Letters from Iwo Jima's Shidou Nakamura.________
One might expect that playwright Tony Kushner—renowned not just for his angry, politically charged Angels in America and outspoken AIDS activism—might have the unapologetic wrath of his contemporary, Larry Kramer. But based on the evidence in Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner, the source of his fiery magnificence on the page and in interviews remains a mystery. Though Freida Lee Mock's feature-length documentary about the famously gay writer gives us an insider's view of Kushner's world and excerpts from many of his plays are included as a bonus, it seems to barely scratch the surface of its celebrated subject. Worse for the uninitiated, Angels in America gets short shrift.
The title of the film implies the opposite. The gigantic success and media phenomenon that Angels In America became when it opened on Broadway in 1993 was indeed, one suspects, something for Kushner to 'wrestle with.' But the film starts years after these events—apparently long after Kushner had learned to deal with the instant dual demands of celebrity and gay community spokesman. And though nothing that Kushner has produced since has had even close to the critical or financial success of Angels, the lack of success is not a topic the movie bothers to explore, either.
Instead of Wrestling with Angels, we find that by the time Mock started filming—just after 9/11 when he was workshopping his play about Afghanistan, Homebody/Kabul—Kushner apparently had come to tame whatever demons had plagued him. This Kushner is an easygoing, quick-witted charmer who moves quickly through the streets of Manhattan, the famous battle with his weight having been conquered. And though he is heard to comment, 'I find writing really difficult. You're alone with your own weird mind,' the revised pages seem to pour out as rehearsals progress on the play. When things don't go as well as Kushner had hoped, he quickly moves on to the next project.
Likewise, when the film follows Kushner on a journey home for his father's 80th birthday and segues into his biography, we quickly glide over what made Tony Kushner Tony Kushner. The artistic and intellectual examples of both Kushner's parents are explored and a discussion of their difficulty dealing with his homosexuality follows but, again, not much of the passion that infuses Kushner's work is in evidence. Brecht is cited as an influence ( not surprising ) but this isn't really explored and the writing of Angels could have used a lot more screen time.
Kushner's personal life is also skimmed over: Though we see clips from his commitment ceremony to his partner Mark Harris, there's no detail about the couple's romance or their feelings on gay marriage. One learns more from the brief New York Times announcement of the event ( which occurred in May of 2003 ) and the personalities of Kushner and Harris than is offered in Mock's film. To be fair, this may have been because Harris wasn't comfortable being filmed. ( He's not interviewed in the film. )
The final section of the movie, however, does offer some fascinating moments of the playwright at work on Caroline or Change and the more recent collaboration with Maurice Sendak, Brundibar ( the infamous children's opera that originally premiered at one of the Nazi death camps ) . And we do get tantalizing moments: There's a marvelous, all-too-brief segment in which Kushner, Kramer, McNally and Rudnick—the great gay playwrights—are interviewed by Frank Rich in a roundtable, for example. We also get a persuasive Kushner volunteering in Florida in 2004 for Kerry during the election and, finally, Meryl Streep reading Kushner's prayer for AIDS. The last example is a stunning moment that reminds one of the power of this great man's words but makes one long for more insight into the man himself. The film, which is being shown twice ( Jan. 12 and 16 ) in its Chicago premiere at the Gene Siskel Center is well worth seeing. But those expecting an in-depth look at Kushner's creative process and his importance within the theatrical community and to American culture in general will have to wait for the next go round. See www.siskelfilmcenter.com .
Letters from Iwo Jima is the follow-up of Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers. In Flags, the director examined the manipulation of the public at the end of World War II via the iconic photograph of a group of soldiers hoisting the flag on the tiny Japanese isle. The movie intercuts between the bond drive the soldiers ( a fetching group that includes Ryan Phillippe and Jesse Bradford ) are sent on and the bloody battle still raging back on the island. The movie's point—the easy exploitation of a deeply patriotic and sentimental public by calculating officials versus true but messy heroism—certainly resonates when one considers our current war in Iraq and how we got there.
Letters, which sees the battle from the losing, Japanese point of view, has a very different feel. Desperate to hold off the encroaching, enormous American fleet, everything hinges on their defense of Iwo Jima, yet even before the battle begins, the Japanese know that they have no chance of winning. What ensues in this poetic, haunted film says much about the ultimate futility of war. The powerful result, brutal and beautiful, may be Eastwood's greatest film. Ken Watanabe heads a wonderful cast of Japanese actors. Subtitled.
Film Notes:
Quinceañera, one of my Top Ten GLBT films of 2006, is out on DVD from Sony Pictures. Written and directed by real-life partners Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, the film tackles teen pregnancy, teen homosexuality, homophobia, gentrification and a whole lot more. It's an assured, beautifully observed piece—a Latino-style drama that crackles with energy. The DVD offers a deleted scene, premiere footage, a making-of featurette and an insightful commentary from Westmoreland, Glatzer and cast members.
The cult sensation Sing-A-Long With Buffy arrives in Chicago on Jan. 12 and 13 at the Music Box's Midnight show. Once More With Feeling—a sixth-season, all-musical episode of the series—will be shown accompanied by on-screen alerts cuing audience members to dip into their complimentary goodie bag of props and participate a la other Sing-A-Long hits like The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and, of course, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A 'Buffy-oke' trivia contest and 'Buffy'-related prizes are also part of the event. See www.musicboxtheatre.com .
You can find my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Feedback can be left at the latter Web site.
