Mainstream cinema is feeding filmgoers crumbs this week—at best—with the release of the crude, hyperviolent nerd comic-book hero fantasy Kick-Ass which offers fleeting moments of laughs and action, along with an 11-year-old girl (played by a 13-year-old) who spouts the “C-word” and lots of other profanity while killing a bevy of bad guys as creepy papa Nicolas Cage cheers her on—until she’s finally beaten to a pulp by an adult male—all to the delight of like-minded nerd teen audience members (and their ilk). It’s hard to imagine anyone else cottoning to this junk that sets the bar for movie violence at a new all-time low.
The other major opening is a remake of the feeble British comedy Death at a Funeral, which has been reshaped as a vehicle for Chris Rock, although the film’s awfully unfunny, supposedly “hilarious” reveal—that the late patriarch of the family was having a gay affair with a midget, once again played by Peter Dinklage—is virtually unchanged from the original.
In other words, this is a great week to go beyond the multiplex and seek out something a little more satisfying. For both fans of foreign films and queer cinema, the opening week of the Chicago Latino Film Festival offers a terrific line-up and a great alternative to those two also-rans. The festival, now in its 26th year, runs from Friday, April 16-Thursday, April 29, and includes more than 120 films in virtually every genre with special segments dedicated to women; Latino films made in the United States; and the LGBT experience as seen through the Latino lens. Especially exciting is the Chicago premiere of the queer-themed La Mission, which stars Benjamin Bratt and was directed by his brother, Peter. Bratt stars as the macho ex-con father of a teenager whose world is shattered when he discovers the son is gay. The film will premiere Thursday, April 29, at the AMC River East, 322 E. Illinois, at 6 p.m., and both Bratt brothers will attend.
The LGBT segment of the fest includes a nice assortment of titles from Mexico, South America, Portugal and Spain. The opening-night festivities, billed as a “Tribute to Mexico” commemorating Mexico’s bicentennial independence and centennial-revolution anniversary, will include an LGBT-themed selection, Round Trip (Viaje Redondo). The movie is a winning variation on the standard issue road-trip drama in which a working-class single mother from Acapulco, Lucia (Teresa Ruiz) and Fernanda (Cassandra Ciangherotti), a neurotic and artistically inclined college student from a privileged background in Mexico City, improbably wind up together on the road. Lucia is curvaceous and pretty, and yet impatient and negative while the boyish Fernanda is a cheerful chatterbox given to philosophical musings. Slowly, a bond forms between the two that eventually, unexpectedly blossoms into something more. The film’s a lovely, gentle character study helped enormously by the delicately shaded performances of its two leads, and the movie offers the bonus of a travelogue through Mexico’s back country. The April 16 screening is at 6 p.m. at AMC River East, 322 E. Illinois, and will be followed by an 8:30 p.m. cocktail reception and live entertainment at the River East Art Center, 435 E. Illinois). Director Gerardo Tort will attend the screening and festivities.
Other LGBT-themed films in the festival’s first week include Leo’s Room (El cuarto de Leo) from Uruguay, a coming-out drama that focuses on a college student slowly finding peace with his gay sexuality, helped out by the aid of a compassionate therapist, an understanding potential boyfriend he meets online, a mixed-up girlfriend and others. The movie screens on April 17 and 20. To Die Like a Man (Morrer como um homem), from Portugal, is a hard-hitting portrait of an aging drag queen saddled with a lot of issues—a young schizophrenic male lover, health problems, competition at work, fading audiences and the return of a long-lost son who promises more trouble; it screens April 18 and 20. Fallen Gods (Los dioses rotos), from Cuba-Mexico and which screens April 21, and the Peruvian feature Translatina, which screens April 20-21, are also part of the first week of LGBT-centered films. I’ll have more on the second week of LGBT-themed titles (including La Mission) featured in the fest in next week’s column.
Unless otherwise noted, all films screen at either Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark, or Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio. Complete information on the festival is available by calling 312-431-1330 or visiting www.latinoculturalcenter.org.
Film notes:
—Fish Out of Water, the entertaining and probing documentary from out Chicagoan filmmaker Ky Dickens that breaks down the Biblical passages used to condemn homosexuality and justify discrimination, is coming to DVD. To celebrate, producers of the film are hosting a DVD-release party Tuesday, April 20, at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, at 8 p.m. Comedienne Cameron Espositio will emcee an evening of entertainment that will include clips from the film, musical entertainment from soul-funk band JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound with special guest Rita J. Tajma Hall (Hydrag Revue), and DJs Butch Cassidy (Chances Dances) and Erik Roldan (Think Pink Radio). The DVD, from First Run Features, will be on sale during the festivities and will also be available at the film’s Web site. See www.fishoutofwaterfilm.com.
—No Love for Phillip: For the third time, the distributor of I Love You Phillip Morris, the mega-gay romantic comedy based on real-life events that stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as lovers, has changed the movie’s opening date. The dark comedy’s release has been changed from April 30 to July 30, according to Variety.
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