Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013, January 07, 2000, Page 41, Image 41

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    January 7.2000 r Jaat
FILMS
* ▼ .............
Ludovic is an impeccable, beautiful little girl.
The problem, as far as his family is con­
cerned, is that Ludovic was bom a boy— and
this is the fuel of Ma Vie en Rose (M y Life in
Pink).
Considering the heavy subject matter, Bel­
gian director A lain Berliner could have taken a
more serious route with his feature film debut,
but he decided to keep this flick light, colorful
and humorous. From the first scene, you fall in
love with Ludovic and cheer for him along the
way.
His parents, two deeply confused souls, first
dismiss their sons behavior, then call it a phase
and send him to therapy, then try to scrapie up
a deeper understanding of why Ludovic is the
way he is. T he conclusion is far from dismal.
This movie is a warm, trippy treat.
— Katy Davidson
E verythin g R elative
he biggest challenge with Everything Rela­
tive is remembering all the names and who
slept with whom during the incestuous col­
lege years of seven old friends who come
T
drifts in and out of senility, and downstairs lives
a “sister” William has never met. T hen there’s
the foul-mouthed sister who’s marrying
W illiam’s first boyfriend.
T he many surreal aspects of the film elevate
the story from a typical saga of sadness. The
adult William is frequently confronted by
phantoms of his former selves, including his
angst-steeped teen self who inspires the film’s
title.
W hat’s refreshing is that William’s gayness
is basically a given— very little of the story has
to do with the trauma and drama of his being
queer. Instead, the story focuses on how he
attempts to fit back into his family of origin.
T hat William appiears to have survived his
truly awful upbringing and made himself into a
compassionate, responsible adult provides hope
that anyone might transcend similar circum­
stances.
T he film does feel a bit claustrophobic, as
most of the action takes place at the family
home, but that also heightens the effect of the
ending, which is a nice relief. It is well-acted
by unknown actors in a naturalistic style— per-
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Lily Tomlin (right) as dowdy lesbian eyes C h er’s more exotic character in Tea with Mussolini
together for a weekend reunion. Kate and Vic­
toria are the married dykes with a new baby
who invite old friends G ina, Luce, Maria, Josie
and Sarah to celebrate their new addition and
relive old times. I’d tell you who sleeps with
whom, but I wouldn’t want to ruin the fun.
The rest is all sm ooth sailing— for the view­
er, if not the characters— as they work out old
wounds, forge new bonds and generally have a
great time. T he characters are easy to relate to,
well-acted and funny. T h e movie is blessed
with not one but several inspired love scenes
(in the unrated director’s version) with some
wonderfully real women. Snuggle up with
someone you love for this one, or just someone
with whom you’d like to get closer. It’s the pier-
feet date movie.
— Kronda Adair
T he H a n g in g G a r d en
his independent C anadian film set in Nova
I Scotia tells the story of a gay man with a
tortured soul. W illiam returns home after a
10-year absence to visit his family for his sister’s
weLlding and quickly remembers why he stayed
away so long. This family is so deeply dysfunc­
tional that the odds are anyone else’s family
will seem better by comparison.
For starters, his dad is a hard-drinking, hard­
hearted guy, and his m other is reaching the end
of her victim’s ropie. Upstairs his grandmother
haps a little too real— the abusive father was
almost too real for my comfort level.
A thought-provoking subplot dwells on
William’s complex relationship with his m oth­
er, who is overdue to hurst out of her thankless
caretaker roles.
It could be cathartic or even therapeutic to
watch, depending on the level of dysfunction
in your own family. Keep your therapist’s num­
ber handy!
—Oriana Green
T ea W it h M ussolini
et in Florence, Italy, just before and during
World War II, this sensitive film by direc­
tor Franco Zeffirelli has at its heart the
coming of age of a hoy named Luca, though he
doesn’t actually have all that big a part. This is
a semi-autobiographical tale of Zeffirelli’s youth
and, as such, is seen from quite a distance by
the 76-year-old director.
The real stars are the eclectic hunch of
aging Englishwomen expatriates who join
forces to raise the abandoned Luca and rescue
him from an orphanage. He in turn proves loy­
ally useful to them and their two American
sidekicks, played by Cher and Lily Tomlin.
W hile it’s wonderful to see Tomlin actually
playing a full-blooded dyke, her part is too brief
S
Continued on Page 4 2
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