Limited runs and special events:
@ Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton, 773/281-4114: Hush! – Gay-themed Japanese film about a gay couple and their desire to have a child. – Jun. 4 & 5; Tosca – Film version of Puccini’s opera. – Jun. 13-19; The Blue Angel – Studs Terkel hosts the screening of a new 35mm print of the original full-length version of this Marlene Dietrich classic. – Jun. 15
In theaters:
The Lawless Heart – The Lawless Heart is a Rashomon-meets-Go-style British film that was co-written and co-directed by Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger. This touching and powerful motion picture tells the story, from different perspectives, of what happens to Nick (Tom Hollander, who previously played gay in Rose Troche’s Bedrooms and Hallways), the surviving male life-partner of Stuart (David Coffey), after Stuart’s death by drowning. The story begins, in each telling, with Stuart’s funeral. As the sad story unfolds, we learn that Stuart didn’t leave a will, and while his sister Judy (Ellie Haddington) believes that Nick is the rightful heir, her husband Dan (Bill Nighy), doesn’t share her feelings. The remaining residents of the seaside town, including the flaky Charlie (Sukie Smith), Dan’s friend Tim (Douglas Henshall), and the philosophical florist Corinne (Clementine Celarie), all cross paths, intermingling their lives, further complicating matters. Under Hunter and Hunsinger’s careful direction, the cast brings the pair’s genuinely heartfelt words and characters to life, getting to the heart of the matter at its own sweet pace. (B+)
On TV
Sundance Channel www. Sundancechannel:
‘Out Loud: Gay Love Under Fire’ series: Aimee and Jaguar and Trembling Before G-d (see review below) Jun. 7; East Palace, West Palace and Lan Yu (see review below) Jun. 14; The Brandon Teena Story and Fire Jun. 21; Herr Schmidt and Herr Friedrich and Princesa Jun. 28
‘Out Loud: Are You Musical?’ series: La Cage aux Folles – June 6; The Music Lovers – June 13; The Cockettes – June 20; Up in Arms – June 27
Other film highlights include:
Big Eden (Jour De Fete/Chaiken Films): Even the most jaded viewer can’t help but be charmed by this sweet, gentle, big-hearted story about reluctantly coming home. Painter Henry Hart (Arye Gross) is summoned to his hometown of Big Eden, Montana, when his grandfather Sam (George Coe), his only surviving relative, has a stroke. Much to the dismay of his friend and gallery-owner Mary Margaret (Veanne Cox), Henry leaves New York just days before his big gallery opening. When he gets to Big Eden, all sorts of old emotions are dredged up, especially when he learns that Dean (Tim DeKay), the love of his life, has also returned to Big Eden as a recently divorced father of two young sons. Meanwhile, very shy general store owner Pike Dexter (Eric Schweig) has also taken an interest in Henry, complicating things considerably. For his film debut, writer/director Thomas Bezucha has populated the fictional town with wacky characters, most of whom appear to be descended from the same bloodline of folks that populated Cicely, Alaska, in the television series Northern Exposure. Still, it’s a pleasure to watch characters you might assume to be close-minded and out of touch open their hearts and minds to love in whatever shape it takes. In addition to the dazzling performances by the lead actors, supporting performances by Louise Fletcher and Nan Martin, make one feel as if they spent a couple of hours in paradise. (A) – Jun. 6, 12, 17, 25, 28
Trembling Before G-d (New Yorker Films) – Sandi Simcha BuBowski’s documentary about the inner conflict of being gay or lesbian and trying to maintain one’s faith as an Orthodox or Hasidic Jew is especially compelling at this time in history with our heightened awareness about religious fanaticism. Many of the interviews in the documentary, filmed in Brooklyn, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and Jerusalem, are done in silhouette or with the faces of the subjects obscured. Among those who speak openly to the camera are an HIV+ man named Mark from London; a once-married lesbian from Brooklyn named Michelle; Brooklynite Israel, who has been with his lover Carl for 25 years; and Steve Greenberg, the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi. The documentary opens with the forbidding quotes from Leviticus and the Shulchan Aruch (16th century authoritative code of Jewish law), but it closes with words of hope from a modern-day rabbi who said that ‘being gay is an assignment from God,’ and admonished the religious community not to demonize gay and lesbian Jews, but to love and help them. That, he said, is what Judaism is all about. (B) – Jun. 7, 11, 23, 29
E Minha Cara (That’s My Face) – Gay African-American filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris captures his personal journey of identity and spirituality on film in this cinematic journey of self-discovery. Harris, who grew up in the Bronx, got his love of photography and making movies from his grandfather, a man who had a dream of going to Africa, the ‘mythic homeland.’ As a child, Harris lived briefly in Tanzania with his mother, while she worked in Africa, and then returned to the U.S. in 1976. As an adult, on a ‘one-way track to medical school,’ Harris took a detour and went to Brazil, to ‘find what he was looking for,’ which, among other things, included the ‘African face of Brazil.’ (B) – Jun. 9, 14, 17, 30
Lan Yu (Strand Releasing) – With the student protests in Tiananmen Square as the backdrop, Stanley Kwan’s complex and groundbreaking gay love story, Lan Yu, set in Beijing in the late 1980s is a welcome addition to the growing canon of gay cinema. Architecture student Lan Yu (Ye Liu) is in need of money having moved to the big city to go to college. He meets wealthy business man Chen Handong (Jun Hu), who offers him money in exchange for sex. Four months after their initial encounter Lan Yu and Handong meet up again while Lan Yu is on winter break, and they resume their relationship. While Handong struggles with his feelings for Lan Yu, he lavishes the younger man with gifts, including a car and a villa. Their relationship survives a few rough spots, including Handong’s infidelities and his eventual marriage to a woman. When Handong finds himself in trouble with the law because of shady business dealings, it is Lan Yu who comes to his rescue, selling the care and the house to raise funds for Handong’s legal woes. However, just as the couple is about to settle into a domestic life (which is, surprisingly, accepted by friends and family), tragedy strikes. The disappointing end aside, Lan Yu is a revolutionary film that deserves to be seen. (B) – Jun. 14, 18, 24, 30