Reviews

I'm really surprised by the knee-jerk reaction that would see a film with a single negative gay character as being homophobic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mother's reaction is key here. She doesn't object to her son's gayness -- simply that he's hanging out with a sleazebucket. Would that we were all blessed with such a mother.

But this takes us a bit afield from the film itself -- a truly novel remake of Max Ophuls' "The Reckless Moment" (1949), which starred Joan Bennett and James Mason. In that version it was a daughter (Geraldine Brooks) who had fallen for a gangster who is accidentally killed. Filmmakers Scott McGehee and David Siegel (who are both gay, and very cute, but not a couple) changed it to a gay son to increase the tension vis-a-vis the unseen father. Mother can handle this. Dad couldn't possibly. As a whole it's a 21-gun salute to the power of "ordinary" women in getting through the (often extremely perilous) business of living. It's quite unlike anything the great Tilda Swinton has ever done before. And in the role of the blackmailer who turns from being the heroine's foe to her friend, Goran Visnjic shows himself to be a major star in the making. Made for only $3 million (that wouldn't have covered the coffee allocation on "Pearl Harbor") this is one of the best-looking films I've seen in years. Tilda Swinton is given the sort of full-blooded role people decide to become actors for -- but rarely get. She takes it to the limit. Even a bit beyond.

Not to be missed under any circumstances.

And take your Mom.

A giant custard pie smack in the kisser of anyone who has ever claimed "but I'm really bisexual," when that's not the case at all "La Confusion des Genres" is miles ahead of the formulaic likes of "Le Placard" when it comes to making a comedy about gay life today. As he's shown in films as diverse as "Pauline at the Beach" and "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train," Pascal Greggory is a master of guilty sexual sneakiness. Worth seeing for the wedding scene alone.

There are good films, great films, and just plain enjoyable films. But for me "La Dolce Vita" belongs in that very special class of cinematic experience that I don't merely wish to be "around" but be "in". I was in high school when it was first released in the U.S. as a "roadshow" item at the Henry Miller's Theater in New York -- then a "legit" house that featured only live plays and musicals. It was clear from the very beginning (the arrival of the statue of Christ by helicopter) that "La Dolce Vita" was a film unlike any other. It ended neo-realism, made Fellini a star -- and made film directors as a class stars, not just "names" like Hitchcock and DeMille. It's vision of a world run by publicity and "scandal" is more timely today than ever. And it's as hard-edged as any of the films to which it should be appropriately compared: "His Girl Friday," "The Half-Naked Truth," "Ace in the Hole," and "Sweet Smell of Success." There are so many memorable scenes it's hard to pick and choose, but my favorite is the Bassano di Sutri sequence with Nico among the aristocrats. This isn't an easy film. It requires historical perspective to properly appreciate it. And considerably knowledge of the period in which its set. But one must get one's education somehow. And "La Dolce Vita" is the best place to start.

Saw this film last night and just can't get over it. Ducastel and Martineau are the best thing to happen to French cinema in years. They have a wonderful way of treating Big Deal issues without any sense of heavy-handedness. As a result they've made a film about AIDS, racism, same-sexuality, and coming to grips with the ups and downs of life that's both optimistic and realistic. Sami Bouajila is a genuine find, and the great 50's era singing star Patachou gives an incredible performance as his "Grandmother." I'm still walking on air over this one.

I saw it three times in a theater, and on DVD far too many times to count. I can't recall a film that has touched me so deeply. Maybe it's the way it encapsulated every funeral I've been to over the past ten years (and believe me, there have been a lot of them.) Maybe it's the way it reflected gay life as I've known it -- which is not one in which the imitation-straight couple rules (as in that pathetic HRC March on Washington), but rather consists of a complex network of friends and lovers. Just as Chereau's "L'Homme Blesse" captured coming out as I experienced it, so does this film deal with middle-age, loss, and regret. Part of what makes it so exceptional is that Chereau refuses to privilege straights in the narrative. For once THEY are the ones who have to explain themselves. Gayness is a given. It's hard to speak of "big scenes" in a film that gives you one after another. But the one in which the mourners watch the coffin go by in a car as Jeff Buckley's "The Last Goodbye" plays on the soundtrack has got to be one of the finest of modern cinema. And the finale, where Francois (Pascal Greggory) says goodbye to everyone without saying a word breaks my heart every time.