Senior same-sex love in Hong Kong: Ray Leung's quiet study of character and culture, TWILIGHT'S KISS

Having just seen a French film detailing senior lesbian love and the damages of the closet, here comes another that covers gay seniors in Hong Kong, both grandfather-age and both quite firmly in the closet so far as their respective families are concerned. 

Unlike the heavy melodrama that drives (and plagues) Two of Us, TWILIGHT'S KISS, quiet and concerned, gives over to character and the culture that has helped mold this in our two heroes, as well as in their families, friends and society at large.

Written and directed by Ray Yeung (at right), whose charming, slightly-dark rom-rom Front Cover, I enjoyed a few years back, this new film of his -- made prior to the seemingly endless protests now roiling Hong Kong -- is surprisingly immersive, given how quiet and small-scale it consistently proves to be.

Yeung's two leading actors -- Tai-Bo (below, right) and Ben Yuen (below, left) -- are triumphs of low-key detailing. Bit by bit, they lead us into character, life and the culture of Hong Kong, as each experiences it. Because Yeung and his cast are so full of specifics, all these details quickly pull us into the narrative, which only grows more specific and fascinating, the more complex and problematic it slowly becomes.

There are no real villains here -- not even society or the State itself. While it is obvious that things could be better in terms of acceptance for the GLBT population, the movie has a welcome lack of finger-pointing or -wagging. Instead our two guys make the best of what they have, even as they try to push  the boundaries, at least slightly. (Along the way we also get to see what Hong Kong's younger generation is doing for gay rights and how the semi-necessary closet is still holding back many in the older generation.)

The two men's families are perhaps more of a hindrance than a help, yet it is clear that they are all doing the best they can, given their circumstances and beliefs. Religion -- Buddhism vs Christianity vs agnosticism -- plays into things -- yet so kindly and fair is his perspective that the filmmaker never dips to easy satire nor simplistic views. 

Some viewers will wish for more explicit drama here, but TrustMovies is more than happy with the level to which Twilight's Kiss rises. The final sequence -- which for me, at least, seemed to indicate a willingness for exploration (and/or perhaps compromise) -- proves as quiet, subtle, thoughtful and lovely as all that has come before.

From Strand Releasing and presented with support from the R.G. Rifkind Foundation Endowment for Queer Cinema, in Cantonese with English subtitles, and running just 92 minutes, the movie opens virtually at New York City's Film Forum this Wednesday, February 9, and will very soon open elsewhere around the country. Click here for more information on viewing at Film Forum, and here for info on further nationwide playdates.

An original amazement to be cherished: Frank Beauvais' JUST DON'T THINK I'LL SCREAM

Not only have I never seen anything like this movie, I have also never seen a film in which the narrator seems to have so incredibly much in common with me: How I think and feel about so very many things, from politics and protest to culture and movies, life, love and death. And that's for starters. 

TrustMovies also must admit that Frank Beauvais (shown at right), the writer and director of JUST DON'T THINK I'LL SCREAM (Ne croyez surtout pas que je hurle) is one hell of a lot younger, brighter and better-spoken than am I. Still, this man's sensibility seem so close to my own that I was hooked on his amazing one-off of a movie from his very first words and their accompanying images. He held me in thrall for the following 75 minutes, as well. 

These are not exactly his images, by the way. No, he's cribbed them from the 400 movies he managed to watch during the time, back in 2016, when he moved from Paris  to a tiny town in the Alsace region.  They are mostly generic-looking images that work well with his narration and move at a very fast pace, so don't even try to identify the films from which they come. 

Only a single of these images immediately stood out to me, one from the 1953 horror movie in 3D, The Maze (above), by which I was greatly charmed and scared as a twelve-year-old kid. Otherwise, the images speed past in very nearly a blur, due unfortunately to my not being able to understand French, and so my eye remained on the almost constant English subtitles which (excellently, I suspect) translate M. Beauvais' lovely, graceful, sad and angry words. (No movie I've ever seen has more made me wish that I could speak and understand the French language.)

Just Don't Think I'll Scream details our hero's life (and this guy is indeed a hero, so far as I'm concerned), after his current relationship is severed and he moves to a town so cut off from just about everything that Beauvais, who does not drive, effectively becomes a kind of house-bound hermit, keeping up with world news, watching his movies, and tackling a few other projects. 

Early on he explains to us that as he continues watching all these movies, "the films are no longer windows; they're mirrors." We learn something of his mom, who lives in a nearby village and whom he dearly loves, and of his late father, from whom he was estranged. Among the thoughtful and precise little gems of information he drops along the way is how one's possessions can so easily becomes a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. 

What seems particularly strange and prescient is how this little film, the events of which took place back in 2016, was cobbled together long before the entry of Covid19 into our world. Yet in its exploration of isolation and the need for digital entertainment, it seems in some ways the perfect reflection of our current time. (The end credits, by the way, list every single film from which a still has been used.)

Perhaps I am dead wrong about my having so much in common with M. Beauvais. Instead, it may be that his stunning combination of narration and "found" film visuals is merely one of the best explorations of "character" I have yet encountered. In any case, as "partial" autobiographies go, this movie is nonpareil, as the French might say.

From KimStim, in French with English subtitles and running just 75 minutes, Just Don't Think I'll Scream opens virtually at Film Forum in New York City and at 15 other virtual theaters across the country tomorrow, Friday, January 29. To learn where and how you can view, click here and scroll down. Clearly, the film is not meant for all tastes. But if you possess anything near to Beauvais' particular sensibility, I'd suggest that you're probably a shoo-in viewer.

Ryan Murphy and his well-chosen cast help THE PROM go on to bigger, glossier things

There are those who say that Ryan Murphy (shown below), director of the new film version of the Broadway musical THE PROM has de-charmed the thing, removing spontaneity and genuineness from the proceedings. Others -- those who don't understand or appreciate musical comedy -- will counter that those attributes were never present in the first place. Bullshit. The Prom, in either aspect, has plenty of both -- and many more amazements, too. In fact, it defines what musical comedy is and simultaneously redefines it for our current age of inclusivity/diversity (as well as the unfortunate and ever-present desire and need to wipe these off the face of the earth). In short, it couldn't be more true to its 2020 time period.

TrustMovies didn't see the original Broadway show, but he did catch its musical number from the telecast during the Tony Awards a couple of years back. Based on what he saw of this and the other nominees' numbers, The Prom was the only show whose musical score and lyrics he wanted to hear more of. So he brought the Broadway cast album and by now has just about worn it out from mucho multiple plays. 

And, yes, TM was worried, given Mr. Murphy's off-and-on track record, that he might gussy things up past the boiling point. But, no. Sure, he's a little busier than he need be now and then, but the show's distinct charm, energy and sweetness, as well as its delightful digs at the narcissism of theater folk, remain front and center. 

Best of all, Murphy has kept the score mostly intact and up to snuff. Matthew Sklar's music --  maybe the bounciest since Baby -- combines with Chad Beguelin's witty and full-of-real-rhyme lyrics to keep our ears consistently alert and gratified. The book (by Bob Martin and Beguelin does a grand job of bringing together its two tales -- one about a troupe of near over-the-hill actors seeking some publicity that will kickstart their careers, the other of a high school girl in Indiana who wants to bring another girl to the prom as her date but is stymied by the local PTA.

While I adore the original cast of the Broadway album, we all can understand the need for casting big names in starring roles. And we surely do get them here -- from Meryl Streep (above, center right) as the belting diva ("Can I get softer lighting?") and James Corden (above, left) as her gay co-star to Nicole Kidman (center,  left) as the forever chorus girl who can't get a break and Keegan-Michael Key (above, right) as the sympathetic principal of the school that these kids attend -- the whole cast is first class.

I don't want to give away much more because the situations and songs are all so much fun that you deserve to experience them freshly and first-hand. (That's Ariana Debose, above, left, with Kerry Washington, as daughter and mother on either side of the GLBT divide.) 

But I will just call attention to a couple of brilliant moments of heart-stopping/jaw-dropping intimacy and surprise in the middle of all this joyous bounce: One arrives as Mr. Key sings a quiet song to Ms Streep about what theater -- and her own part in this -- has meant to him over the years. The song sweetly, humorously calls attention to both the mysteries and seeming ridiculousness of the musical form, even as it celebrrates them so beautifully.

The other moment comes as Ms Debose sings to her girlfriend Emma about the many hoops her mother puts her through so that she can become the perfect girl. All this seems both truthful and rueful (witty, too) until suddenly there's a single line -- regarding why mom is doing all this -- that stops you in your tracks. The Prom is filled with these little surprises, as much as it is chock-a-block with feel-good fun. 

 

From Netflix, running 130 minutes, and a much-needed gift for the holidays, The Prom is available now on the popular streaming service. (Above, right, with Ms Kidman and further above, left, with Ms Debose is Jo Ellen Pellman, making her auspicious movie debut as our heroine, Emma. )

NQV Media hits a bit of a speed bump with its newest compilation, THE AMERICAN BOYS

This may be my fifth or sixth viewing of one NQV Media's thoughtful, artful and entertaining groupings of short GLBT films from around the world, so I suppose the reason why the one from the USA stands out as the least of the bunch should not surprise. America appears to be growing increasingly stupid down the decades, with more than forty per cent of our electorate having voted for a second term for a President who, over his entire career, has been a scam artist as well as a bigot, bully, coward, crook, fool and fraud. Of course we mustn't equate movies with politics. But still...

The short films in THE AMERICAN BOYS are generally missing what the other collections offer. There's little sense of history, community, class, economics, genuine philosophy (the short Billy's Blowjob sports some ersatz stuff) or much else except what's right in front of us: the immediate subject at hand. Which is mostly about being gay, along with the love object that often goes with this.

That said, the first film of the six shorts featuring this set of "boys" is the most artful of the lot. THESE THINGS TAKE TIME, written and directed by Jerell Rosales, offers a 20-minute tale of a boy, his dad, his teacher, and his "girlfriend." It's equal parts sweet, humorous and sad.

THE LEGEND OF SCOTTY WATTS, written and directed by Prash Sampathkumaran, explores in just 11 minutes hero worship and what music means to kids and adolescents. It's quick and handled pleasantly enough.

In TWO FISH, a couple of friends reunite after one returns from a European vacation to face some things that were maybe unspoken/unexpressed but which have now clearly progressed. Written and directed by Antoine Dupont-Guerra, it also lasts just 11 minutes.

The American Film Institute logo precedes YOU CAN PLAY, a 19-minute movie that offers everything from foreshadowing and secrets revealed to sports and character building (or destroying). Directed by Anders Helde and written by Dennis James Clarke and Helde, this was a little too paint-by-numbers for my taste.

I THINK I'M GAY proves the (intentionally) funniest film of the bunch, an "is-he-or-isn't-he" discovery comedy. Written and directed by Matt Chupack, the film is glossy and fun, with a good performance by Miles Tagtmeyer (above, center left) as the confused one.

The final offering here is, for TrustMovies, the weakest as well. BILLY'S BLOWJOBS, written and directed by Michael Hyman, features Wilson Cruz (above) in the leading role (the receiver, not the giver) who also produced the film. With music via Chopin, the 17-minute movie is mostly exposition and is as obvious as, well, America itself. 

I don't want to disparage these little films, as they are relatively harmless. But after all the other compilations from this fine company, I guess I was expecting more. Distributed via NQV Media, The American Boys hit streaming this past Monday, November 30, and is available now -- for purchase or rental. Click here for more information.

France, surrogacy and a pair of gay would-be parents in Jonathon Narducci's lovely doc, GHOSTS OF THE RÉPUBLIQUE

Who knew? But I supposed we ought to have been able to figure it out: France, that storied land of liberté, égalité, fraternité proves not quite that if you're gay. And god help you if you want to be a parent and perhaps use a surrogate. Initially, the title of the new film, GHOSTS OF THE RÉPUBLIQUE, sounded to me like some French political documentary, and it turns out to be exactly that. But hardly in the manner I had imagined. 

Surrogacy is illegal in France, and the film's title actually refers to the offspring of a surrogate mother, who, when that child is brought back to France by his French parents, is refused French citizenship. France is still, it would seem, far too Catholic a country. And God, as we all know, absolutely condemns surrogacy. Oy.

The movie's very able director, Jonathon Narducci (shown at right) is not making a case for the wonders of (or how wonderful is) surrogacy. In fact, he includes a hefty section of the film in which a woman fighting against this practice explains the various reasons why she feels it is not healthy. 

Adoption by gay or lesbian parents, though not illegal in France, has certainly not been made easy, and what happens when a gay couple would like one member's sperm to be involved in the birth? So, yes, surrogacy. And that's the journey -- from France to Las Vegas and back again several times -- on which Mr. Narducci and his several heroes and heroines take us.

TrustMovies cannot imagine any better subjects than the gay couple -- Nicolas and Aurelien (shown above and below) -- together with their quite lovely egg donor (Diana, above, right) and surrogate (Crystal, below, right). One of the things we learn from the film is why it is less problematic to have the egg donor and surrogate as separate women. When so many things, from the state itself to the rigors and risks involved in pregnancy (let alone surrogacy), seem to conspire against the best outcome, the road ahead is pretty fraught.

Since every last publicity photo available (include even the poster image) doubles as a spoiler, I must apologize in advance. Still, the journey is a fascinating and very moving one. These are people you'll come to know and love every bit as much as you would in any lengthy narrative movie. 

As a bisexual man who was lucky enough have had a child with his first wife, and who grew up in a time when the very idea of gay marriage seemed utterly impossible -- prison and/or shock treatments were the "remedies" for homosexuality in my coming-of-age era -- I would have found the idea of gay marriage, let alone parenting and surrogacy, ridiculously far-fetched. 

Yet Ghosts of the République makes it all seem not simply real but pretty damned wonderful. It would be salutary to learn, in a few years' time, how all of the parties involved feel then about the whole process. In the meantime, we, as they, can exult in the glories of the here and now. The world, including France, has a long way to go toward real liberté, égalité and fraternité. But it is worth acknowledging that we seem to have come quite a distance already.

From Gravitas Ventures and running just 81 minutes, the documentary arrived on VOD and streaming venues last week and is available for purchase and/or rental nearly everywhere now. Click here and scroll down to see many of the current venues. (This documentary, by the way is both narrated and executive-produced by gay activist and writer Dan Savage.)

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: Matthew Rankin's skewed-up romp of Canadian history arrives

There really was a Mackenzie King (actually named William Lyon Mackenzie King), and once I'd seen the truly bizarre new "spoof," THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, a Canadian film written and directed by Matthew Rankin, my fingers raced across the keyboard and onto Wikipedia to find out more. That "more" bears little resemblance to anything I saw in Rankin's movie -- except perhaps the most important lesson the world seems to have to relearn with every new administration elected to office: Politicians are mostly sleazebag pieces of shit. 

Mr. Rankin, shown at left, has been compared to another Canadian filmmaker, Guy Maddin, and that comparison seems to TrustMovies both apt and inapt. 

Rankin and Maddin love to tell fanciful tales using all sorts of stylistic devices, but I'd call Maddin's work -- well, there is much more of it to explore; this is Rankin's first full-lengther, after a slew of shorts -- both deeper and wider ranging. I wish I knew more about Canada and Canadian history, in any case, because I am sure that would only increase the pleasure I found from watching the film.

A bizarre compilation of live action, animated sets, and wonderfully politically-incorrect  moments -- the movie begins with a scene taking place in a "Home for Defective Children" -- Rankin proceeds from tuberculosis and sudden love to an orgasmic cactus, beaucoup gay references, class, cross-dressing, onanism, and a heavy-duty foot fetish. Have I left something out? Very probably.

Rankin has assembled a fine cast (none of whom I immediately recognized) to bring to, well, "life" is not quite the right word, his oddball tale of how Mackenzie King rose to prominence and finally to Minister-ship, with a wonderfully devious and utter-twat-like performance by Dan Beirne (above, enjoying one of his character's greatest pleasures) in the leading role. You'll keep rooting for this guy to finally come through as simply a terribly flawed human being, but Mr. Beirne's performance manages to smartly elude even that. 

Supporting roles -- from Kee Chan (above) as a "yellow peril" doctor to Louis Negin as King's scenery-chewing mother -- are all handled with proper if oddball elan, and if Rankin's dialog is often rather flat, his visual and stylistic choices carry things along. (Yes, many of the female roles are played by men and the male ones by women. It's that kind of film)

In its way, the movie may be awfully anti-Canada (as Rankin perceives it, at least). Early on, one of the in-charge personages offers this prayer: "May disappointments keep us safe from unreasonable longings and foolish aspirations." Soon after we hear: "Do more than is your duty. Expect less than is your right." Hmmm... Words that more and more western countries seem to be living by, Canadian and otherwise. (Or, more probably, have always lived by.) 

In any case, The Twentieth Century manages to be foolish-but-pointed, thoughtful-while-ridiculous and always a lot of fun, especially for those of a sexual/gender-bending mind-set that revels in making fun of everything from heterosexual patriarchy to -- my, oh, my -- French-Canadian separatism.

From Oscilloscope Films and running just 90 minutes, the movie opened this past weekend and is currently playing across the country -- either virtually or via actual walk-in venues. Click here then scroll down to see all current playdates, cities and theaters.

San Antonio Film Festival unveils Zeus Kontoyannis' clever, creepy short, MR. SAM

I don't usually cover film festivals (there are simply way too many of these, with many of them simply unnecessary, to boot) but one of the short films currently being screened at the San Antonio Film Festival (running now through November 15, and again from December 9-13) sounded worth catching, and at only 28 minutes in length, not a deal-breaker should it have sucked. It doesn't, and in fact it's rather good.

MR. SAM, written and directed by Zeus Kontoyannis, turns out to be a bit less of a typical GLBT movie and much more of a necrophiliac's dream film -- a mix and mingle of Kissed, Bernie, and Six Feet Under, with a little Autopsy of Jane Doe tossed in for good measure -- but possessing a viewpoint and outcome all its own. 

Mr. Kontoyannis (shown at right) introduces us to an unusual mortician (played very well in a subdued fashion that still manages to register charisma, sadness and a bit of menace by Christropher Piccione, shown below), his mom, dad, therapist and family friends, a mother and her young daughter whom he is tutoring in math.

The filmmaker's visual style is beautifully composed and shot (the cinematographer is Joshua Echevarria), while the writing, directing and performances are, across the board, very nicely handled. 

Our titular hero, if you can use that description, lives in a near-complete fantasy world, and the most interesting thing about the film may be that he appears to be making this world work surprisingly well. (Money clearly helps matters, as usual.)

To its credit, Mr/ Sam -- neither the character nor the movie itself -- goes quite where you will expect. It is mostly quiet, graceful and relatively subtle, considering the genres its melds: mystery, horror, psychological thriller and character study. At a near-half-hour in length, it is perfectly satisfying, but it might be, too, were it expanded into full-length. Box-office-wise, that would mean concentrating on those first three genres. But content- and success-wise, it's the last of those genres that will end up counting most heavily, TrustMovies should think. 

You can find more information on the San Antonio Film Festival here, and on the movie itself and how to view it here. 

Prime Video discovery: Simone Godano's delightful AN ALMOST ORDINARY SUMMER

More than mere coincidence, almost every time TrustMovies sees the Warner Brothers logo on a film from Italy, that movie turns out to be a good one: fun, intelligent, mainstream entertainment. But when that same logo appears on an American movie, it is likely to be one of that studio's schlock blockbusters and a major waste of time for any thinking adult. How can two such divergent reactions keep occurring? Well, Italy has long been known for making wonderful films about family, which this new one -- directed by Simone Godano (shown below) and written by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt (with some input from Signore Godano) -- definitely is. 

AN ALMOST ORDINARY SUMMER (its Italian title is Croce e Delizia, which translates as Cross and Delight) tracks the journey of two Italian families in which the fathers/grandfathers of each have fallen in love (and lust) with each other. 

One family, headed by that highly talented icon of sexy smarts, Alessandro Gassman (below, left), is salt-of-the-earth working class with ultra-traditional values, while the other, under the rule of suave Fabrizio Bentivoglio (below, right), is wealthy, elitist but maybe only a tiny bit "woke."

These patres familias may be in love with each other, but the two families are definitely not. So when one grown child of each -- played by Jasmine Trinca, below left, and Filippo Scicchitano, right -- decides to work with the other to sabotage his and her parent's relationship, the movie grows consistently funnier, earthier, sadder, smarter and simply tons of fun. 

The clever screenplay lets us explore the Italian look at prejudices of all sorts, sexual to class-related, and nobody here comes out super-clean. One of the great strengths of the movie is how mixed a bag each of the characters really is. Yet thanks to the clever plotting, smart writing and excellent performances from the entire ensemble, we end up rooting for them all. 

An Almost Ordinary Summer is mainstream and feel-good, all right, but it never loses its hold on a reality in which the divergent must be brought together somehow. Boy, we could use this in the USA these days, but instead we have Donald Trump, his lock-step Republicans, and his idiot base doing all they can to hijack this past election -- chanting  "Stop the Vote" in one state while screaming "Count the Vote" in another. Can somebody please pass out a few spare brains to these folk in need?

But I digress. If you need something lovely -- set in a gorgeous locale with sumptuous interiors, verdant seaside exteriors, and lots of delicious-looking food -- that will make you think and laugh and feel very nice indeed, Croce e Delizia  is the film for you. 

From Wolfe Releasing (and available to view via Amazon Prime), in Italian with English subtitles and running  just 100 minutes, give this Italian mainstream gem a whirl.