At Inside Out 2012, Toronto’s LGBT Film Festival, I struck up a conversation with a woman – about lesbian scenes, no less. As tantalizing as the premise sounds, she eventually digressed into a rather scholarly discussion about how most of these scenes are sensationalized, how they objectify women, how unrealistic they are, and, of course, …
Margarita Directed by Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert Written by Margaret Webb and Laurie Colbert Canada, 2012 In the Canadian dramatic comedy, Margarita, the titular character (Nicola Correia-Damude) is a Mexican maid, illegally working in Canada for a posh couple, Ben and Gail (Patrick McKenna, Claire Lautier) and their tenacious teenage daughter, Mali (Maya Ritter). …
Melting Away Written and directed by Doron Eran Israel, 2011 It’s rare to see something you’ve never seen before, and even rarer to see something that you categorically have. Doron Eran’s Melting Away, a story about a family rocked by cancer and transexualism, falls into the class of the latter. Schmaltzy, saccharine, and emotionally manipulative, …
Beauty Written and directed by Oliver Hermanus France/South Africa, 2011 From across the room, François (Deon Lotz) witnesses a paragon of unequivocal beauty. With a painstaking allure and an irresistible smile, François is immediately, and unmistakably, enamored beyond all control. To him, this is love at first sight. Already married, François approaches his extramarital muse …
Bye Bye Blondie Written and directed by Virginie Despentes France, 2011 Perhaps a paean to the 1960 stage musical and its 1963 film adaptation, Bye Bye Birdie, Virginie Despentes’ Bye Bye Blondie tries to be the social satire its American counterpart was. But with a protagonist suffused with libertine barbarism and a narrative of moral …
Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean Written and directed by Matthew Mishory USA, 2012 Let’s posit a hypothetical – what if the iconic James Dean was gay? Well, let’s answer one hypothetical question with another – what if Fellini made a Dolce & Gabbana commercial instead of La Dolce Vita? What does one …
Woman’s Lake Written and directed by Zoltan Paul Germany, 2012 It’s quite a simple rule of thumb – people in glass houses shouldn’t have affairs. Set in the charmingly quaint hinterlands of Germany, this is exactly what happens to a pair of lesbian couples in Zoltan Paul’s Woman’s Lake, but as compelling as the premise …
The Mountain Written and Directed by Ole Giæver Norway, 2011 On the snow-covered precipice of a Norwegian mountain, Solveig (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Nora (Marte Magnusdotter Solem) are parlously exposed – not to the elements themselves, but to each other. Full of emotion, angst, and reticence, Ole Giæver’s The Mountain is a spellbinding meditation about …
Speechless Written and Directed by Simon Chung Hong Kong/China, 2012 If a picture’s worth a thousand words, than what can you say about a picture named Speechless. Devoid of meaningful dialogue and any excuse for doing so, the protagonist in Simon Chung’ Speechless adheres to a gimmick that never fully surpasses its novelty. The protagonist …
She Monkeys Directed by Lisa Aschan Written by Lisa Aschan and Josefine Adolfsson Sweden, 2011 Oscar Levant once said, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity”. Perhaps Levant was a genius (or perhaps he was insane), but the truth within his aphorism is both pithy and well documented. In cinema, the most notable auteurs …
Kiss Me Written and directed by Alexandra-Therese Keining Sweden, 2011 Like in Mulholland Drive, the first intimate encounter between the two female leads is delicately depicted. Perfuse with undeniable eroticism and composed with such seductive elegance, this moment is mediated on absolute and instinctive passion. Framed amongst the forbidden circumstances of their carnal convergence, the …
Facing Mirrors Directed by Negar Azarbayjani Written by Negar Azarbayjani and Fereshteh Taerpoor Iran, 2011 For time immemorial, Iran has been synonymous for many things – most of them pejorative, none of which has to do with cinema. However, Iran’s cinematic reputation has reached a prestige that was hitherto unprecedented in 2011, with films like …
Keep the Lights On Directed by Ira Sachs Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias USA, 2012 Keep the Lights On tells the story of Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt), a gay Danish documentary filmmaker living in late 90’s New York City. While not filming, Erik likes to patron the city’s phone-sex lines, soliciting no-strings-attached one-night …
Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together Written and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton USA, 2011 It’s long been said that men and women can’t be ‘just friends’. In many Hollywood films (When Harry Met Sally, Friends With Benefits, Friends With Kids, ad infinitum) this axiom becomes a pursuant theme, which they always, and invariably, succumb …
Stud Life Written and directed by Campbell X UK, 2012 Written and directed by Campbell X, Stud Life tells the story of JJ (T’Nia Miller), a butch lesbian with ample swagger and confidence. Living with her flamboyant gay best friend and assistant wedding photographer, Seb (Kyle Treslove), JJ looks for the perfect woman. When she …
Mosquita Y Mari Written and directed by Aurora Guerrero USA, 2011 What can you say about teenagers? Ask a parent and they’ll likely say they haven’t a clue. Ask a teenager and they’ll likely say the same. Understanding them is a dissertation of its own and very few filmmakers have ever shown an adequate propensity …
My Best Day Written and directed by Erin Greenwell USA, 2012 At one point in the film, Karen (Rachel Style) says that, “I’m sick of all the bullshit streaming out of everyone’s mouth. Including my own”. Out of all the ornate, haphazard, and abject silliness that happens in Erin Greenwell’s My Best Day, this statement is …
North Sea, Texas Directed by Bavo Defurne Written by Bavo Defurne and Yves Verbraeken Belgium, 2011 A wistful mother and her seventeen-year-old son take in a gypsy traveler as a house patron. After a slew of ceremonious courtesies, the mother and her son pit themselves against each other, in hopes of seducing the same man. …
Cherry Directed by Stephen Elliott Written by Stephen Elliott and Lorelei Lee USA, 2012 For adult entertainers working in the San Fernando Valley, a transition into the business of tinsel town has proven to be fruitless. For an industry that doesn’t require much acting, and even less writing, porn stars, like Sasha Grey in The …
Hit So Hard Directed by P. David Ebersole USA, 2011 Among the many accreditations that Courtney Love and her rock band Hole have garnered, the one she’s most proud of is the recognition for having a female drummer – a lesbian drummer, to be pedantic. A rarity in the music industry heretofore, Patty Schemel is …
My Brother the Devil Written and directed by Sally El Hosaini UK, 2011 Although from East London, fourteen-year-old Mo (Fady Elsayed) and his older brother Rashid (James Floyd) speak an entirely different language. On the treacherous streets of Hackney, England, gang members are endeared with familial names, with people often calling each other ‘fam’ or …
Bullhead Written and Directed by Michael R. Roskam Belgium, 2011 In French, it translates to, “me parlez-vous?” In Dutch, it’s “spreekt u aan me?” Set in Belgium, with dialogue in Dutch and French, Michael R. Roskam’s Bullhead is a taut, uncompromising character study and organized crime thriller that masterfully translates Scorsese’s magnum opus quote, ‘are …
Cloudburst Written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald Canada, 2011 The story of a gay couple battling against social stigma has become an old, tired genre, so it’s only appropriate that in Thom Fitzgerald’s lesbian road trip film, Cloudburst, the two leading ladies share a combined age of about 140. Although it’s initially humorous and deeply …