of Sean C. At the Movies

I had heard of this show years ago and missed it when it toured Portland, Oregon. So when I saw it on the schedule for the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival I was so up for it. Not only since I love naked men, but because I love innovative musical theater.

Naked Boys Singing! is a sort of musical revue, since there is no central story, but instead a loose collection of interrelated songs that do not shy away from the fact that the cast is at times full nude on stage. In fact, in the song Gratuitous Nudity tackles the issue head on.

However, at no point is the nudity gratuitous in my mind. The nudity is integrated in such a way that it is part of the song and does not take away from the beautiful and lyrical ballads. This is most evident in the song Window to Window in which two of the cast are singing to each other akin to the balcony seen in Romeo & Juliet.

This is one of those movies that just needs to be seen in order to understand why it deserves to be among your favorites of all time.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Einstein of Sex (Der Einstein des Sex)

Reprinted courtesy of Sean C. At the Movies

Before there was Alfred Kinsey, there was Magnus Hirshfeld. Magnus Hirshfeld (1868 - 1935) was the founder of the Institute for Sexual Research, a facility dedicated to medical assistance and education on all matters related to human sexuality. The Institute was subject to much criticism and eventually was destroyed by the Nazi war machine.

The Einstein of Sex (Der Einstein des Sex) tells the tale of Hirshfeld from his childhood, early medical career, founding of the Institute, and his eventual exile in Paris in hiding from the Nazi concentration camps. Much like his successor Kinsey, Hirshfeld is portrayed as a man obsessed with his work and extremely socially awkward. One wonders if it is the men or the work that causes this poor combination of personality traits.

Like most biopics, this film is only a brief insight into the man and his work. His contribution to the study of sexuality is inconceivable. His personal life a complicated one. This film portrays a man as human as you or I who just happened to have a permanent place in history.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Picture of Dorian Gray


Reprinted courtesy of Sean C. At the Movies

A modern adaptation of the 1891 Oscar Wilde's only published novel. It tells the story of a young man obsessed with his youthful beauty and in exchange for eternal youth, sells his soul. In the original and many of the earlier adaptations the picture was a painting that aged and became distorted due to Dorian's indulgent life. However, in this 2006 adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray the portrait is a video installation and the actor playing Dorian is better known as the son of a minister on 7th Heaven.

David Gallagher plays the title role of Dorian Gray with a determination and force that is beyond his 22 years. Gallagher portrays a character torn between reconciling the abuse he suffered as a child to the abusive man he has become. Over the film's 20 year span, the video installation shows Dorian's inner soul becoming more and more ugly and less and less resembling the beautiful youth he is on the outside. Eventually all things come to an end and Dorian's journey is no exception.

I left this movie thinking I need to see it many many more times in order to understand the multiple layers involved. The film is so powerful that I would not recommend having anything major to do after seeing it. You will need a day or two to recover.

This film was an Official Selection of the 2007 Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, but has not seen a theatrical or DVD release yet.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Atonement

Reprinted courtesy of Sean C. At the Movies

Atonement
is the story of a young girl, Briony, who reports incorrectly to the police and her parents about something she sees but does not understand. The central theme of this film reminds me of The Children's Hour, a 1961 film starring Shirley MacLaine (Ouiser from Steel Magnolias) Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's), as two teachers at a prestigious girl's boarding school who may or may not be lesbian. Both children making the accusations are thinking they are doing the right thing, but neither understands the magnitude of their words at the time.

Briony spends the rest of her life attempting to make amends for what she now realizes is a false identification. She admits that in her final novel in which she tells the story that she created sequences. She claims it is out of kindness to those she has wronged, but isn't it more likely it is her way to ease her guilty conscience. No matter the true motivation for her manipulating the truth (again) the lives she destroyed were never repaired.

This film is a shocking reminder of times in the past (and present) where accusation becomes fact. A world in which credibility is never questioned when the answer matches the desire of the accusers. A scary world to to live in, indeed, at any time.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

A Single Man

A strong story is what makes a movie for the Filmfreak Mafia and A Single Man is a wonderful example. Based on the Christopher Isherwood of the same title, the story follows George's continuing morning over the death of his partner Jim. The story is set in the early 1960's when same sex couples were forced to be very private about their relationships, even in liberal enclaves like Los Angeles. Even though George and Jim were together for nearly two decades but he was still not welcome at Jim's funeral. If not for a single compassionate relative of Jim's, George would not even have known about Jim's accident.

Directed and co-written by fashion designer Tom Ford, the film is his directing debut and shows a polished end product which utilizes the rich narrative and actors performances over technical production elements to engage the audience for the entire 1 hour 39 minutes. The only additional element that Ford utilizes in the mesmerizing music of Abel Korzeniiwski which almost becomes an additional character by its haunting presence throughout the movie.

The most simple and possibly under valued scene in A Single Man is when George sees a dog in a car at the supermarket similar to the two dogs that he lost in Jim's accident. Jim was found with the male dog, but the female dog was never found. The dog George is now seeing is a female. The owner returns and George lingers at the car to the point of awkwardness. This simple throwaway scene is given an immense impact thanks to Colin Firth's performance.

A Single Man is a film which shows how story can exist on its own without the need for special effects as enhancement or hindrance. This is the sort of filmmaking that the world needs more of but unfortunately is in short supply.