THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Second: Yossi & Jagger.

Third: You'll Get Over It, You'll See.

Fourth: Tipping the Velvet. ----------------------------------------

You'll Get Over It, You'll See is an engaging and well-made French film about high school student Vincent (Julien Baumgartner), who in spite of consistently leading the swim team to victory, is shunned by his homophobic classmates when it is discovered that he is gay after being seen with Benjamin (Jeremie Elkaim), another gay student. Although his one-time girlfriend Noemie (Julia Maraval) and best pal Stephane (Francois Comar), remain close to him, Vincent spends little time at school and even abandons swimming practice. At its center, this movie is really about how family (Vincent's parents), friends, instructors (a literature teacher who is also gay and his swim coach), and people who care about and support Victor, rally for him and get him back on track.

The beautifully photographed Italian film, A World Of Love, focuses on a difficult period in the life of gay filmmaker-to-be Pier Paolo Pasolini. When he was 27, in 1949, Pasolini (Arturo Paglia), a writer and teacher who was active in the Communist Party, was accused of committing acts of indecency with three minors. Kicked out of the Party and fired from his job, Pasolini and his mother venture to Rome where her brother, who lives there, offers to help them make a fresh start. While in Rome, Pasolini registers with the (movie) Extras Union, which may have had something to do with his future career in film. Visually intriguing, A World of Love ends rather abruptly with more than a few unanswered questions, which may leave some viewers with a world of confusion.

Supercamp Shorts is a fitting title for the short subjects that are part of this program. 100% Human Hair is a hilarious musical short (with more than half a dozen songs) set in a wig store. The Elevator features fluorescent drag queens the B-Girls (Conchita, Barbie and Kora) on their way to an awards ceremony. Unfortunately, they get stuck in an elevator with little time to spare before winner in the category in which they are nominated is announced. The Rubi Girls is a touching documentary short about Dayton, Ohio, drag troupe founded in the late 1980s. Joshua/Dana, Scott/Jackie, Brent/India, Allen/Esther, Jack/Anita, Mark/Annie and the movie's director Jonathan/Ileasa, provide a visual history of the Rubi Girls, from the 'home shows' of their early days to their current status as a major AIDS fundraising unit. The scene in which some of the Rubi Girls' mothers attend a performance is especially moving.

'Based on events in the life of a friend,' Eden's Curve was directed Anne Misawa (who was an editor for the 2000 queer film Punks). Set in 1972, Eden's Curve is the story of beautiful, but naïve 17-year-old college freshman Peter (Sam Levine), whose first few months away at school are an eye-opening, mind-expanding experience. Roommate Joe (Trevor Lissauer) shares his pot, his girlfriend and even his body with Peter. Mainlining frat house-mate Billy is also jonesing for Peter, as is his sexy poetry professor Ian (Julio Perillan). Sex, drugs and jealousy are the formula and the results are explosive, if a bit unresolved.

Directed by Eytan Fox, Yossi & Jagger sensitively tells the uncommon story of company commander Yossi (Ohad Knoller) and Lior (Yehuda Levi) two Israeli soldiers who conduct a clandestine romance in the macho environment of the Israeli army. Lior, who is nicknamed Jagger because he is like a 'rock star,' is told by one male soldier that he is 'pretty as a girl,' and is also the object of the affections of a female soldier named Yaeli (Aya Steinovitz). Yossi and Lior's interactions are intimate one moment and concealed the next, leading Lior to declare that he no longer wants to be in the closet and is prepared to come out to his family and introduce them to Yossi. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes before Lior has the opportunity. At turns erotic and frightening, Yossi & Jagger is a touching and well-acted movie.

Photographer and filmmaker JEB (Joan E. Biren) is the director of No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon. Martin and Lyon are the two women credited as the 'founders of the modern lesbian civil-rights movement,' and via interviews with the two women who have been together as a couple for almost 50 years, as well as others involved in Daughters of Bilitis and other lesbian organizations, a brief, but fascinating history of lesbian life in 20th Century America is presented.

According to one of the voiceovers at the beginning of the Nancy Kates and Bennet Singer's documentary about the late Bayard Rustin, Brother Outsider, 'Bayard liked to cause trouble. He caused trouble in very banal and everyday ways, and he caused trouble in world historical ways.' Another voiceover declares that the 'modern civil-rights movement wouldn't have won half its victories without Bayard Rustin.' Born in 1912 in West Chester, Penn., Rustin went on to become not only a force in civil rights but also in the realm of the gay and lesbian rights movement, and this excellent documentary presents a much-needed visual record of Rustin's life and achievements. Loaded with interviews and period footage, tracing Rustin's beginnings as a singer in late 1930s Harlem through his fearless work as a non-violent, pacifist and war objector through his interactions with male partners including Davis Platt and Walter Naegle, and ultimately his involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King's causes and, of course, the historic March on Washington, Brother Outsider allows the viewer to feel like an insider until the credits roll.

Quirky queer Canadian comedy Secondary High mixes genres (musical, horror, comedy, high school, romantic) and characters (a Stepford Wife-like mother, the 'jock asshole,' the nice popular girl, the bitchy popular girl, the daydreamer, the stoner, and the drop out, among others) like an out-of-control high school science experiment. Secondary High, which is 'a lot like juvie,' is the setting for most of the multiple story lines which include a trio of queer girls trying to start a band, new kid soft butch Heidi (Alyson Richards) trying to fit in, and crushed-out student Theodora (Catherine Bertin) acting on her attraction to teacher Mr. Coop (Daniel Levesque), to mention just a few.

Closing night feature Blue Citrus Hearts is an ambitious and somewhat experimental independent feature written, directed and produced by Morgan Jon Fox and shot entirely in Memphis, Tenn. Sam (Joshua Peter Laurenzi) is a student at White Station High School. He lives with his mother (Lee Ann Roberts), super macho father (Mark Pergolizzi), and sister, has what seems like typical teenage interests. He wants to learn to play guitar, he likes getting high, he has sex with his girlfriend Arielle (Alex Booth), and he writes in his journal. Classmate and peer Julien (Paul Foster) and his mother (Emily Fry) live nearby, and pretty soon, to the dismay of some. Sam is spending more time with Julien than with Arielle. Sam takes Julien to his secret place and even shares his journal with him. This improvised and scripted film deals primarily with Sam and Julien's burgeoning friendship, and what happens when they discover that they are falling in love with each other. Nontraditional in many ways, Blue Citrus Hearts won't be to everyone's liking, but if you are patient with it, you will find that it grows on you.

Sexy and promiscuous Christian (Wesley A. Ramsey) has his world turned upside down when Mormon missionary Aaron (Steve Sandvoss) moves into his building in Latter Days. When he isn't waiting tables at Lila's, the restaurant owned by Lila (Jacqueline Bisset), he's putting notches on his headboard or hanging out with best friend, singer and fellow waiter Julie (Rebekah Johnson). But his curiosity gets the best of him and after striking up a friendship with Aaron, Christian makes a bet that he can get Aaron into bed. The challenge is easier than Christian expects because Aaron is questioning his sexuality. When the other missionaries with whom he shares a flat, including the homophobic Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt) find Aaron kissing Christian, he is sent back home, where his father, a big-wig in the church, practically disowns him. Even Aaron's mother Gladys (the always amazing Mary Kay Place) doesn't know how to deal with him, leading to a suicide attempt. There is a happy ending, however, which I won't reveal, that did give Latter Days something of a radiant glow.

Tipping The Velvet, is a three-part BBC drama based on lesbian novelist Sarah Waters's award-winning novel of the same name. Set in the late 19th century, Tipping The Velvet (a period phrase for cunnilingus), begins in a seaside town where Nan (Rachael Stirling) lives with her family. Tony (Dean Lennox Kelly), the theatrically employed boyfriend of her sister Alice (Monica Dolan), introduces Nan to Kitty (Keeley Hawes), a performer on whom she has developed a crush. When Kitty leaves for London, Nan accompanies her and they begin a sexual relationship. Kitty breaks Nan's heart when she becomes involved with a man, which leads Nan on an exotic and erotic journey. While working as a cross-dressing streetwalker, she moves into a rooming house across the street of a woman named Florence (Jodhi May), who she suspects is just like her. But one night, when Nan is almost raped, she is discovered and rescued by well-to-do lesbian Diana (Anna Chancellor). Their relationship is extremely dysfunctional, and when it comes to an abrupt end, Nan finds herself homeless. She seeks out Florence, who is living with her brother and the infant son of Florence's former lover, and makes herself indispensable to them. Just as Nan feels like she is home at last, Kitty reappears to complicate things. Who will Nan choose? If you haven't read the book, you will have to watch this period piece to find out the answer.

More reviews in last week's paper, at www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com .

Schedule of Films:

Thursday, Nov. 6 - Latter Days at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue – Nov. 6 (After-Screening Party at High Risk Gallery).

Friday, Nov. 7 - Tipping the Velvet, Parts 1 & 2 at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark Street (Followed by Tipping the Velvet Burlesque Party at Curl Up and Dye.) You'll Get Over It at Landmark. A World of Love at Chicago Filmmakers (CF), 5243 N. Clark. Less Than Human and Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World at CF. Supercamp Shorts at CF.

Sat., Nov. 8 - Robin's Hood at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, We Know What Boys Like (shorts program) at Landmark, Straight Sex and Laughing Matters at Landmark, Dyke Delicious Shorts at Landmark, The Event at Landmark, The Undergrad at Landmark (After-Screening Party at Spin).

A Day on the Force at Chicago Filmmakers, AlternaQueer Shorts at CF. School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas at CF, Pandemic: Facing AIDS at CF, Boys Coming Together (shorts) at CF, Posthumously Yours, The Storage Room, 1000 Cumshots, Phineas Slipped, Hole and Hooked at CF.

Sunday, Nov. 9 - Close to Leo at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, On the Down Low at Landmark, Tipping the Velvet, Part 3 plus animated shorts at Landmark, Kevin's Room: Part 2 – Trust at Landmark, The Moment After and Alma Mater at Landmark, Blind Spot at Landmark.

Mother/Country and I Exist: Voices from the Lesbian and Gay Middle Eastern Community in the U.S. at CF, Inside and All About My Father at CF, Paolo & Francesco and Almost There at CF, Radical Harmonies at CF, Queers in Uniform (shorts program) at CF. Monday, Nov. 10 - Gone, But Not Forgotten at Landmark, L.T.R. and Sex, Politics & Cocktails at Landmark, Little Gold Cowboy and Totally Sexy Loser at Landmark.

Bertha Alyce and No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon at CF.

Butch Mystique, She Wears Cufflinks and Miss Manju Truck Driver at CF.

Tuesday, Nov. 11 - Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin at Landmark, Goldfish Memory at Landmark, Eden's Curve at Landmark. THIS obedience at CF, India Pink (shorts program) at CF

Wed., Nov. 12 - The Gift at Landmark, (Followed by a panel discussion.), Bulgarian Lovers at Landmark. Three Months With Pook and Yossi & Jagger at CF, Secondary High at CF, I Like Dyke Shorts at CF.

Thursday, Nov. 13 - Night Trade, Nina and Kiki & Tiger at Landmark, Closing Night Film: Blue Citrus Hearts at Landmark (Closing Night Party at Hydrate).

Other Cinema events

@ Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E Randolph, (312) 744-6630: The Factory Films: Warhol and Morrissey w/introductions by Steven Watson, author of Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties – Vinyl – 'the Factory version of A Clockwork Orange' w/Gerard Malanga, Edie Sedgwick and others – Nov. 14, Trash, Joe Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn – Nov. 15

@ Lakeshore Theatre, 3175 N Broadway, (773) 472-3492: The Cliffhanger – World premiere screening and benefit for 'unique motion picture collaboration' featuring queer Chicago artists filmmaker Dan Mohr and actress Laura Lonigro - Nov. 17 ----------------------------------------