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queer movies
Oct. 19th, 2011 03:13 amEdie and Thea
This is a documentary about two older lesbians. After being together for 41 years, they decide to get married in Canada in 2007. The story focuses on their romantic relationship, how they met and fell in love, how their love has lasted, how compatible they are. Thea was diagnosed with MS and they talk about that somewhat-- how she manages being disabled etc. The film touches only briefly on politics, their jobs, and their families. No other people are interviewed for the film. Mostly I thought this story was boring, perhaps because I'm just not that interested in pure love stories-- I want there to be something else going on in addition. This film also fits into a certain HRC-style narrative of well-off, monogamous, white lesbians in search of marriage equality, and there is part of me that is a bit cynical about that narrative in that it is fairly mainstream, exclusive and palatable. Another part of me was glad to see a story about happy gay people who lived through an earlier time than me, and the inclusion of a disability narrative. Mostly I don't recommend this movie because boring.
Christopher and his Kind starring Matt Smith
This is based on the memoir of novelist Christopher Isherwood and his time spent in Berlin in the early 1930s. He goes there from England in search of adventure and a liberated gay culture, which he finds. He has a series of casual relationships before finding a somewhat serious boyfriend, whom he later tries to take to England as the Nazis rise to power. I especially enjoyed the unabashed sexuality in this movie, the lively characters, and the wonderful clothes. Despite the dire situation in Berlin, the movie keeps a fairly hopeful tone. I would rate it "pretty good". There are a few violent scenes.
Handsome Harry
I just watched this tonight in a bout of insomnia-induced bad judgement. It's the story of a Vietnam Vet who is confronting a demon of his past: a gay bashing that he was involved in while in the Navy. Guess what, Harry's also gay! There is something to be said for stories exploring reconciliation, forgiveness, etc; and to be honest the acting and production were good; but this was both slow and depressing. Not recommended.
Rag Tag English; streaming on Netflix; This movie is closed captioned!
I LOVED this indie film about two young black men in London. Tag (Tagbo) has just earned his law degree and is looking for a job. His old best friend, Rag (Raymond) shows up at his door after being gone for 10 years. The two men pick up where they left off, hanging out in the neighborhood. There is a lot going on in this movie in regards to race, class, and sexuality. Tag's family is from Nigeria, and in the middle of the movie the men go on a trip to Nigeria as part of some shady deal that I did not quite understand. While it's clear from the beginning that Rag and Tag love each other a great deal, their relationship takes a long time to really develop, and they each have to take care of obstacles in the way, such as not being honest with each other, not having money or jobs, and dealing with their families. All of this gets resolved by the end and there is a happy ending! Highly recommended.
This is a documentary about two older lesbians. After being together for 41 years, they decide to get married in Canada in 2007. The story focuses on their romantic relationship, how they met and fell in love, how their love has lasted, how compatible they are. Thea was diagnosed with MS and they talk about that somewhat-- how she manages being disabled etc. The film touches only briefly on politics, their jobs, and their families. No other people are interviewed for the film. Mostly I thought this story was boring, perhaps because I'm just not that interested in pure love stories-- I want there to be something else going on in addition. This film also fits into a certain HRC-style narrative of well-off, monogamous, white lesbians in search of marriage equality, and there is part of me that is a bit cynical about that narrative in that it is fairly mainstream, exclusive and palatable. Another part of me was glad to see a story about happy gay people who lived through an earlier time than me, and the inclusion of a disability narrative. Mostly I don't recommend this movie because boring.
Christopher and his Kind starring Matt Smith
This is based on the memoir of novelist Christopher Isherwood and his time spent in Berlin in the early 1930s. He goes there from England in search of adventure and a liberated gay culture, which he finds. He has a series of casual relationships before finding a somewhat serious boyfriend, whom he later tries to take to England as the Nazis rise to power. I especially enjoyed the unabashed sexuality in this movie, the lively characters, and the wonderful clothes. Despite the dire situation in Berlin, the movie keeps a fairly hopeful tone. I would rate it "pretty good". There are a few violent scenes.
Handsome Harry
I just watched this tonight in a bout of insomnia-induced bad judgement. It's the story of a Vietnam Vet who is confronting a demon of his past: a gay bashing that he was involved in while in the Navy. Guess what, Harry's also gay! There is something to be said for stories exploring reconciliation, forgiveness, etc; and to be honest the acting and production were good; but this was both slow and depressing. Not recommended.
Rag Tag English; streaming on Netflix; This movie is closed captioned!
I LOVED this indie film about two young black men in London. Tag (Tagbo) has just earned his law degree and is looking for a job. His old best friend, Rag (Raymond) shows up at his door after being gone for 10 years. The two men pick up where they left off, hanging out in the neighborhood. There is a lot going on in this movie in regards to race, class, and sexuality. Tag's family is from Nigeria, and in the middle of the movie the men go on a trip to Nigeria as part of some shady deal that I did not quite understand. While it's clear from the beginning that Rag and Tag love each other a great deal, their relationship takes a long time to really develop, and they each have to take care of obstacles in the way, such as not being honest with each other, not having money or jobs, and dealing with their families. All of this gets resolved by the end and there is a happy ending! Highly recommended.
