This coming Sunday (14/10) GB presents its latest Film Club screening. And this is one of the best packages we've ever had. Usually the films which we mostly get from friends abroad have a mix of strong and weak ones, but this time I think they're all really good.
They are also all feature films, no shorts and no documentaries (did I hear cheers at that? Won't listen, docus will be back on the playlist in the future). As it happens, all three films are from Europe, though its not exactly a theme since one is a coming-out-coming-of-age film, one is, well, romantic drama, I guess and the third is just a (very) crazy comedy. But the coming out film has one of the best central performances of such films, the comedy is one of the most happily silly and exuberantly gay comedies and the drama is... I actually find I have no words to describe how good, amazingly, path-breakingly good, it is. Here's the short list of films with timings, but I really recommend that this time you come and see them all: 1.30 pm - Sasha 4.00 pm - Weekend 6.00 pm - Poltergay More on the films: - Sasha - a German coming-of-age-and-coming-out film which is set among a tightly knit community of Eastern European immigrants into Germany. As with all such families, they are both close and stifling and this is going to make it really hard for Sasha, the eldest son in the family and promising pianist, to admit that he had not just feeligns for other men, but for his openly gay - and very hot - piano teacher in particular. Here's a link to a review of the film and, as it says, this isn't a new story, but its a very well done one, particularly due to the performance of the super cute Sasa Kekez who plays the central character: http://www.afterelton.com/movies/2011/03/review-sasha - Weekend - this film sounds like such a typical art-house film in its description - two guys meet in a club, they spend the night together, they talk, they have coffee, they talk more, they split, they meet again, they do drugs, they have sex, they talk, do more drugs, they talk more... And yet this is just such an amazingly moving, honest and real film. I watched it both completely caught up and also in some awe - surely its going to go wrong, but it never does. The connection that develops between the two guys, almost despite themselves, is just one of the deepest connections between two characters in a film I have ever seen. The main character, Russell, is one of the best depictions I've ever seen of a really quiet, almost withdrawn character, who yet totally captivates you - at one point Glen, the other guy, says "You will make an amazing boyfriend" and you can hear yourself shouting: "Yes! I want! For Me!" Compared to him Glen comes across initially as less likeable, even annoying, and he is, yet the film - or Russell - chips away at his protective facade and in the end he's as open and vulnerable. It is some measure of how good the film is that the ending, while at one level totally heartbreaking, still doesn't leave you depressed. This film was shown at Kashish and I bet everyone who saw it there will want to see it again, and if you didn't see it, you have to see it this Sunday. http://www.afterelton.com/movies/2011/03/review-weekend http://www.metacritic.com/movie/weekend/critic-reviews (This metacritic link aggregates a number of mainstream reviews for a film and I'm giving it because it shows something remarkable about Weekend - this must be the first time a film that in terms of plot is just about two guys meeting and having sex has got such mainstream acclaim. Weekend is very explicitly gay, yet it manages also to be about making human connections of any kind). - Poltergay - a French film which is just crazy, but in the best possible way. A French couple (straight) move into an abandoned house that they want to restore into their dream home. But they run into a problem or, more accurately, the husband, who is a superhunky builder, runs into a problem - he keeps seeing ghosts. And not just any ghosts, but the ghosts of five disco dancing gay men who died in the 1970s an explosion in the nightclub that used to stand where the house is. For some reason only the hunky husband can see them which leads to other people thinking that he is (a) nuts and (b) gay, and even he starts considering the last possibility. But things are more complicated, sorry, crazy, than that and the story plays out in the most insane possible way including the reason why he - and a few other men - can see the ghosts (and while I won't reveal the reason, lets just say it would be most unlikely if most people on this list could see the ghosts). Its all a mix-up of ghosts, gays, glamour and glitter that is spectacularly silly and fun in a way that only a French comedy could be. The films will start around 1.30 and there will be breaks around 3.30 and 5.30, with enough time to have tea, samosas and check out the cute guy who was sitting five seats away from you. Please note that we will be as strict as ever about not letting in people who come too late or people who leave the film and then want to go back in. Those of you who are familiar with the National College auditorium will know that this is because the door is near the screen and frequent going in and out is very disruptive for those inside, yet each time it seems I have to keep explaining this to people. So please everyone just come on time and stay inside when you're inside and don't waste time arguing. All the films are originals which have been obtained by GB or given by friends for this screening. We do not show pirated or downloaded films. For those who don't know where National College is, a formal mail will follow giving the details. See you on Sunday! Vikram
