BFI Flare: Cuddle up

I'm enjoying the eclectic films presented at the 40th BFI Flare, which has taken over the Southbank for 12 days this month. We're at the midpoint of the festival, so I'm fairly exhausted by my schedule, as I have to keep watching the regular releases of the week as well as lots of festival films, then find time to write about them. Here are four more superb movies that I hope will get proper releases at some point in the near future. The first is already on Apple TV in North America...

Perro Perro
dir-scr Marco Berger; with German Flood, Juan Ramos 25/Arg ****
Shot in glistening black and white by cinematographer Martin Farina, this surreal drama is so playful that it immediately makes us smile. Argentine master provocateur Marco Berger continues to explore masculinity and connection by blurring lines of sexuality, in this case teasingly lusty inversion of reality. Even if the metaphor is strained, the timeless filmmaking style gives a kick to deeper ideas. It's also sweet and very sexy.

Strange River [Estrany Riu]
dir-scr Jaume Claret Muxart; with Jan Monter, Nausicaa Bonnin 25/Sp ****
Following a Catalan family on a biking holiday along the Danube in Germany and Austria, this understated film zeroes in on a teen as he discovers inexplicable sense of his own desire. But this isn't a coming-of-age story, or a coming-out film. Instead, writer-director Jaume Claret Muxart is inventively digging under the surface to find truths that span generations. So it becomes a fascinating portrait of a family at a pivotal moment in time.

The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel
dir Ramiel Petros, Nicholas Freeman; with Tony Powell, Mick McGuire 25/UK ****
This is one of those engaging, riveting documentaries in which you join the filmmakers on an unpredictable ride, as new details surprise them and us in real time. Ostensibly this is a film about the closing down of a landmark motel in West Hollywood, but directors Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman discover a protagonist in its final manager Tony Powell, an English football star who vanished without a trace more than 40 years ago.

Out Laws
dir Lexi Powner, James Lewis; with Friedel Dausab, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera UK/26 ****
Tracing the experiences of three human rights activists, this engaging documentary explores how British colonialism left a legacy of harsh anti-gay laws around the world. Thankfully, the central figures add a buoyant hopefulness as they encourage each other to keep up the good work. And with a wide range of experts, filmmakers Lexi Powner and James Lewis trace the topic's history and present-day realities with honesty and clarity.

Full reviews will be linked to the SHADOWS @ BFI FLARE page.