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Eyes Wide Open

WE'RE BACK! After a bit of a hiatis, we're back and better than ever. We'll start this new season of the QueerFilmBlog off with a new film for me. Everyone knows of my love for romantic dramas. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a couple battle the world to be together. And, while we all know that this isn't going to end well, we secretly hope that somehow it will. That's why Romeo and Juliet works time and time again. We hope that she wakes before he drinks the poison. We're somehow surprised when that doesn't happen.

From the beginning of Merav Doster's Eyes Wide Open, directed by Haim Tabakman, the audience is well aware that this beginning relationship is not going to work well. The two men have literary the entire community against them. Set in Jerusalem in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, the film tells the story of butcher Aaron Fleischman (Zohar Shtrauss), who takes in a younger apprentice, Ezri (Ran Danker). Ezri follows a previous lover to Jerusalem, but when that fails to start, he finds himself out on the streets. With Aaron's help, Ezri finds a home and a job in the shop.

From the beginning of the film the heat between the two men is papable. Writer Merav Doster smartly intertwines Orthodox Jewish customs into the telling of this story. There is one beautifully written scene where Aaron says to Ezri, "Restrain yourself. We have an opportunity to rise, to overcome, to fulfill our destiny in this world". Besides being a beautiful line, it shows the direction that the film will take. Aaron is caught in a battle between his religion and his lover.

I'm hard pressed to discuss this film without mentioning Brokeback Mountain. I wouldn't dare say that this is a copycat film. As I mentioned earlier, this plot structure--very much Romeo and Juliet--has been told over and over again. The closest connection between the two films would be the use of sound. Brokeback Mountain had one of the most intricate soundscapes of any film that year. Not used to heighten already tense moments, the country twang was used to draw the audiences attention to time passing and subtle details. Likewise, Eyes Wide Open does a wonderful job of capturing the mood of the community through the sound.

The film hinges on the idea of reawakening--you see this through the two baptisms and Aaron says at one moment, "I'm alive". Ezri works as the catalyst for major change. Because the community, however, rejects this change, the film must end in somewhat ambiguous the way it does.

10 Points for A Queer Lead Character
09 Points for Acting
07 Points for Screenplay
07 Points for Cinematography
08 Points for Overall Impression
09 Points for Soundtrack
07 Points for Editing
07 Points for Creativity and Originality 
07 Points for Direction 
08 Points for Judge's Discretion  

79 Points

Post by Travis Ballenger

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

John Cameron Mitchell is known for pushing film in both style and substance. This is clearly displayed in his work Shortbus, but that's a conversation for a different, and hopefully soon, day. Today we're discussing Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I discovered this film in high school. It was a favorite for a guy that I had a total crush on. He was a senior. Imagine, if you will, my first experience watching this brilliant film with the crush of my life. #gayboyheaven

But I digress...Hedwig tells the story of Hansel Schmidt (John Cameron Mitchell), an East German boy who falls in love with an American GI, Luther Robinson (Maurice Dean Wint). Luther decides to marry Hansel, thereby giving him an escape from Communist East Germany. Hansel dons a ponytail wig and his mother's passport and prepares to leave Germany for good. That is, however, after he has a sex change to pass the test through customs. It gets botched. Hints, the angry inch.

Later, after Luther leaves her for another blond boy, Hedwig meets a much younger Tommy Speck (Michael Pitt) and she teaches him about music and the world. But Tommy is unable to come to terms with Hedwig's "angry inch" and the relationship dissolves. The film follows Hedwig as she travels on the same concert tour path as Tommy. Hedwig claims to write all of the music that the now famous Tommy Gnosis (name given to him by Hedwig) performs.

I've encountered very few films like Hedwig. The film is a play on Plato's Symposium that argues that at one point people were physically connected to the people they were supposed to be with. Love is the pain of searching for that person and attempting to reform that connection. Throughout the film, Hedwig searches for her lost love, her other half.

The film is both intellectually stimulating and entertaining. With music by Stephen Trask, the songs stick with you. It's actually through the music that the story is told. There are also cartoon effects used to heighten the experience. It's specifically used when moving into a flashback.

This film is one of those golden queer films that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention. The film opened to critical acclaim and while it has developed a cult following, it's never found major success. Opening in 2001, the film won two Sundance film awards, Best Director and Audience Awards. I think it deserves much more.

10 Points for A Queer Lead Character 
08 Points for Acting 
09 Points for Screenplay 
09 Points for Cinematography 
10 Points for Overall Impression 
10 Points for Soundtrack 
07 Points for Editing 
07 Points for Creativity and Originality  
09 Points for Direction 
10 Points for Judge's Discretion  

89 Points

My Own Private Idaho

I always know where I am by the way the road looks

Like I just know that I’ve been here before

I just know that I’ve been stuck here, like this one

fucking time before, you know that? Yeah.

There’s not another road anywhere that looks like

this road, I mean exactly like this road

It’s one kind of place, one of a kind

Like someone’s face…like a fucked up face.

These are the first lines of the Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. These words in combination with the initial shot serve as a great setup to the overall sensation of the film, which is the feeling of drifting.

I must be honest. Years ago, I hunted this movie down. Not in search of a great queer love story, or anthropologic study, or even just a glimpse at a queer film. I was enamored with Gus Van Sant and the late River Phoenix. I had devoured Drugstore Cowboy, Good Will Hunting, Elephant, To Die For, etc and I loved Phoenix in Stand By Me, and Running on Empty. I never realized that this particular film would soon become one of my favorites.

The story follows street hustlers Mike (River Phoenix) and his best friend Scott (Keanu Reeves). We begin in Idaho with Mike standing on a long stretch of highway. Not soon after the reminiscing of this road he falls asleep. Mike, who eventually goes out in search of his mother, has the unfortunate but undeniably intriguing disorder called narcolepsy. When he has narcoleptic episodes we are invited into his memory, both real and selective. We see visions of him and his mother in a beautiful yet dilapidated Idaho landscape. Mike has quite a few episodes, mostly before or during some sexual act, and when he wakes he is often in a different state, mentally and literally. Scott’s journey is loosely similar to the plot line of Shakespeare’s Henry IV & V. He is the rebellious son of the Mayor of Portland. When Scott reaches 21 he plans on inheriting his father’s fortune and ceasing street hustling, something that he imparts to Bob, a prime mentor to many of the male street hustlers. Mike and Scott journey together in search of Mike’s mother, encountering many different characters that force them to look closely at their lives and lifestyle. Along the way some find love and some find loneliness, but nevertheless something is found.

I enjoy this movie because although it is about hustlers and it offers its share of explicit material, it is never really about sex. It’s about love, and love at its most vulnerable. Van Sant gives us street hustlers, characters that are conventionally unappealing protagonists, but from the very moment we meet Mike, we see him struggle and we see him try to overcome only to be brought down by his own disorder. We are constantly rooting for him.

The theme of homosexuality is only ever the scattered bruised fruit inside the teetering trash heap that is the films structure. While homosexuality is sometimes displayed externally, it mostly rides underneath and through the characters, especially Mike. Interspersed through the film are the complications of Mike and Scott’s relationship. In plain view they are best friends, but Mike has stronger feelings for Scott, and those feelings are unrequited; Scott saying that “… two guys can’t love each other”. The expectation of love is built up and the trash heap ultimately falls.

Van Sant is so effective at creating mood without pretension. There is no overwhelming feeling of personal cinematic adornment. He does well in focusing on the strengths of his complicated characters and leaves the plot, though fitfully intact, to be secondary. An example being Van Sant’s direction of the sex scenes, which were still shots, something that I had never seen before nor have seen again.

This is my favorite queer film because of what it provides cinematically as well as socially. There is no preaching-to-the-choir here. Hell, there’s not even a damn church. What there is, are people who happen to be gay but are not led by that status. I find solace in the humanity of the hustlers who are impervious to sentimentality. That in combination with the supreme direction, the imaginative and gritty cinematography, and the very fine performances, especially Phoenix, (Yes Keanu is in this but he’s neither terrible nor distracting, a bit bland maybe but still effective), make this a marvelous film.

You’ll be hearing more about this film this year since Van Sant teamed up with James Franco to show some unreleased footage. Premiering in an exhibition called “Unfinished”, two films were made that complied unseen footage and dailies of Idaho and specifically River Phoenix at the time he was working with Van Sant. I’m happy that after two decades this film is getting noticed again. It most certainly deserves the attention.

10 Points for A Queer Lead Character
08 Points for Acting
07 Points for Screenplay
09 Points for Cinematography
09 Points for Overall Impression
08 Points for Soundtrack
08 Points for Editing
09 Points for Creativity and Originality  

10 Points for Direction
09 Points for Judge's Discretion

87 Points

Post by Erik Carter

Imagine Me & You

Imagine Me & You
written and directed by Ol Parker
Released 2006
Starring: Piper Perabo, Lena Hadley, Matthew Goode, and Darren Boyd 

A purported lesbian romance and my favorite lesbian film, Imagine Me & You has a happy lesbian ending but suffers along the way. Yes, this film has major editing issues, continuity holes, and obvious homophobic comments – but at the end the 2 lesbians end up together. Not dead, not back with a man, but together. And not in a prison together, or riding off a cliff together, or whatever usual ending the tragic lesbian takes. The movie references the word lesbian 4 times throughout the 93 minute running time, indicating this was intended for a straight audience. And straight-washed this movie is! There are 45 seconds of homosexual contact and a mild dose of sexual tension. No overt sex scene, 1 bisexual and only 3 actual gay characters, with 2 being minor roles. The film is written and directed by a straight man so it’s no wonder the film takes the twists it takes. The theme of guilt is ever-present and overrides the love at first sight theme.

The film begins on the wedding day of Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Hec (Mathew Goode). The first 20 minutes breeze by with no mention of gay or lesbian. Keep in mind this film is 93 minutes long. As Rachel walks down the aisle she catches the eye of her wedding florist, Luce (Lena Hadley) and they lock eyes ever so briefly. That moment starts the roller coaster that is a typical lesbian film. We deal with best man Cooper (Darren Boyd) who hits on everything with 2 legs and sets his eyes on Luce in some of the film’s worst moments, including the line, “I’m the cure for lesbianism”. The rest of the film follows Rachel and Hec as they begin their newlywed life and Rachel begins questioning her feelings for the mysterious Luce. Several cute bonding scenes between Rachel and Luce save this movie from a far worse score. “You’re a wanker #9” goes down as one of the most memorable lines from a lesbian film and sets up for the big ending with our happy heroines in full embrace. Unfortunately, the true downfall of the film is the poor editing and Piper Perabo’s brutal British accent.

The editing issues are numerous, one moment is a positive portrayal of lesbians, the next a negative portrayal of gays. The most glaring example finds Rachel and Hec trying to rekindle their romance in the woods when they stumble upon 2 gay men engaging in similar behavior but with one caveat: they just met that night. The only portrayal of gay males and we find them promiscuous and shamed. It seems the director couldn’t decide to demonize or exalt gays and lesbians so he alternates between the two.

I don’t want to sound so cynical considering this is my pick for personal favorite lesbian film, but watching the movie with a critical eye took a bit of the joy out of the film. This one’s best to watch after a bottle of wine and the sole purpose of seeing two incredibly attractive female leads kiss for 35 whole seconds. For lesbians, this is usually as good as it gets. I’m pleased we see a “happy” gay ending in a lesbian film, but it comes at the cost of the actual protagonist, Hec and his poor heart.

The director hits the viewer over the head with the theme of guilt, which eventually overrides the film’s intended message of the existence of love at first sight. The focus on the male characters throughout the film highlights the indecisiveness for female characters. Cooper confronts Luce over the alleged infidelity rumors and she responds by becoming aggressive. The lecherous lesbian, in the film’s final scenes, says she has no regrets for having broken up a marriage; she would “do it again”. 

The men understand right from wrong, they are the moral flag bearers of the film. The lesbians are cruel and unthinking and require Hec to allow them to pursue their true love. Rachel would never have chased Luce if it weren’t for Hec allowing her the freedom.

The film was marketed to straight people and given the straight cleansing. Gays are the reprehensible scheming kidnappers of the defenseless questioning souls. Rachel never stood a chance.

Even the cover art is centered on the backs of the 2 women with a respective male at their side and covertly holding hands behind the men’s backs. Scheming, calculating, and unfeeling- lesbianism is something straight women fall into.

I’m happy there is at least a lesbian film that has a happy ending. But we cannot forget that it took crushing the male protagonist’s heart to get to the happy lesbian resolution. 

10 Points for A Queer Lead Character 

07 Points for Acting 

05 Points for Screenplay
08 Points for Cinematography 

07 Points for Overall Impression
08 Points for Soundtrack
05 Points for Editing
06 Points for Creativity and Originality
06 Points for Direction
06 Points for Judge's Discretion 

68 Points

Post written by Triple Rach

Mala Noche

Rarely do I find a film that I watch over and over again. Mala Noche is one of those films. I first saw this film during my search for a gay love story. Though this didn't meet all of the qualifications I was looking for in a love story, it is nevertheless a brilliant and touching movie. Director Gus Van Sant did a lovely job crafting his first feature film.

Following the story of Walt (Tim Streeter), a gay store clerk as a difficult relationship develops between him and two younger Mexican boys, Johnny (Doug Cooeyate) and Roberto Pepper (Ray Monge). Almost upon meeting them, Walt offers Johnny $15 for sex. When Johnny refuses and locks himself in his hotel room, it is Roberto who Walt eventually moves into his small, dank apartment. The rest of the film is negotiation between these two men.

Based on the autobiographical novel by Oregon poet Walt Curtis, this film is as complicated as it is wonderful. It's a lesson in what can happen with well defined characters and a simple storyline. The relationship between Walt and Pepper is complex. Though there is a large part of you that wants it to stop, Walt continues his obsession for Johnny, ignoring his deep affections for Pepper. With Pepper's on again, off again affection for Walt, it seems, at times, like you're watch children play a game. The audience feels moments of uneasiness as you watch the desperate Walt chase after these young men.

There is something fascinating about the aforementioned desperation exhibited by Walt. You have to wonder why this man naively chases after this young boy. Walt craves Johnny for his youth and his devil take all attitude, though Johnny want's nothing to do with him. This is the reason for the audience's uneasiness, this seemingly perverse pursuit. There seems to be something villainous about Walt. Perhaps it is because of this perversion, this behavior, that the film ends in the way it does.

The film is shot in 16 mm and almost entirely in black or white in his native home of Portland, Oregon. The acting is lovely and powerfully done by everyone in the film. Even the nonspeaking roles are beautifully done.




10 Points for A Queer Lead Character 
10 Points for Acting 
05 Points for Screenplay
07 Points for Cinematography
06 Points for Overall Impression
05 Points for Soundtrack
07 Points for Editing
09 Points for Creativity and Originality
07 Points for Direction
10 Points for Judge's Discretion 

76 Points

Post by Travis LeMont Ballenger

Paris Is Burning

For the first week of the Queer Film Blog, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite queer films. Out of all of the films that defined a generation, Paris Is Burning is top of the list. "O-P-U-L-E-N-C-E Opulence!", exclaims one of the ball judges. How right he is. This documentary by Jennie Livingston gave voice to a group of people that were not allowed to speak before. It is a wonderful example of what art can do when focused in the right place.

This 1990 documentary explores the lives of the Harlem ball scene. In these competitions people "walk" (like on a runway) in different events, such as: 80's business man, evening wear, school girl, etc. The documentary features interviews with prominent figures of the ball community such as Pepper LeBeija, Dorian Corey, Anji Xtravagansa, and Willi Ninja.

In an interview with the director, Livingston states the idea that the piece is about both gender and class. Read the interview, it's interesting. Livingston makes strong points on these transgendered people, but some are a bit difficult to swallow to say the lease. Nevertheless, the documentary transitions smoothly between race and gender conversations. You see the complication of all these issues.

At times, it feels as if you're in a masterclass with some brilliant teachers. Livingston, being very much in the role of student for this film, does an excellent job in making the audience feel that way. "Now, you want to talk about reading? Let's talk about reading" Venus Xtravagansa (of the House of Xtravagansa) says in one of her lessons. She follows up with an example, "What's wrong with you Pedro? You going through some sort of psychological change in your life?" Lesson taught. These terms: reading, house, shade (which comes from reading as Dorian Corey teaches us), etc have become important words of the queer lexicon.

The documentary isn't the best filmed, but the cinematography expresses the energy of the subjects. The technical aspects are amateurish, but have an underground, in the trenches, noble quality about them.

On a personal note, I remember my first time watching the film. It was like learning about a part of myself that I wasn't aware I didn't know. Like learning about how the hair on my head grows. These people felt like part of my anatomy.

10 Points for A Queer Lead Character 
10 Points for Acting 
08 Points for Screenplay 
07 Points for Cinematography
09 Points for Overall Impression
08 Points for Soundtrack
06 Points for Editing
10 Points for Creativity and Originality
07 Points for Direction
10 Points for Judge's Discretion 

85 Points

Post by Travis LeMont Ballenger