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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1995)
18 ▼ m arch 1 7 , 1 0 0 5 T ju st o u t C in em atic M ecca Continued from previous page Best Actress plume because of the strong feelings this film engendered. Still, it is work that sticks with you. Haunting. On the other end o f the spectrum was the world premiere o f Patricia Rozem a’s feel-good crowd- pleaser When Night Was Falling (Canada). Fans of Rozcma’s earlier outing, / 've Heard the Mermaids Singing, will perhaps welcome this new effort. Night follows heroine Camille as she strays from her Calvinist boyfriend/preacher into the arms of circus performer Petra. Like Mermaids, this is both quirky and simple. W henever the picture concen trates on its visual elements, particularly the magic and sensuality of the circus setting, it soars. When the two women finally get it on, the results are utterly delicious. However, when the action shifts to dialogue, the movie itself falls. The perfor mances ultimately suffer under a sophomoric script. When Night Was Falling tries much too hard to be fresh, life-affirming, w him sical.. .blah, blah, blah. However, perhaps the final word should go to the audience, which gave the film a rousing reception. The Forum of Young Cinem a— one o f the two alternative sections o f the festival— presented a smattering of queer films and videos, making up a small percentage o f its overall programming. T ra ditionally, the forum ’s offerings are a mixture of social-issue documentaries, cutting-edge cinema, and pretentious claptrap. This year was no excep tion. On the plus side was the European premiere of Deborah Hoffm an’s brilliant Complaints o f a Du tiful Daughter (U.S.). This highly personal explo ration of the director’s relationship with her mother now suffering from A lzheim er’s disease is a m ulti faceted gem— softly humorous, quietly moving, and filled with a deep humanity. A must-see. (Historical note: the queer highlight o f the 1995 festival came shortly after V alentine’s Day, when both Hoffman and her life partner Frances Reid were nominated for Academy Awards in separate categories— possibly the first lesbian couple to be so honored in Oscar herstory. Go girls!) The jury is still out on Steve M cLean’s Post cards from America (U.S.), based on stories by David Wojnorowicz. This mood piece mixes spec tacular visuals with an equally disjointed narra tive. Audiences are split— some find it poetic and profound, others dismiss it as inflated and distant. See it for yourself and decide. D on’t bother seeing Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (U.S.), Jill G odm ilow ’s utterly inept rendering o f Ron Vawter’s acclaimed performance piece o f the same title. I w on’t comment on the worth o f the piece itself (other than to say, enough with the Roy Cohn already!). Some friends assure me that on the stage it was extremely affecting. On the screen it was a complete bungle— lousy camera angles, endless audience cutaways, poor editing, no direc tion. PHOTO BY LINDA KLIEWER The Forum Sierra Lonepine Briano (left) and Kathleen Saadat share a welcome moment o f levity in Ballot M easure 9 Finally, in the forum ’s video section, Berlin media mogul Jürgen Brüning scores with He Is Bold and He Is a Racist. A clever treatise on gay skinheads and their everlasting pursuit of m ascu linity, it was awarded the first prize for Best Video o f the Festival. The Market The European Film M arket comprised over 300 films not accepted into the festival proper. By far the highlight o f this section was Nancy M ecler’s stunner Sister, My Sister (Britain), star ring Julie W alters, Joely Richardson and Sodhi May. Set in the 1930s and based on a real-life incident (which also inspired the Genet play The Maids), this over-the-topper is a wild combination o f high cam p and high drama. We all know the story: the icy Madame and the subservient sibling servants. However, this version bares all as sisterly affections rapidly turn into the love that dare not speak its name, with murderous results. W alters (Educating Rita ) gives new meaning to chewing up the scenery as Madame, and, in both manner and intensity, Joely Richardson bears an uncanny resemblance to Vanessa Redgrave— her real-life mother. M eticulously crafted and orgasmically entertaining— this one’s a queen’s dream and a dyke’s delight. 1993 CLOS DANIELLE CHARDONNAY $8.95 BTL This is a big, rich butterball of a chardonnay. Blessed with voluptuous fruit and a finish that will make your tongue tingle; all for a price you can’t beat! 1993 PANTHER CREEK PINOT NOIR $9.95 BTL One of Oregon’s finest! This is silky sm(X)th, filled with juicy strawberry and spicy oak flavors. A “Best Buy" in delicious red wine! Portland Wine Merchants 1430 SE 35th. Portland 503.234.4399 1992 MARCARINI DOLCETTO D’ALBA $12.95 BTL Who says things d o n ’t get le tte r with age? This incredibly intense dolcetto is from 100year old vines!. Italian red wine do esn ’t get much better than this! Grab a pizza or ax>k up some pasta, pop the cork on this one and have at it! If y o u h a v e a n y s p e c i a l r e q u e s t s , p le a s e call!!! sure 9 is a m ust for television audiences— call your Panorama Helmed by openly gay W ieland Speck, this section is by far the most gay and lesbian friendly— over 20 o f the 52 feature-length works and half of the shorts deal with issues relevant to our commu nity. The shorts this year were hit and miss, with one title dominating the pack. Trevor (U.S.), by Peggy Rajski, proved the most popular title in the festival. This Academy Award nominee follows an over weight teen obsessed with the theater, San Fran cisco, and Diana Ross. Sounds familiar? Yes, h e ’s one o f us! Hitting every gay nerve imaginable, director Rajski is a fresh new talent to be reckoned with. She could not attend the festival because she is now working on a feature with none other than Jodie Foster (w ouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall on that set!). Portland audiences will welcome Panoram a’s documentary Ballot Measure 9 (U.S.)— this year’s Sundance A udience A w ard w inner. H eather M acD onald’s well-crafted, highly emotional film chronicles the fierce battle to defeat an initiative discriminatory to gay men and lesbians that ap peared on the 1992 Oregon ballot. Presenting both sides without the pretense o f objectivity, this film is a textbook on how the religious right is organiz ing, sometimes with deadly results. Ballot Mea local PBS affiliate and dem and that they air this important work. Tw o docum entaries by and about African American artists were presented. Marlon R iggs’ Black Is...Black A in’t (U.S.) contains many bril liant moments: a weakened R iggs’ fever-pitched bedside medley, Bill T. Jones’ stunning danse macabre, and a host o f interviews, each done with dignity and respect. But, like the gum bo that is the main m otif o f the piece, the ingredients never quite come together— the cinem atic stew suffers from an awkward structure, thematic repetition, inordi nate length, and the absence o f R iggs’ guiding hand (he died before he was able to com plete the film). Michelle Parkerson and Ada Gay G riffin’s A Litany fo r Survival: The Life and Work o f Audre Lorde (U.S.) profiles the great African American poet’s work and her struggle against cancer. Lorde’s love o f the spoken word shines through, and glim mering archival footage is woven together with haunting sound montages. However, the film some times suffers from lesser craftsm anship and occa sional rambling about issues not germane to Lorde’s life. Three pieces dealing with the underground rounded out Panoram a’s documentaries. Jochen Hick’s Menmaics (Germany) delves into the leather IS YOUR PET PARI OF THE FAMILY? Tender, loving care for the furry and feathered members o f your family! Dr. Patricia E. Huff, D.V.M. Dr. «JcfTcry «Judkins, D.V.M. Dr. Stan Wood, D.V.M. 2519 E. BURNSIDE, PORTLAND CALL 233-5001