The Gymnast ( left and right ) . Broken Sky.____________
Reeling 2006, the annual International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, continues celebrating its 25th anniversary tonight and through this Sunday with a plethora of great GLBT offerings. The closing-night screening, 20 Centimeters, a lively pop musical from Spain, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 at Columbia College's Cinema Row Center, 1104 S. Wabash. An after-party will feature an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and karaoke drag with some of Chicago's 'finest queens and kings.' Those in attendance are encouraged to bring their own CDs ( and drag outfits ) and participate. Tickets are $25 for both film and after-party ( $22 for members of the festival's umbrella organization, Chicago Filmmakers ) .
On Nov. 12, the festival will look back to its original roots with two afternoon screenings at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, that will focus on experimental films and their often queer directors. Later that night, Reeling will cap off its 25th anniversary with a party at Andersonville's Brown Elephant Resale store, 5404 N. Clark. For the event, which will again feature an open bar and hors d'oeuvres, the space will be turned into a gallery featuring experimental film, video and live performances focusing on vintage and new queer avant-garde films. Tickets are $20 for both film and after-party ( $18 for members of Chicago Filmmakers ) .
The second week of Reeling again offers a terrific assortment of GLBT themed works—narrative features, documentaries and the aforementioned experimental films. Screenings are being held at Landmark Century Cinema, Film Row Cinema at Columbia College and Chicago Filmmakers. Complete festival information is at www.reelingfilmfest.org .
Here are some thoughts on a few of the upcoming films:
Wednesday, Nov. 8
Whole New Thing
Thirteen year-old Emerson ( Aaron Webber ) is the precocious, home-schooled son of two free-thinking parents in Nova Scotia. As the film opens, the trio is seen lounging nude in the sauna and the intellectual Emerson brings this anything-goes attitude with him when his parents decide to enroll him in high school to help develop his social skills. What Emerson develops instead is a big-time crush on Don, his English teacher, who is all-too-glad to take Emerson's suggestion to ditch the required text in favor of Shakespeare. Complications ensue when Emerson, whose hormones are raging, decides that nothing is going to stop his pursuit of a physical encounter with Don. This provocative coming-of-age scenario is helped by its thoughtful, unsensational approach, sharply-observed writing and nuanced directing by first-time feature director Amnon Buchbinder. Webber's Emerson seems to be a benign combination of Thora Birch's misunderstood and contemptuous goth in Ghost World and Jason Schwartzman's devilishly clever Max Fischer in Rushmore. The movie played as part of last summer's mini Reeling Fest and is a rewarding, gentle comedy.
Derek Jarman: My Life As Art
This documentary on the late British queer filmmaker ( Edward II, Caravaggio ) and AIDS activist Derek Jarman is interesting but ultimately a disappointment. Though Tilda Swinton, Jarman's muse, and others talk of Jarman's cinematic genius and canny eye, we only see the briefest of film clips—something desperately needed to fill in the missing gaps of a man who had such an impact on such a visual medium.
Thursday, Nov. 9
Broken Sky
Ah, to be young and in lust! Youthful passion. Sex scenes set to the cello and harpsichord. Longing glances and tender kisses. A minimum of dialogue. A maximum of come-hither looks. It's all here but then, while college student Gerardo is out of town, his lover Jonas can't resist a one-night fling that, upon Gerardo's return, threatens to spoil their Great Romance. The title card comes about 30 minutes in—when the idyll is broken and the deep sighs and winter of regret takes hold. If the king of doom and gloom, Ingmar Bergman, ever made a gay film, this would be it. From Mexico.
Friday, Nov. 10
The Gymnast
Who will June fall for? Nicole, her luscious gymnastic instructor? Serena, her sensual fellow student? Or Denise, her rich, seen-it-all, done-it-all friend? The only real stumbling block in this story of a woman awakening to her lesbian sexuality seems to be the stick-in-the-mud husband—who doesn't understand that June doesn't want to have a baby; she just wants to try out some more of those Cirque de Soleil moves high overhead with her new chickie baby. Dreya Weber, a former gymnast, stars and produced this sensual but rather chaste and by-the-numbers love story. But the aerial acrobatics are nifty and any movie that features Jane Sibbery's Taxi Ride scores points with me.
Saturday, Nov. 11
The Fall of '55
In Boise, Idaho that year, 16 men were arrested over a 2-1/2 month period in what turned out to be a witch hunt for closeted, 'respectable' men who were having ( and sometimes paying for ) sex with teenage trade. The antiseptic town was zealous in its determination to punish the offenders who had dared to sully its stainless reputation ( and the private parts of their angelic youth ) , and the scandal ruined the lives of many of the men arrested. Only one of those arrested got off without lengthy jail time on the charges of infamous crimes against nature.' This compelling story, from filmmaker Seth Randal, is hampered by a cheesy music score, bland narration and bloated length. ( Its two-hour running time could easily be halved. ) It would make a great fictional item, however—a gay '50s version of the Salem Witch trials.
20 Centimeters
That's the length of Marieta's penis, which converts to about 8 inches—before erection. This highly prized piece of equipment, however, is the bane of the transgender's existence. As she works the streets of Madrid— interacting with her lively neighbors, vegetable vendor, and roommates ( who include a dwarf who wants to play the cello ) —Marieta's happy-go-lucky life is interrupted each time she's struck with a fit of narcolepsy. While she's out, the audience is treated to delightful production numbers in which Marieta offers musical commentary ( a la Yentl ) on her life. Everything changes when Tomas, the hot stock boy, falls—not so much for Marieta, but for those 20 centimeters and what they can do. This delightfully wacky, sexy film is like Almodóvar with songs. There's even a welcome cameo by Rossy De Palama—the human Modigliani—as a prostitute named Ice Box.
