Looking for Langston [Review]

Looking for Langston is Isaac Julien’s 1989 short film which combines archival footage of the Harlem Renessanice with scripted fictional scenes. It celebrates freedom of black gay culture during the 1920s in Harlem. I first came upon this film during my research into the black British film collectives that sprang up in Britain in the 1980s. The film collectives were born during a time of unrest in Britain. The rise of neo-fascism in the last years of the Labor government before Margaret Thatcher saw racially motivated attacks increase against both Afro-Caribbean and Asian people. Large gatherings of people of color were being portrayed in the press as threatening, turning Carnival into something that should be policed and feared. The Brixton riots of 1981, while not the first burst of violence against oppression in the country, lead to a string of disturbances that were co-opted by the media apparatus as part of this new narrative of Black Threat. In response to these incidents the Ethnic Minorities Committee was created in 1981, which housed within it the Black Arts Division created for the purposes of funding black cultural productions. The Association of Cinematograph Television & Allied Technicians, Britain’s film production union, at the same time instituted the Grant-Aided Workshop Production Declaration in 1981. They also had directed efforts into establishing Channel 4 to act as both a commissioner and outlet for British films. Channel 4 started broadcasting in 1982 and was government subsidized but funded from outside sources (including advertising and subscriptions) as well. These institutions were incredibly important in allowing the workshops to become franchised in the early 1980s and provided a platform for their voice. In 1986, Black Audio Film Collective’s Handsworth Songs and Sankofa Film/Video Collective’s The Passion of Remembrance both opened in London’s Metro Cinema. They were the first theatrical screenings for black film collectives, and served as a warning shot across the British independent landscape that things were about to change. … Continue Reading

Wild Zero: The Most Unlikely LGBT Friendly Film?

Or is it? When I first saw Wild Zero back in 2000/2001 (a bit hazy back then, considering college was a drunken escapade for myself and my friends), I went in already loving the band Guitar Wolf and their 3 chord punk insanity. It was also a zombie horror comedy from Japan, so that as well piqued my interest. There’s lots of gore, lots of good music and it’s funny as hell, with the members of Guitar Wolf themselves saying it was ‘stupid and fun’ to make. But where is the LGBT friendly content?

To be honest, the first time I watched it I didn’t quite notice it. It was almost an afterthought, it’s never truly said out loud and if you happen to just watch it for the horror comedy aspect, you’ll miss it completely. The character of Tobio is either transgendered or intersexed, it’s never plainly stated, but it’s right there, out in the open for all to see. Or is it? In actuality I believe the character of Tobio is supposed to be like people in society, where there’s no questions asked about her gender/sexuality and instead we see the love between her and Ace, Guitar Wolf’s number one fan, blossom throughout the film, which I think already works wonders on the stigma people who are trans have to go through every day of their lives. … Continue Reading

Sunday Shorts: Two Spirit People

Two Spirit People is a 1991 documentary by Michel Beauchemin, Lory Levy and Gretchen Vogel. This short documentary presents an overview of Native American concepts of gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation focusing on the berdache tradition in Native American culture. This is an individual who embodies both feminine and masculine qualities as well as acting as a conduit between the physical and spiritual plane. Traditionally they may even hold positions of power within the community. While the film is most likely slightly outdated it serves as an interesting glimpse into a culture that often is not spoken of (or thought of) within most discussions of the LGBT community that I have been a part of. However, admittedly, I am far from an expert. Regardless I found it fascinating and a glimpse into a different understanding of sexual roles outside of those that normative society demands we follow. If you enjoy this film I strongly suggest reading Two Spirits, One Purpose an article by Jessica Mayrer.

I found this film on the Vimeo page of Frameline Distribution, a group founded in San Francisco in 1981 as an educational distributor of LGBT related media. Although it has been running the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival since 1976, the oldest LGBT Film Festival in existence. Their website can be found here. Take the 20 minutes out of your day and learn something new, open your eyes, and most of all think outside of yourself. This is what Pride Month is about. As always the film is found after the break. … Continue Reading

We’re here, It’s Queer Fear. Get Used to It.

Gay undertones have been present in horror since the inception of the art form. Look at The Phantom of the Opera. The guy wore a cape, was ridiculously vain and spent the whole movie chasing after a diva, for an autograph most likely. Even more contemporary films like Rosemary’s Baby feature the title character carrying the child of an actor to help advance his career. Cla-a-assic beard. And how can we forget Jason Vorhees; the ultimate mama’s boy slash(er) power top?

While all of this subversive gayety was well and good one thing was certain: If you were a slut, a drug addict, or open homosexual you were going to die. And if you were Ted Haggard you were really very most sincerely going to die. Of course those were the rules before the rise of GLBT horror films that eschew the closeted nature of the horror genre and shout “We’re here, It’s Queer Fear. Get Used to It.” With directors like David DeCoteau and distribution companies such as here! Media the world of horror movies is looking a lot gayer. … Continue Reading

Trailer Thursday: No Regret

This weeks Trailer Thursday is themed for the LGBT Blogathon hosted over at YAM Magazine. Leesong Hee-il’s No Regret (2006) is a rarity for Korean film in that it treats gay issues in a mature and normal way. The only one that even came close was 2002′s Road Movie (Kim In-Sik). The story about Su-min and Jae-min is quiet, romantic and sometimes hilarious. Free from the mincing queens that usually grace the Korean screen, the film allows these characters to live and breath and have fun. Leesong Hee-il is also the first openly gay director in mainstream Korean film and talented. He had previously worked on 2004′s Camellia Project and released his second feature Break Away in 2009.

I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see a Korean film actually freed from stereotypes. To see gay characters who were more representative of my gay Korean friends. Leesong is a director that has room to grow, and I look forward to following his progress. It was released in North America by Here! and can be found on Amazon.

The Korean Trailer:

The American Trailer:

The Magicians

Song Il-gon’s 2005 film The Magicians began its life as one of the 30-minute short films that make up Jeonju International Film Festival’s “Short Digital Films by Three Filmmakers” omnibus series. Song then expanded it to an a feature film. Filmed entirely in one take, this digital film takes place on New Year’s Eve in a bar on a mountain owned by Jae-sung (Jeong Woong-in) who is meeting with his former band mate’s Myung-soo (Jang Hyeon-seong) and Ha-yeong (Kang Kyeong-heon). The band broke up three years prior when Ja-eun (Lee Seung-bi) killed herself on New Year’s Eve. Now they are back together to drink and talk and reminisce. … Continue Reading

Gagman

Lee Myung-se’s (recently known for his visually stylistic film such as Nowhere to Hide (1999), Duelist (2005), and M (2007)) Gagman (1989) was his debut film, and is about the travails of Lee Jung-sae (Ahn Sung-ki) the titular gagman who has a thing for Charlie Chaplin and cinema. He wants nothing more to escape his current existence by directing a film but the only people he finds to help him are Moon Do-suk (Bae Chang-do) his barber and Oh Son-yong (Hwang Shin-hye) a young head strong (and good looking) female that he meets and ropes into his schemes. And schemes he does, and they turn serious (in a comic way!) when he comes across real guns and decides he will self finance his films. With various banks’ money.

This is not going to end well. … Continue Reading

The Chaser

Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy
My review of Hong-jin Na’s The Chaser

Hong-jin Na’s 2008 thriller, The Chaser, is but a brief glimpse into the chaotic world of pimps, police and killers. Jung-ho Eom (Jun-seok Kim) plays an ex-detective who has turned to the dark side…prostitution.

When we first meet Jung-ho, he is in dire financial trouble as his very talented staff has begun to disappear before clearing their debts with him. There’s almost nothing worse than messing with a pimp’s money, until you start messing with his product. One by one his staff dwindles, and as the pieces from the puzzle slowly fall into place, he realizes that his product is not voluntarily disappearing. … Continue Reading

The Host (2006) Review

Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 monster tale, The Host, brings a level of sophistication to the monster movie genre with a combination of several genres all working to develop the narrative and its characters. The story follows a snack car employee Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho), his father, Hee-bong (Byeon Hee-bong),  daughter Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-seong),  sister Nam-joo (Bae Doona), who’s an archer, and Gang-du‘s brother Nam-il (Park Hae-il), an alcoholic former activist who has not done much since graduating.

The story focuses on the family dealing with an unexpected attack by a mutated amphibian monster that emerged as a result of dumping formaldehyde in the Han River. The monster takes Hyun-seo seemingly killing her until Gang-du receives a call from Hyun-seo informing him that she was in fact still alive but trapped in the monster’s sewer lair.Gang-du and his family set out to save his daughter but must get by the government and the monster in order to do so. … Continue Reading

The Man From Nowhere

The Man From Nowhere (dir. Lee Jeong-beom, 2010) is about a man, Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin), who wants to be left alone to dwell in his mysterious past, his next door neighbor Hyo-jeong (Kim Hyo-seo) who is a drug addict and involved in VERY BAD THINGS, and her daughter Soo-mi (Kim Sae-ron) who has no one to talk to except for this man. As in any crime/thriller movie, stealing from gangsters is bad and when Hyo-jeong and her junky boyfriend steal from the wrong people Soo-mi gets taken and Tae-sik must rescue her. With shades of Leon: The Professional (dir. Luc Besson, 1994), there is even a cactus that Tae-sik takes care of, this film became the biggest hit of the year even knocking aside Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010) with 6.2 million people seeing the film. Just released on DVD and Blu-ray by Well Go USA, I decided to pop it in my Blu-ray player and check it out. Here’s what I thought. Some minor spoilers, although spoiled on the synopsis on the back of the box, follow so don’t click if you really want to remain surprised by the all too obvious mysterious past. … Continue Reading