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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2002)
FILM Trembling Before G-d andi Dubowski s film is a must-see, if only because it admirably and thoroughly resists the documentary filmmakers temptation to didacticism. No, Trembling Before G-d (in Orthodox.Jewish law, one isn’t permitted to write the word “God”) is a true docu mentary, objectively and dispas sionately recording the thoughts and experiences of its subjects and their often unsatisfying hut reso nantly authentic lives. The film follows several Ortho dox Jews who are tom between their homosexuality and their devotion to a fundamentalist reli gion—one that’s interpreted strict ly and with resounding finality by the culture in which they were raised. Any nonheterosexual ori entation is inherently sinful. Dubowski found a remarkable diversity of cases in a community that presents a united front to the outside world. Among the more hopeful stories is that of a young London man whose parents sent him off to Israel to rid him of his homosexuality, only to see him flourish in Jerusalem’s gay community. Then there’s an elderly gentleman from New York who came to embrace his homosex uality later in life and whose charming crack pot eccentricities are loudly, happily defiant. Since most influential Orthodox leaders see S Passionate lives When religion is your a rt and a rt is your religion It’s that clear depiction of struggle that makes Trembling Before G-d so indelible, even profound. It’s easy for out siders to vehemently reject beliefs we might see as repressive or manipulative. Dubowski’s film shows just how difficult, complicated and contradictory it is when an individual’s sexuality conflicts with deeply held, very genuine religious beliefs. W hich is more valuable, and which can he sacrificed? Trembling’s eminently empathetic subjects draw their own sometimes dis heartening, sometimes moving, always truly felt conclusions. — Christopher McQuain Old Testament sexual prohibitions as judg ments to he applied today as they were thou sands of years ago, however, there’s more than sufficient pain in many of these people’s lives. It’s hard not to feel anguished while witnessing a devoted lesbian couple— who won’t allow the camera to capture their faces— tentatively ver balizing their anxiety that “the beautiful life we’ve created (together) won’t he able to be brought into the next world.” Refreshingly, Adventures o f Felix does not hit you over the head with “messages," yet messages seep into your brain nonetheless: that gay Arabs have more to worry about than some others; that France is not necessarily as progressive as we think; and the popular notion (yet still fresh here) that family is collected, not bom. Out on Video Adventures of Felix his completely charming French import from Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau follows a hap pily partnered and adorable young gay man (Sami Bouajila) on an impulsive journey to Marseilles to find his birth father, who he has never seen. Along the way, much o f Felix is revealed: His dark skin is of Arab descent, which apparently comes from his absent father. T he pills he pops are for HIV. Because Felix’s jaunt is on foot, it takes a while to travel the some 500 miles, particularly by his mles of “no large cities." This makes for endless opportunities to meet a bizarre and memorable cast of eccentrics. Unfortunately, two of them are men preparing to dump a dead body late at night; when they see Felix, the poor boy must spend a portion of his trip watching his back. T — LB The Monkey's Mask W hat starts out as a taught and sexy erotic thriller ends up a mess. The Monkey's Mask stars Susie Porter as Australian dyke private eye Jill Fitzpatrick, hired to investigate the brutal murder o f a young, bohemian wannabe poet in Sydney. O ne o f Jill’s first stops is the girl's college poetry class, where she meets steamy professor Diana Maitland, portrayed by Kelly McGillis. W hen this film debuted at festivals across ffU tr i d . * H o n o r e d D ign ity M e m o r ia l rM P r o v id e r s C a ld w e ll's C o lo n ia l C h a p e l 2 0 N E 14th A v e • P o rtla n d . O R 9 7 2 3 2 (503) 232-4111 R o s s H o lly w o o d C h a p e l 4 7 3 3 N E T h o m p s o n • P o rtla n d . O R 9 7 2 1 3 (503) 281-1800 (503)659-1184 the country last year, the press were quick to trounce M cGillis for how old and bad she looks. O n the contrary, she’s aged into an allur ing femme fatale, perfectly molding the teacher/student sexual tension between her and the 20-something investigator. (And between her and the murdered girl, too, perhaps?) T he movie begins with a sultry and gritty film noir appeal, particularly Jill’s catchy voice over puns, recollecting the old gumshoe clas sics. Sadly, silly plot devices continue to get in the way of a promising story about the obses sive power relationship between two women who might be at opposite legal ends and the wild sex that ensues. Desperate to be involved in multiple stories and places at once and looking chic while doing it, the movie loses its way, becoming a confrising collage of whodunit artifice. By the time all the lesbians in the audience are offend ed by Jill’s uncharacteristic attraction to Profes sor Diana’s super-creepy husband, you’re pretty much beyond caring about the whole thing. — LB — Lisa Bradshaw jn PlNERO is playing at Fox Tower Cinemas. • Patented treatment process effectively reduces or eliminates unwanted hair from all areas of the body • Four on-site-state-of-the-art lasers • Now treating white, blond, grey hair with laser • Guaranteed results • Gender friendly dinic • N ational Portability • 2 4 -H o u r C o m p as sio n H e lp lin e sw • 1 0 0 ° o S ervice G u a ra n te e • C h ild /G ran d ch ild Protection P rogram • P erson al P lanning G u ide • A ccess to G rief M a n a g e m e n t Library v i w w .d ig n ity m e m o ria l.c o m • w w w .B e s tH a lf.c o m P laser hair removal specialists D ignity B en efits 11667 S E S te v e n s R d • P o rtla n d . O R 9 7 2 6 6 uerto Rican American Miguel Pinero is largely responsible for the modem slam poetry movement in the United States. sona Providing quality funeral, cremation and cem etery services with care, compassion and dignity. S u n n y s id e Little C h a p e l o f th e C h im e s Pinero LASER HAIR REMOVAL P e a ce . T ru s t. R e s p e c t. D ig n ity ” T r em b lin g B efore G - d phys through April 11 at Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N .E. Sandy Blvd. Cad 503-281-4215 for times. The director wiU attend a special screening 2 p.m. April 7 followed by a reception. O ne of the founders of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, where the spoken word form was bom , he lived hard and died young, as witnessed in this rapid-paced but intimate biographical portrait of the tragically self destructive bisexual writer. Filmmakers couldn’t have chosen better than Benjam in Bratt as the lead. T h e hunky Law & Order alum is extraordinarily c o n vincing as “M ikey” Pinero, who we see in the beginning o f the film impressing his c e ll mates with his particular brand o f prose. H e’s an addict o f a seemingly endless amount of substances, w hich, com bined with theft and some random violence, keep him in a c o n stantly perilous state with police and acquaintances alike. Even as Mikey becomes the most influential , poet of his generation and the toast of New York’s theater community with the Obie Award-winning play Short Eyes about a child molester in prison, it becomes clear that not even his closest friends can trust him not to rip them off or use them for his own selfish means. T h e eventually homeless and drunken bard of the east side can ’t even trust himself from undermining all the work that leads him to success and the love o f his life (a woman, radi antly portrayed by Talisa Soto). Unfortunately, writer/director Leon Ichaso insists on a couple of tired stereotypes. Every woman in the film is either a Madonna (most notably Mikey s mother, played to saintly per fection by Rita Moreno, a great actress we never see enough of, if you ask me) or a Jezebel (most notably Mikey s girlfriend, who, in case we don’t quite get it, announces she is his “per sonal whore”). Only the belief that this is prob ably the way Mikey actually viewed all women makes these portrayals palatable, and that is only if we allow Ichaso the luxury o f assuming that’s his first-person intent. Also troubling is a subtle suggestion that the sexual abuse by Mikey s father caused a sexual confusion as the young man grew into adulthood. Did this abuse cause bisexual attractions? Please. T he ending begins to become more of a cele bration of all things Pinero rather than the suc cessful study of the conflicts within a man who is essentially a strung-out junkie loser— but also a brilliant writer and orator— and the confusion this causes the people around him. However, the final scenes with a voice-over of the strikingly honest Pinero piece “A Lower East Side Poem” is so goddamn beautiful it’s hard to argue with. A t the end o f the day, the film is worth it. Pinero is a visual and auditory feast. Thousands o f men and women have experienced the Sona difference. Call today! I 503 - 443-2250 www.laseritnow.com “S coot cm 5 2 8 5 SW S . n j r e SPRING SPECIAL on* Meadows Rd ^ Suite 2 7 0 Lake Oswego. OR 9 7 0 3 5 Purchase a package for any body area and seJ nd area and add add a a second area Yof of eQual equal or lesser value for FREE
