Curious Things
Here are a few highlights and lowlights (in chronological order) from the first week’s selections.Curious ThingCurious Thing (Friday, June 18, 1:45 pm, Castro) is a stylish collection of short films. The title entry is first, and it’s arguably the best. Curious Thing features two men—Sam (Matthew Wilkas) who is straight and Jared (Danny Bernardy) who is a closeted, bi-curious guy. The guys are seen meeting and hanging out at clubs and apartments as their bromance develops into something. Meanwhile, voice-over narratives depict the real life situations of gay men and their experiences with girlfriends and straight guys. The effect is incredibly striking, the actors are adorable, and the commentaries are perceptive. after, adapted from a Dennis Cooper story, is an arty, wordless drama about three guys lusting after a local football player. The film is rather mesmerizing as it presents its fantasies and realities before its shocking conclusion. The shortest short, Embrace, runs only three minutes. It’s beautiful looking, but the warmth it portrays isn’t entirely palpable. Another highlight is Lorimar, a witty and wise comedy-drama about a man questioning his relationship with a guy he’s sleeping with. Rounding out the program is last call, the weakest and most ambitious of the shorts. this film concerns a man stuck between life and death forced to reconsider his relationship with his lover. Although competently made, the idea of living honestly before it’s too late is not engagingly presented. (Note: Disarm and Cakes and Sand, also playing in the program, were unavailable for preview).Grown up Movie StarGrown up Movie Star (Friday, June 18, 9:30 pm Castro) is a curious Canadian film about a fucked-up family that starts out slowly, but builds to a powerful climax. Although this overstuffed and occasionally contrived drama strains credibility, writer/director Adriana Maggs’ film demands attention because of the award-winning performance by Tatiana Maslany (the actress, age 24 during filming, convincingly plays 14!).
The plot concerns Ray (Shawn Doyle) is a former NHL Hockey star, whose career hit the skids when he was arrested for smuggling pot across the border. when his crack-addict wife leaves him and the family, he is saddled with his two daughters Ruby (Maslany) and Rose (Julia Kennedy), a pre-teen. Ruby is grappling uncomfortably with her sexuality—and so is her dad. One night when Ray is getting a blow job from his daughter’s gym teacher James (Steve Cochrane), Ruby’s discovers them.
Her father may be repressing his sexuality, but Ruby is exploring hers with reckless abandon. She flirts with her dad’s best friend Stuart (Jonny Harris), and starts dating Bill (Andy Jones), a cute new boy in school. She even gets caught kissing her best friend Laura (Maggie Meyer) while watching porn. As Grown up Movie Star continues, Ruby takes some explicit sexy pictures, and has some of the most uncomfortable sexual experiences ever depicted on film. (One involves a broken foreskin and considerable bleeding). if all this drama seems excessive, it is surprisingly compelling. But this may be simply a matter of audiences wanting to see what trouble—sexual and otherwise—Ruby and Ray will get into next. PaulistaPaulista (Sunday, June 20, 1:30 pm, Victoria) is a poignant Brazilian film that tells a trio of love stories. The film opens with Marina (Silvia Lourenço) arriving in São Paulo to work as an actress. She soon becomes smitten with Justine (Danni Carlos), a musician, and seeks out a connection with this woman. Another storyline—the weakest—has Marina’s neighbor Jay (Fábio Herford) romancing a prostitute. The strongest story concerns Marina’s transgender roommate Suzana (Maria Clara Spinelli), who reluctantly begins a relationship with her co-worker Gil (Gustavo Muchado). Their future pivots on his reaction to the fact that she was once a man. Suzana reveals this information in a beautifully handled scene. Sensitively directed and co-written by Roberto Moreira, Paulista captures the rhythms of its characters’ lives as they experience romance and heartbreak. It may be a small film, but it is affecting nonetheless. BrotherhoodBrotherhood (Monday, June 21, 9:30 pm, Castro) is a contrived melodrama about the unusual topic of gay Neo-Nazis. Director and co-writer Nicolo Donato works in a paint-by-numbers style of filmmaking, with broad strokes that never disguise his facile characters. The film opens with a would-be gay pick-up scenario turning into a gay bashing incident. cut to Lars (Thure Lindhardt) being denied an Army promotion because he is rumored to have made a pass at one of his men. Belittled by his mother, Lars searches for a sense of belonging. when Fatty (Nicolas Bro) the leader of the local skinhead movement tries to recruit him, Lars resists. of course, a few scenes later, he’s throwing bricks through refugee’s windows, and within three weeks is nominated as a full skinhead member. Lars soon moves in with Jimmy (David Dencik), who is fixing up a house (a clunky symbol for Lars’ rebuilding his life) and one night the two guys eventually succumb to their attraction and share a few kisses. this “What Are You doing?” moment segues into a tender love scene that is not very credible. But just as the audience waits around for Lars and Jimmy to shut up and fuck, they must also bide their time for Jimmy’s angry brother Patrick (Morten Holst)—who is jealous of Lars’ quick acceptance to the brotherhood—to discover the furtive romance. Brotherhood wants to play with the conundrum of two gay guys belonging to an organization that beats up “faggots,” but never imbues the characters’ choice of “[gay] love vs. [skinhead] loyalty” with any emotional heft. this may best be summed up in Lars query to Jimmy about his ease at abusing Pakistanis but his insistence on drinking organic beer. How can someone be so complex? these characters should be complex, but they aren’t. they are simply straw dogs.Is it just Me?Is it just Me? (Tuesday, June 22, 3:45 pm, Castro) is an enervating, unfunny, unsexy romantic comedy about Blaine (Nicholas Downs), a not unattractive writer in LA, who wants to be loved for “who he is, not what he looks like.” he finds a connection online when he meets Xander (David Loren), an adorable transplant from Texas. they eventually talk in real time, and their phone calls lead to chaste phone sex, which leads to the guys agreeing to meet. However, because of a photo he saw online, Xander believes Blaine is actually Cameron (Adam Huss), Blaine’s hunky go-go boy roommate. The various miscommunications are as lame as writer/director J. C Calciano’s script, which features only one-dimensional characters. While Calciano’s message about nobody being perfect is worthwhile, he buries it under unsubtle lines about Xander finding Blaine-as-Cameron’s honesty and trustworthiness refreshing. Yet, one suspects even the hopeless romantics would roll their eyes at some of the stupidity these characters display in is It just Me? if Downs fails to make his lonely everyman sympathetic, Loren is charming and appealing as Xander. in support, the frequently shirtless Huss is no great actor, but his abs provide a brief distraction from this dim-witted film that looks like it should be fun, but is anything but. UndertowPerhaps the best film in the festival is the Peruvian entry Undertow (Tuesday, June 22, 7:00 pm, Castro). Miguel (Christian Mercado) is married to Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), and expecting a baby. Yet he is also having a clandestine affair with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), an openly gay photographer. when Santiago pushes his lover to come out, Miguel resists, claiming he does not want to hurt his wife and family or upset his close-knit community. Then Santiago dies in an accident underwater, and his spirit remains in limbo; his ghost appears only to Miguel. Miguel soon gets what he wants—the security of his marriage and a loving relationship with Santiago. Yet Miguel’s selfishness—wanting to maintain this “best of both worlds” situation as long as possible—soon backfires, and Miguel finds himself the victim of rumors and prejudice based on homophobia. Writer/director Javier Fuentes-León deftly uses magical realism to show that Miguel should conquer his fears and accept his sexuality, and the narrative device works beautifully. Moreover, the filmmaker shoots every scene exquisitely with an eye for composition—every image is suitable for framing. Fuentes-León also coaxes warm performances from the two leads who are as gorgeous as the magnificent seaside landscape. this film takes great care to make its rituals and symbols have meaning, and to have its characters act intelligently. Undertow is a smart, sexy, and highly satisfying film. Eyes Wide OpenA thoughtful and at times potent melodrama, Eyes Wide Open (Tuesday, June 22, 9:30 pm, Victoria) is distinguished for addressing the emotional and moral responses towards homosexuality within Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community. Aaron (Zohar Strauss) is a kosher butcher and father of four who is married to Rivka (Tinkerbell). during a rainstorm, Ezri (Ran Danker), a yeshiva student, enters his shop to use the phone. soon, Aaron offers the handsome Ezri a job and a place to live.
Ezri, it is revealed, is grappling with a lover rejecting him for his studies. Meanwhile, Aaron is silently struggling with his sexual identity. when Ezri coaxes Aaron to join him bathing at an immersion spring, however, Aaron’s same-sex desires are awakened. and although the butcher insists that resisting lust will bring them closer to God, a few scenes later, the men are kissing and embracing passionately in the shop’s freezer.
Eyes Wide Open shrewdly focuses its attention more on faith than sex; the men discuss sin and righteousness between erotic touches and clinches. Yet Aaron is warned by members of his religious community that, “nothing good can come of this [relationship].” this point is driven home in a subplot involving an engaged woman having an affair with another man. Given the community’s reaction to this inappropriate behavior—and Aaron’s participation in admonishing her for this—he understands that their response to his dalliance with Ezri will be seen as much worse. furthermore, as various students threaten Aaron and his business, Rivka suspects her husband is up to something improper.
Director Haim Tabakman has crafted a striking drama about sin and desire, and he is well served by his talented cast. Strauss makes his internal conflict tangible, and Danker is terrific as the irresistible Ezri. The way these men communicate their love in a look, a touch, or a gesture, is as freighted with meaning as the symbolic water imagery—rain, the immersion spring, and a broken pipe—that define their relationship. in support, Tinkerbell makes Rivka sympathetic, and her unspoken tensions with her husband are best presented in a scene where she buys some meat from Ezri.
Tabakman also features some stylish touches—from the reflection of Aaron’s detractors in the panel of a passing van, to his expression as seen in the blade of his butcher’s knife—that give Eyes Wide Open an emotional punch. what is more, the film’s appropriate, provocative, and ambiguous ending does this as wellChildren of GodAnother film about religion and sexuality is Children of God (Wednesday, June 23, 9:30 pm, Castro). An expansion of his fine 2007 short, Float, Kareem Mortimer’s romantic drama tackles issues of homosexuality, sin, and the church. Thankfully, it never gets too preachy. this equally fine feature benefits first and foremost from the sexy, easygoing charm of actor Stephen Tyrone Williams recreating his role as Romeo, a handsome, closeted Bahamian who begins an affair with Johnny (Johnny Ferro), a sensitive artist and germaphobe. As Romeo teaches Johnny how to let go of his anger and fear and “float” the film achieves the grace Mortimer achieved in his short. But Children of God also includes a subplot about Lena (Margaret Laurena Kemp), a preacher’s wife who is campaigning against gays in the Bahamas. if it’s a bit heavy handed that Lena has an STD—her stern husband is predictably on the down low—her getting of wisdom is nicely contrasted with Romeo’s struggle to come out. Children of God has many moments that are as beautiful as the Bahamian beaches where the film unfolds. Johnny’s visit the local church and is accepted by the tolerant pastor is especially moving, as is a conversation between Romeo and a friend who admires him. Mortimer may rush a bit towards the end, perhaps in an effort to tie his stories up and together neatly, but Children of God culminates in a nice, transcendent coda that will no doubt have viewers wanting this talented filmmaker to continue exploring his themes and thoughts about identity and sexuality.
Tags: bromance, chronological order, lowlights, stylish collection