Inside Out Lesbian and gay film AND VIDEO Festival from today (Thursday, May 15) to May 25 at the Paramount Cinema (259 Richmond West), the Cumberland Cinemas (159 Cumberland), the Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor West), Buddies in Bad Times (12 Alexander) and the NFB Mediatheque (150 John). Single tickets $10, yth/srs $7 opening/closing galas $25 centrepiece gala $15 (includes reception) weekend matinees $7.50 book of eight vouchers $72. Same-day tickets at theatre box offices advance tickets at the Inside Out box office in the Cumberland Cinemas. For availability, call the Xtra Hotline at 416-925-XTRA ext 2229 or visit www.insideout.on.ca. For complete listings, see Rep Cinemas. Rating: NNNNN
Muslim muse
Tarik el Hob directed by Rémi Lange. Saturday (May 17), 9 pm, Cumberland 2. 70 minutes. Rating: NNNN
with agonizing slowness, karim, a straight French-Algerian sociology student, is seduced by Farid, an interview subject in his documentary on homosexuality in the Parisian Muslim community. The documentary conceit is a clever excuse for the use of cheap, grainy video, which has never before looked so rawly, achingly romantic.
The chemistry between the two actors is overwhelming, as is the suspense. Will Karim leave his girlfriend? Can those eyelashes possibly be real? When are they going to finally hook up? Swoon.
Stolen kisses
Suddenly directed by Diego Lerman. Saturday (May 17), 9:15 pm, Cumberland 1. 90 minutes. Rating: NNNN
badass argentinian chicas mao and Lenin kidnap a beautiful fat girl from her dreary job in a Buenos Aires lingerie shop and take her on a meandering road trip to the coast. When they wind up at Lenin’s great-aunt’s boarding house, the characters start to reveal themselves slowly and with unexpected sweetness. The film is black-and-white, with a dreamy, static, carefully composed look – it’s what might have happened if Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise had been based on a lost subplot from an early Love And Rockets comic.
Mother lode
My Mother Likes Women directed by Daniela Fejerman and Inés Paris. Closing-night gala, May 25, 8 pm, Paramount. 96 minutes. Rating: NNNN
in this sweet, fluffy meringue of a romantic comedy, celebrated Spanish concert pianist Sofia (Rosa María Sardà) falls in love with a much younger woman. Her three adult daughters take it upon themselves to sabotage the relationship for her own good.The film’s great strength is its cast, led by Leonor Watling, who plays the sexually confused and appallingly neurotic middle daughter, Elvira, as fetchingly as though she were an Audrey – either Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s or Tautou in Amélie. Silvia Abascal also stands out as the bratty youngest daughter, and the ending’s so happy it’s practically Shakespearean.
Homo heist
9 Dead Gay Guys directed by Lab Ky Mo. Friday (May 16), midnight, Cumberland 2. 90 minutes. Rating: NNN
here’s a dumb but cute heist flick – Guy Ritchie’s Snatch as envisioned by bi-curious 11-year-olds. Two young Irish hustlers in London earn their booze money by trolling the bars for wealthy older men who keep dying on them. As their pool of potential prospects shrinks, they become obsessed with the legend that a wealthy orthodox Jewish trick sleeps on a mattress stuffed with cash. From there, they run through every stereotype in the book in their quest to get at the money, but it’s mostly too silly and self-consciously cheeky to be offensive. Naughty, but not in the grown-up sense.
Also notable
inside out opens with brad Fraser‘s Leaving Metropolis tonight(Thursday, May 15, 8 pm, Paramount), a film adaptation of his popular play Poor Superman. Playing Sunday (May 18, 7:15 pm, Cumberland 1), The Nature Of Nicholas, Jeffrey Erbach‘s prairie gothic coming-of-age tale, cuts through the small-town adolescent blahs with some satisfyingly creepy zombies. Secondary High (May 22, 9:45 pm, Cumberland 2), by Ryerson students Pat Mills, Emily Halfon and Hazel Bell-Koski, combines three boisterous tales of deviant high-school hijinks.
At the Family Fun Film Launch (May 25, 1 pm, NFB Mediatheque), Lynne Fernie screens her engaging live-action/animated short, Apples And Oranges, focusing on homophobia and bullying.
wendy@satanmacnuggit.com
