Limited runs and special events:
@ Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton, 773/281-4114: Hush! - Gay-themed
Japanese film about a gay couple and their desire to have a child. - Jun. 4 & 5;
Tosca - Film version of Puccini's opera. - Jun. 13-19; The Blue Angel - Studs Terkel
hosts the screening of a new 35mm print of the original full-length version of this
Marlene Dietrich classic. - Jun. 15
In theaters:
The Lawless Heart - The Lawless Heart is a Rashomon-meets-Go-style British film
that was co-written and co-directed by Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger. This
touching and powerful motion picture tells the story, from different perspectives, of
what happens to Nick (Tom Hollander, who previously played gay in Rose Troche's
Bedrooms and Hallways), the surviving male life-partner of Stuart (David Coffey),
after Stuart's death by drowning. The story begins, in each telling, with Stuart's
funeral. As the sad story unfolds, we learn that Stuart didn't leave a will, and while
his sister Judy (Ellie Haddington) believes that Nick is the rightful heir, her husband
Dan (Bill Nighy), doesn't share her feelings. The remaining residents of the seaside
town, including the flaky Charlie (Sukie Smith), Dan's friend Tim (Douglas
Henshall), and the philosophical florist Corinne (Clementine Celarie), all cross
paths, intermingling their lives, further complicating matters. Under Hunter and
Hunsinger's careful direction, the cast brings the pair's genuinely heartfelt words
and characters to life, getting to the heart of the matter at its own sweet pace. (B+)
On TV
Sundance Channel www. Sundancechannel:
'Out Loud: Gay Love Under Fire' series: Aimee and Jaguar and Trembling Before
G-d (see review below) Jun. 7; East Palace, West Palace and Lan Yu (see review
below) Jun. 14; The Brandon Teena Story and Fire Jun. 21; Herr Schmidt and Herr
Friedrich and Princesa Jun. 28
'Out Loud: Are You Musical?' series: La Cage aux Folles - June 6; The Music Lovers
- June 13; The Cockettes - June 20; Up in Arms - June 27
Other film highlights include:
Big Eden (Jour De Fete/Chaiken Films): Even the most jaded viewer can't help but
be charmed by this sweet, gentle, big-hearted story about reluctantly coming home.
Painter Henry Hart (Arye Gross) is summoned to his hometown of Big Eden,
Montana, when his grandfather Sam (George Coe), his only surviving relative, has a
stroke. Much to the dismay of his friend and gallery-owner Mary Margaret (Veanne
Cox), Henry leaves New York just days before his big gallery opening. When he gets
to Big Eden, all sorts of old emotions are dredged up, especially when he learns
that Dean (Tim DeKay), the love of his life, has also returned to Big Eden as a
recently divorced father of two young sons. Meanwhile, very shy general store owner
Pike Dexter (Eric Schweig) has also taken an interest in Henry, complicating things
considerably. For his film debut, writer/director Thomas Bezucha has populated the
fictional town with wacky characters, most of whom appear to be descended from
the same bloodline of folks that populated Cicely, Alaska, in the television series
Northern Exposure. Still, it's a pleasure to watch characters you might assume to be
close-minded and out of touch open their hearts and minds to love in whatever
shape it takes. In addition to the dazzling performances by the lead actors,
supporting performances by Louise Fletcher and Nan Martin, make one feel as if
they spent a couple of hours in paradise. (A) - Jun. 6, 12, 17, 25, 28
Trembling Before G-d (New Yorker Films) - Sandi Simcha BuBowski's documentary
about the inner conflict of being gay or lesbian and trying to maintain one's faith as
an Orthodox or Hasidic Jew is especially compelling at this time in history with our
heightened awareness about religious fanaticism. Many of the interviews in the
documentary, filmed in Brooklyn, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and
Jerusalem, are done in silhouette or with the faces of the subjects obscured.
Among those who speak openly to the camera are an HIV+ man named Mark from
London; a once-married lesbian from Brooklyn named Michelle; Brooklynite Israel,
who has been with his lover Carl for 25 years; and Steve Greenberg, the first openly
gay Orthodox rabbi. The documentary opens with the forbidding quotes from
Leviticus and the Shulchan Aruch (16th century authoritative code of Jewish law), but
it closes with words of hope from a modern-day rabbi who said that 'being gay is an
assignment from God,' and admonished the religious community not to demonize
gay and lesbian Jews, but to love and help them. That, he said, is what Judaism is
all about. (B) - Jun. 7, 11, 23, 29
E Minha Cara (That's My Face) - Gay African-American filmmaker Thomas Allen
Harris captures his personal journey of identity and spirituality on film in this
cinematic journey of self-discovery. Harris, who grew up in the Bronx, got his love of
photography and making movies from his grandfather, a man who had a dream of
going to Africa, the 'mythic homeland.' As a child, Harris lived briefly in Tanzania with
his mother, while she worked in Africa, and then returned to the U.S. in 1976. As an
adult, on a 'one-way track to medical school,' Harris took a detour and went to
Brazil, to 'find what he was looking for,' which, among other things, included the
'African face of Brazil.' (B) - Jun. 9, 14, 17, 30
Lan Yu (Strand Releasing) - With the student protests in Tiananmen Square as the
backdrop, Stanley Kwan's complex and groundbreaking gay love story, Lan Yu, set
in Beijing in the late 1980s is a welcome addition to the growing canon of gay
cinema. Architecture student Lan Yu (Ye Liu) is in need of money having moved to
the big city to go to college. He meets wealthy business man Chen Handong (Jun
Hu), who offers him money in exchange for sex. Four months after their initial
encounter Lan Yu and Handong meet up again while Lan Yu is on winter break, and
they resume their relationship. While Handong struggles with his feelings for Lan
Yu, he lavishes the younger man with gifts, including a car and a villa. Their
relationship survives a few rough spots, including Handong's infidelities and his
eventual marriage to a woman. When Handong finds himself in trouble with the law
because of shady business dealings, it is Lan Yu who comes to his rescue, selling
the care and the house to raise funds for Handong's legal woes. However, just as
the couple is about to settle into a domestic life (which is, surprisingly, accepted by
friends and family), tragedy strikes. The disappointing end aside, Lan Yu is a
revolutionary film that deserves to be seen. (B) - Jun. 14, 18, 24, 30
