THE MISANDRISTS proves a step backward (or, rather, a return to form) for Bruce LaBruce

With Gerontophilia (back in 2013), GLBT director Bruce LaBruce (shown below) proved at last that he could make a movie and tell a story that resonated politically, philosophically, culturally, socially, and emotionally while holding it all together. Up until then, while he'd done each of those things at some point along the way via various films, he usually did this rather clunkily so that plot and politics, humor and emotion (very little of the latter, as I recall) stood apart from each other, never really melding fluently into the whole. Characters would often spout some philosophy before going back "into" character to further the plot.

This was often done humorously (at least I suspect that was B laB's reasoning) but it grew tiresome quickly. With his latest film (made in Germany), THE MISANDRISTS, he's back into this stand-apart format during which the audience is treated to political/gender philosophizing that, despite its being so important to the tale the filmmaker is telling, is still handled clunkily enough to keep getting in the way of his story and its very real and could-have-been-major entertainment value.

I had to look up the word misandrist, and the very idea that I had to do this intrigued me. We're much more familiar with the words misogynist (one who dislikes women) and misanthrope (one who dislikes the human race in general), yet we almost never see or hear misandrist written or spoken -- so unusual is its use in our society, culture and media for us to even be aware of the possibility of singling out the male as the dislikeable object. Mr. LaBruce, no doubt, is more than aware of this. Consequently the patriarchy takes quite a deserved drubbing in his film.

The tale the filmmaker tells takes place in 1999 (for whatever reason -- pre 9-11-2001? -- I'm not sure) in the German countryside in a supposed school for wayward girls, supposedly run by a group of nuns. In reality (or what passes for same in a B laB film), this school's actually a training ground for the Female Liberation Army, which is planning to take over the state, if not the world, by virtue of a secret scheme which we eventually learn at film's finale, and which seems about as goofy and and nonsensical as all else we've seen.

One day, as two of the girls from this school frolic sexually in a field nearby the woods, they encounter a young man -- an out-of-favor leftist -- injured and on-the-run from the authorities. One of the girls decides to rescue him, hiding him in the basement of the school. A few complications ensue. And that's pretty much the entire plot.

Along the way we're treated to the usual philosophizing (sort of), satire (sort of), humor (sort of) and very camp sensibility, the special combination of which is the hallmark of B laB. There are oddball moments of fun (a sudden Charleston done by one of the nuns), lots of sex (mostly lesbian but a little homo, via some gay pornography the girls are made to watch as one of the plot points here), and the filmmaker's penchant for overkill (a pillow fight among the girls that goes on ad infinitum).

LaBruce's goal, it seems, is to convince the world that boundaries -- sexual, gender, political, philosophical -- are all somehow nonsensical. While I can understand and somewhat identify with this idea, he is neither a witty enough writer nor a good enough filmmaker to make his case with any great success. Maybe B sees his role as mostly that of prankster, in which case, he succeeds. Somewhat, at least. Why introduce a "mystery" character peering out of the school's attic window early on and seen periodically along the way, and then never explain her existence in your film -- unless pranking -- and/or upending expectations -- is your main concern?

Performances by the oddball assemble cast are OK overall (they get the job done), but the actor who best exemplifies the B laB style is his semi-regular, Susanne Sachße (shown below), who plays the school's "commandant" with the proper style, subtlety and wit.

If you're already a major fan of B laB's work (outside of Gerontophilia, which is probably way too "mainstream" for his heavy-duty fans), you will probably embrace The Misandrists with much more zest and enjoyment than could I.

You'll get your chance when the movie -- from Cartilage Films and running 91 minutes -- opens this Friday, May 25, in New York City at the Village East Cinema, and the following Friday, June 1, in Los Angeles at the Landmark NuArt. 

Patrick Wang's lengthy-but-lovely IN THE FAMILY probes prejudice and its handling with a soft-but-firm touch

For two weeks now, New York City's Quad Cinema has presented unusual narrative films with interesting things in common, not least among these their outsize length of nearly three hours. Last week's Preston Miller movie God's Land explored faith, via a Taiwanese mini-sect who comes to Texas to await God's arrival in a spaceship. This week actor/
writer/director Patrick Wang offers up IN THE FAMILY, an intimate portrait of a gay family -- father, father and son (who is not, by the way, adopted) -- how it came into being and what happens when it is suddenly fractured.

Both films avoid cliché by tackling their subject in a more roundabout manner than expected, taking the time to "live" in their protagonists' shoes and souls. This demands something extra of viewers, time-wise and otherwise, but because both filmmakers are so adept at creating their charac-ters and the world they live in, our following along is easy and surprisingly pleasurable. Mr. Wang (shown at right), Asian-American and a native, I am told, of Texas, puts his graceful/gracious presence to excellent use as an actor, and his "southern" accent seems both unusual and oddly comforting (it may strike you in the same way as did, a decade or two back, first hearing black and middle-eastern characters in British films speaking with thick Brit accents).

As writer and director, Mr Wang also exhibits what TrustMovies (and please forgive his stooping to cliché) sees as an Asian trait -- a kind of quiet, calm resistance to confrontation -- in telling his story. What begins as a charming gay family tale (above) soon turns into a gay horror story about who and what constitute "family" when tragedy strikes. Because our lead actor is a double "other" -- both gay and Asian -- this has the effect of further distancing him in the eyes of many of the characters. Yet the two characteristics work with each other to make this character (Joey Williams) quite special.

Wang, whose movie may make you think of the lengthy, ensemble films of the late Edward Yang, is particularly good at distancing effects that prevent his film from becoming soap opera: Hearing a conversation through a doorway via another character, for instance, helps counter the sentimentality that a scene like this would usually entail. Likewise, watch for a phone call handled in manner just a little different from anything you've probably seen.

As a filmmaker, Wang uses a stationery camera at times (but is not afraid to move it when required), plus an exacting and appropriate use of flashbacks (extracting a shirt from the closet sparks immediate memory). In addition to the excellent performance he gives, he draws fine ones from the rest of his cast, which includes some New York theater actors such as Park Overall (center, right, two photos above) and the wonderful Brian Murray (above). Trevor St. John (below, right) as dad Cody, provides the requisite charm and sex appeal. We get to know this character mostly via flashback, and Wang's handling of this is also exemplary.

As is the performance the filmmaker gets from his child actor, Sebastian Banes (below) -- which is funny, charming, always real.

The film's final section is devoted mostly to a single scene set at a legal deposition (below), prior to which the Murray character, playing Joey's lawyer, has told him, "When the person sitting across the table is no longer an adversary, a lot more is possible." The demonstration of this brings to the fore all of Wang's skill. The scene is quiet, filled with verbiage -- including a nasty piece of innuendo by the "real" family's lawyer -- and minute behavior, and it is utterly riveting. No one raises a voice but the viewer's emotions are made very nearly palpable.

(Interestingly enough, another movie opens at the Quad this week, the recently-reviewed Cherkess, in which talking quietly, rationally helps work out a situation that seems beyond help. Are we about to see a renaissance of rationality replacing blood-and-guts vengeance in films? One doubts it; still a smattering of hope survives.)  After winning the Best Narrative Feature award, as well as the Emerging Filmmaker Award for its director at the recent San Diego Asian Film Festival, In the Family, 169 minutes, opens Friday, November 4 at the Quad Cinema. No formal Q&As are scheduled, but the director will be in the lobby after all opening weekend shows (Friday through Sunday) to meet and speak with audience members.

Family values done right: Ella Lemhagen's PATRIK, AGE 1.5 opens at Quad & NuArt

The beauty of PATRIK, AGE 1.5 -- easily the best gay-themed movie since Brokeback Mountain (though not nearly as sad and dark) -- resides in how fully its writer/director Ella Lemhagen (shown below) takes her rather standard sit-com situation and brings it to wonderful, thorough life.  Once you understand the premise here, though it takes about a third of the film to set it up, there will be no doubt about where the film is headed nor how things will work out. Yet, so interestingly and believably does Ms Lemhagen twist and turn the events within her story, that this outcome proves utterly satisfying.  Here's a feel-good movie that earns every last bit of its good feeling.

Ms Lemhagen accomplishes this via a route that's smart and less-traveled. Her movie is an adoption story about a gay couple (Gustaf Skarsgård and Torkel Petersson, both exceedingly fine actors) who profess to want a child and are proceeding toward that end through the usual bureaucratic government maze (even in Sweden, this is standard, I guess).  When said child arrives and the problems begin in earnest, instead of solving them all via one-on-one father/child confrontation/resolution, the movie take a different route.  Progress is made more via the oddball community-at-large, with the boy Patrick (a smart, slow-to-show-feeling performance from Thomas Ljungman, pictured below, right, and two photos down) making use of his background to bond cautiously with those around him, and warming up but very slowly to his dads.

The fathers themselves have some major problems that only begin to emerge when the kid comes upon the scene.  These ups and downs are handled particularly well, with the writing and direction (both by Lemhager, from a play by Michael Druker) alert to the psychology of these characters. Consequently there is not a situation or line of dialog that rings false -- quite an accomplishment for this genre of film.

One of the fathers was earlier married and has a daughter who is clearly still coming to terms with her dad's "desertion" and sexual preference.  His ex-wife is around, too, and forms an interesting bond with her ex-husbands' new partner.  This extended family, plus various neighbors and workplace personnel, finally forms an entire world, full of the surprise, pleasure and pain found in all of our lives.  This proves the key to the great success of Patrick, Age 1.5.  Better than most movies tackling gay themes, it makes this life seems real and "normal," with it's own set of "family values" every bit as relevant, necessary and right as those of any other family. And it does this without special pleading or sentimentality.  It simply shows and tells it like it is -- for this particular set of characters.

Homophobia, by the way, is ever-present in this scenario -- sometimes obvious and sometimes not.  So deal with it, Lemhagen and her cast and crew seem to be advising us.  It will not disappear, but may in time grow less.  This film takes a big step in moving us toward that time.

Patrick, Age 1.5, from Regent Releasing, opens today, Friday, August 6, in New York City at the Quad Cinema, and in Los Angeles at the NuArt.