Spring Awakening

Volume 1, Number 35 | The Weekly Newspaper of Chelsea | May 18 - 24, 2007

Chelsea: arts&lifestyles

Spring Awakening
NewFest 2007 adds religion and family values to its diverse fare

BY Gary M. Kramer

Seeing all kinds of queer sexuality — and all kinds of queer sex — on screen is one of the benefits of a LGBT film festival, and this year’s NewFest offers plenty of both. Unspooling over 200 films between May 31 and June 10, the program opens with Duncan Roy’s adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and closes with “Save Me,” Robert Cary’s film about an addict trying to cure himself in a Christian ministry.

For fans of the gay sex comedy, “A Four Letter Word” will be a hot ticket. Casper Andreas’ quasi-sequel to “Slutty Summer,” co-written by the inimitable Jesse Archer, features a handful of neurotic New Yorkers, gay, straight, and in-between, struggling with their various compulsions and relationships. Andreas and Archer include some great throwaway lines and a campy drag party, but despite a nice heartfelt moment between Luke and Marilyn (Virginia Bryant), the film works better as a comedy than a drama.

Case in point — the amusing banter between the sexually compulsive Luke and his politicized co-worker Zeke (scene-stealer Cory Grant) is more enjoyable than the dramatic tension regarding the possibility of gay cliché Luke ending up with the mysterious, sexy Stephen (Charlie David). And while Archer sashays his way through the whole film, David displays his body and his ability to play a role in marked contrast to his “Dante’s Cove” character. He took a moment out of shooting his Here! TV series to talk about his work on “A Four Letter Word” and the character he plays.

“In ‘Dante’s Cove,’ I’m the voice of reason — the good guy, the supportive boyfriend — it may be closer to me in real life, but it’s fun to delve into the dark side,” said David. “Stephen is a bit of a trickster and he has his games going… [He] does things that I personally would never do in real life.”

For what that entails, see the film.

Another flick to keep an eye out for is Robert Gaston’s stylish contemporary thriller “2 Minutes Later,” set and shot in Philadelphia. Lesbian detective Abigail Marks (Jessica Graham) helps Michael Dalmar (Michael Molina) track down his missing twin brother Kyle, a photographer, using a portfolio of erotic photographs. Gaston’s enjoyably naughty film features a series of tableau involving models in various stages of undress. As the investigators track down the sexy people who posed for the missing man, both Abigail and Kyle have to participate in some steamy trysts in the process. [Full disclosure — the reviewer is credited as a co-producer on this film.]

Gaston chatted about why he made Kyle an erotic photographer and why skin plays such a prominent part of his film.

“It would certainly be more interesting to have him photograph people, rather than plants,” he said. “I’m still perhaps a bit rebellious. I feel like there is a bit of a hang up in this country regarding the penis in films, and that it’s taboo. I think that’s silly, so, unconsciously perhaps, I push the boundary too far in incorporating [the penis] in the projects that I make. But I don’t think that’s any big deal.”

There is plenty of skin on display in Ed Aldridge’s “Tan Lines,” an ingratiating import from Australia about Midget (Jack Baxter) a teenager trying to be comfortable in his own bronzed body. A surfer/skateboarder who falls hard for Cass (Daniel O’Leary) a hunky gay guy returning home after a four-year absence, Midget keeps their hot and heavy relationship on the down low as he slowly accepts his homosexuality. Low-budget and low-key, “Tan Lines” is strictly low rent in terms of acting, writing, and direction, but it has its charms.

Another hot queer teen entry is “Glue: A teenage story in the middle of nowhere.” Writer/director Alexis Dos Santos adroitly captures life at 16 in a remote area of Argentina where bored and horny Lucas (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) experiments with sex and sniffing the title substance with his hunky best friend, Nacho (Nahuel Viale). Dos Santos uses dizzying handheld camerawork to reflect on the desolation of the characters and the barren landscape — and perhaps to mask an emptiness in his script — but the intimacy of this visual texture distinguishes this worthwhile film.

Dos Santos also creates a tactile emotional space — the nexus of heartache, loneliness, and punk attitude — with utter realism (and music by the Violent Femmes). If all the expected adolescent angst and pain is on display, “Glue” features an erotic threesome of Lucas and Nacho and their friend Andrea (Ines Efron) that is not generally found in many teen coming-of-age films.

Dos Santos spoke about the semi-autobiographical “Glue,” explaining, “I wanted this film to portray something I had not seen before — the intensity of sexual experiences you can have between 14-16. I remember when I was 13, the amount of things that happened in one year was incredible, and these things made me, shaped me into who I am.”

Fluid sexuality is also part and parcel of “L’homme de sa vie/The Man of My Life,” a visually breathtaking and emotionally heartfelt story about the straight and married Frédéric (Bernard Campan) intrigued by a friendship he strikes up with his gay neighbor Hugo (Charles Berling). Well acted — watch Berling’s expressive face closely — but overlong, writer director Zabou Breitman explores the true nature of love and human relationships with remarkable acuity. The story unfolds as an extended overnight conversation between the two men. If a few storylines are underdeveloped — the assault of a minor character, for example — there are plenty of images that dazzle, such as one of a Hugo’s cute nude trick, as seen from below.

“Amnesia — The James Brighton Enigma” is a modest Canadian drama about the real-life man who wakes up naked in the street after a violent attack. He has lost his memory and can only recall that he is gay. Director Denis Langlois (“Danny in the Sky”) coaxes a convincing performance out of Dusan Ducik in the lead role. The piecing together of “James’” story is intriguing, and if the first two thirds of this film are slow going, there is a worthwhile payoff.

Gay filmmaker Eytan Fox’s “Walk on Water” managed to make a great film out of an improbable plot, but his latest effort “The Bubble” is more ambitious than good.

A gay romance between an Israeli and a Palestinian, Noam (Ohad Knoller) and Ashraf (Yousef Sweid) soon discover that despite the hot sex, their relationship is doomed — for all the expected reasons (family, nationality, sexuality).

Noam’s roommates also have relationship troubles. Yalli (Alon Friedman), is an effeminate gay guy whose relationship with his butch boyfriend is played for cheap laughs, while Lulu (Daniela Virtzer), a straight girl, can’t seem to find the right guy in Tel Aviv. Fox tries to make the political personal, and in the process incorporates too many issues — terrorism, anti-Arab sentiments, Israeli pride — with only few of them working.

The melodramatic twists are strained, and the ending rings particularly false. The film practically chokes on its good intentions. In its favor, “The Bubble” features an attractive cast, but overall, it’s a big disappointment.

Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold’s “One to Another,” gets an encore presentation here prior to its late June theatrical release. (It played at the Rendezvous with French Cinema fest in March.) An extraordinary film, “One to Another” concerns Pierre (Arthur Dupont) a hunky bisexual teenager whose murder drives his infatuated sister Lucie (Lizzie Brocheré) to great lengths to find out whodunit.

Highly eroticized — the gorgeous cast of characters are frequently nude and often behaving inappropriately. As the case builds, clues are dropped for viewers — and the ending still turns out to be a bit of a surprise. Don’t miss it.