Written by:
Kathleen Wilkinson
» Order
this Issue of Curve:
18#5
Summer is the perfect time to kick back and catch a good popcorn flick. But if you’re looking for something a bit more edgy, queer and independent or want to be ahead of the curve on upcoming blockbusters, now is a great time to visit a local film festival. We pick our favorites from this week’s San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, aka Frameline32 and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Frameline32
Affinity
Single-handedly rewriting lesbians back into history, award-winning Welsh novelist Sarah Waters makes her way to this side of the Atlantic for Frameline and the debut of the film version of her 1999 book Affinity. Set in the 1870s London, the story follows heroine Margaret Prior (the gorgeous Anna Madeley—think a young English Kate Jackson), who after the death of her father takes on some volunteer work at the local prison. A leftover from the middle ages, the gothic Millbank forms the backdrop for a sapphic bond between Margaret and prisoner Selina Dawes (the luscious Zoë Tapper). The twists and turns are as numerous as the dark corridors of the bleak prison, with the Victorian penchant for the occult central to the plot. As with Waters’ earlier Tipping the Velvet, it’s such a relief to see a period piece that doesn’t whitewash lesbian sexuality. It’s sure to be a lesbian favorite.
It’s Still Elementary
A fascinating look at the progress that’s been made in the past 12 years thanks to the amazing film It’s Elementary. Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff and co-director Helen Cohen revisit their work behind scenes, the state of gay education in the early 1990s—nonexistent, and some of the kids featured in the film more than a decade ago. Those who saw the 1996 film already understand its incredible ability to articulate to all but the most bigoted viewer how important safe schools are for all children, and hence the need for very early education about gay issues. It effectiveness comes through a careful demonstration of how age-appropriate education actually works and proof that children as young as kindergarten age already have ideas—often times quite absurd ones at that—about what it means to be gay. Of course, that didn’t stop the radical right from painting it as a recruitment tool for gays and lesbians. Nevertheless a report on the film’s success in helping launch a movement for gay education in the schools and how far we still have to go makes it a must-see for everyone who cares about the society we live in (also available on DVD through http://groundspark.org/”>http://groundspark.org).
Drifting Flowers
The title aptly captures the delicacy Taiwanese director Zero Chou (Spider Lilies) brings to her second lesbian feature. Superbly acted, the film interweaves three stories of lesbian relationships. No, it’s not the melodrama that those words imply, but instead carefully wrought characters who face very human challenges—a blind nightclub singer (the beautiful Serena Fang) who must face giving up her younger sister (Pai Chih-ying) to foster care; an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s (Lu Yi-ching) who still misses her lesbian lover from years past, and a young butch (the charismatic Chao Yi-lan) who meets her first love. The three stories coalesce unexpectedly—making Drifting Flowers one of the better Chinese language lesbian films.
SF International Film Festiva
Water Lilies (on DVD in July)
Quintessentially French with its over-made-up synchronized swim teams (think Jon Benét Ramsey in a pool cap with a few years on her), Céline Sciamma’s debut film looks at how tough it is to be a teenage girl—gay or straight. With a deft hand, Sciamma takes us down memory lane in a Parisian suburb, where the beautiful, cool girl, Floriane (the riveting Adele Haenel), fights to keep her virginity amid rumors of her liaisons flying. The lesbian lead, Marie (Pauline Acquart), suffers an excruciating crush on her, and her chubby, not-so-pretty friend, Anne (Louise Blachère), will do anything to be liked by the most popular boy. Without a single scene of parents or teachers, we follow the girls through the ups and downs of this painful and yet occasionally magical time. We become willing voyeurs to the embarrassments of the locker room, the heartbreak of unrequited love and the eight-legged machinations of the ultra-femme watersport (hence the literal translation of the French title: The Birth of Octopi). Through the eyes of Marie, the camera follows Floriane in her Esther Williams-style swimsuits with stalker-like obsession. Her beauty enchants, but we relate much more to the plight of the two oddballs. The girls’ triumphs are small, but the film remains controlled and ultimately amusing as we glimpse a slice of le not-so-rosy vie. (waterlilliesmovie.co.uk)
Ask Not
The country’s flagging military is now accepting criminals and youth with mental issues, and has even lowered the IQ standards, but the Armed Services continue to refuse to take “out and proud” gays and lesbians. In his excellent new film, Ask Not, Johnny Symons (Daddy and Papa) explores the irony of the current situation with the country at war and a stressed-out military in which soldiers are routinely doing extra tours of duty. It’s unfathomable that the universally despised “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is allowed to remain intact. The film follows protestors to recruiting centers around the country as young men and women challenge the policy, demanding the right to serve even though they are admittedly gay. It also archives an awareness-raising protest in Washington, D.C., with 12,000 flags representing the number of soldiers who have been kicked out under the misguided policy. Alex Nicholson (who speaks five languages including Arabic and yet is not allowed to serve) and Jarrod Chlapowski join an educational campaign to talk about their experiences at colleges and military training centers throughout the United States (and even start a relationship on the road). Symons’ film is an elegant case asking not to let this continue. (http://www.asknotfilm.com”>http://www.asknotfilm.com) |
