GREY VIOLET – ODD ONE OUT (Reetta Aalto, Finland). 54 minutes. Rating: NNN
Queer activist Grey Violet, a Russian mathematician by trade, attends a math conference in Finland and decides to seek asylum. Grey’s performance art – ze’s a kindred spirit of Pussy Riot – puts zir under scrutiny by Putin’s regime, and ze feels the need to get out.
Grey is an engaging protagonist, often sparring politically with Finnish activists in intelligent ways, and zirs dealings with the bureaucracy create a strong sense of the red tape that has to be navigated.
But the key to this film is Grey’s mother, who does the voice-over and eloquently expresses the conflict between her pride in Grey and her concerns for her child’s safety.
