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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1997)
just out T n ovsm bsr 21, 1007 ▼ 33 o! G Before anything else can be said in review of Lilies, I insist that you go see it and promise you won’t regret it. A plot synopsis, aside from being a disservice to someone planning to see it, would fail to convey the film’s finer aspects: the breathtaking beauty of the images laid upon the voluptuous intricacies of the script and upheld by the pro found performances of the actors. menici The only other way to convince you to see it— if my enthusiastic but humble opinion hasn’t done so— is to describe who and what makes Lilies a cinematic masterpiece that is sure to further add to its list of awards. (And maybe you can glean a few juicy hints along the way.) Lilies is directed by John Greyson, teacher, writer and homo, who also directed Zero Pa tience, a 1994 musical satire about the scapegoats of the AIDS epidemic. Greyson has published several books and normally writes what he di rects. “The most subversive thing about Lilies," he says, “is its refusal to be sacrilegious. It was never meant to be sacrilegious. It is romantic. It’s a film for anyone who has ever been young and in love.” Screenwriter Michel Marc Bouchard has achieved star status in his native Quebec and around the world, with numerous critically ac claimed plays to his credit. Reflecting on his first experience scripting a film, he says, “A play wright is much freer than a screenwriter. Theater is poor, so the writing is rich. Everything can be described verbally, and writing relies on what is evoked. But cinema is illustration. So, as a much richer medium, the writer becomes more humble and modest.” For a U.S. audience, the most recognizable actor—but by no means the only one worth men tioning— is Brent Carver, who earned a Tony Award for his part in Kiss o f the Spider Woman. In Lilies, Carver plays a prisoner and the Count ess de Tilly. It can be disturbing to see female character played by men, but in this case— and in the context of the film— it is both situationally neces sary and thematically relevant. All of the parts in Lilies are played by men, and no special care was given to hiding that fact. Makeup is at a mini mum, and the costume designers made bosomless dresses for certain of the characters. The signifi cance of such details are indicative of the production’s artistic integrity and what the film successfully brings from the stage to the screen: the thoughtfulness and skillful acting that is often absent from Hollywood’s titillating and superfi cially entertaining fare. The film packs a lot of punch. It has an intensely literary quality and beautiful imagery, These moments, which could not be accom plished live on stage, are some of the most thrill ing and visually compelling moments of the film. One cannot help but gasp as the ceiling is lifted off the prison chapel confessional to expose the dim, dark-wood interior to the blazing, cloudless sky of Roberval while a red-and-gold hot-air balloon floats majestically overhead. The play’s concept, however, remains central to the film: Lilies contains countless other plays- within-a-play, some theatrical and some delu sional, that fuel the development of characters and plot. There is the fantasy world of the tragically disappointed Countess, who says to her son while lying in a self-made grave, “Don’t spoil my legacy, play the part.” There is the witty repartee of Lydie- Anne, who speaks lies but is brutally, beautifully perceptive—with something of modern-day drag- queen sass—who says upon losing her young The film lover, “Go ahead, Simon, packs a lot of play your part.” punch. It has There is Father St. M ichel’s daring boys’ an intensely school production of the literary qual m artyrdom of St. Sebastian, which be ity and beau comes conflated with the tiful imagery actual love affair of its two stars, and there is the combining an play staged by the prison emotionally ers so that Simon can transform his confession powerful plot into an act of revenge. with potent This notion of play is D e r fo r m a n c e s a large part of the film's literary quality of daring juxtapositions and po tent interactions, viewed from the multiple per spectives provided by the multiple plays, and the tension that arises from these devices. Much of what makes Lilies beautiful is not pleasing to everyone, though. Sure, there are some really fine-looking young actors and bit of well-placed nudity, but the depth of the film can be intimidating and— for audiences used to ex plosions and celebrities— a bit of a turn-off. However, a moving plea for the more refined aspects of cinema as an art form is offered by one of the film’s characters. Upon the cancellation of his radically romantic revision of the story of the death of St. Sebastian, a turning point in the lives of other characters as well, Father St. Michel mourns the lack of appreciation given his artistic endeavor: “The repudiation of the rational, the intoxication of the divine, the revolution of the sacred, release from the constraints of the scripture...they don’t understand.” It is a mistake not to give Lilies consideration as more than entertainment. , Danny Gilmore (left) and Jason Cadieux enact the martyrdom o f St. Sebastian, one o f the film ’s many plays- within -a -play C eci n ’ est P as un F ilm Even on the big screen , the play’s the thing in the tragic , romantic drama Lilies by Christopher D. Cuttone combining an emotionally powerful plot with potent performances. Bouchard himself trans formed his script into a screenplay and took advantage of the new medium to add to the play’s evocative moments. The action takes place in two time periods and two locations simultaneously: 1912 in the fash ionable vacation village of Roberval in northern Quebec, and 1952 in a Canadian federal prison. When describing the movements between these two settings, one is tempted to use the word “seamless,” which one would have difficulty us ing to describe a stage production. It is impossible not to notice the change. The prison, not surprisingly, is drab and colorless, while Roberval is all light and color and Karma Chameleon-esque. Still the transition is always fluid, though it may be abrupt or incomplete, with the temporal incursion of a character in one time being startled by a loud noise from the future or two old men attending a dinner party alongside their younger selves. Lilies plays Dec. 5-11 at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. Shows are at 7, 8:55 and 10:35 pm nightly, with weekend matinées at 1, 3 and 5 pm. Tickets are $5.50 general. For more information, call 223-4515. working toward a hate-free Oregon See my Exclusive Listings on our webpage Do what you want and the money will come. Sort of. At Wilken & Lorenzen, we know that money is more than just fads and figures. .Sometimes money can he surrounded by complicated emotional issues. We can help. We re a full-service account http://www. StanWiley.com JE W E L A. ROBINSON Multimillion $ Producer OFFICE (503) 281-4040 1730 N.E. 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97212 VOICE MAIL (503) 301-4283 E-MAIL Jewel2U @ teleport.com T ransformational H ypnotherapy ing firm with an awareness of the real world, not just the world of the IRS. Because of our outside perspective, we can usually bring more clarity to the way you do business or the way you structure your estate. 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