BFI Flare: The best version of yourself

Heading into the final stretch of the 37th BFI Flare, it's been interesting to see how the films are reflecting a much broader experience of LGBTQIA+ people. Indeed, the formerly titled London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival has expanded to tell more complex trans and intersex stories, including this year's centrepiece film Who I Am Not. I can't remember a previous year in which both the opening and centrepiece titles were documentaries, and both of these films recount powerful narratives while highlighting experiences that are rarely if ever put on-screen. Here are some more film highlights from Flare, plus my usual Critical Week below...

Who I Am Not
dir-scr Tunde Skovran; with Sharon-Rose Khumalo, Dimakatso Sebidi 23/SA ****
Intersex babies are normal but rare, and yet many societies seem unable to accept this fact. From South Africa, this film finds honesty, humour and moving emotions as its subjects describe how it feels to be neither male nor female biologically. Romanian actor-turned-filmmaker Tunde Skovran simply watches them as they interact with family members, doctors and each other. She also incorporates art and boldly imaginative imagery to meaningfully explore how society can embrace these special people.

Chrissy Judy
dir-scr Todd Flaherty; with Todd Flaherty, Wyatt Fenner 22/US ****
While this story is told from the perspective of someone who thinks that 30 is old, it's a lovely look at how friendships ebb and flow over the years. Actor-filmmaker Todd Flaherty has an astute ear for dialog and a terrific eye for comedy, shooting in black and white to give this a classic screwball flavour, complete with a series of lovely nods to Some Like It Hot. Yes, the film is that ambitious, even on what is clearly a very small budget. It's also deeply charming.

Lie With Me [Arrête Avec Tes Mensonges]
dir-scr Olivier Peyon; with Guillaume de Tonquedec, Victor Belmondo 22/Fr ****
Surging with deep emotions that are never sentimental, this French drama explores the power of narratives themselves as a writer confronts an unfinished relationship from his past. Writer-director Olivier Peyon deploys gorgeous cinematography and skilful editing to keep scenes grounded in realism while also cranking up some seriously intense feelings. So the film is romantic, sexy and also provocative in the way it challenges us to meaningfully confront our own history.

Narcissism: The Auto-Erotic Images
dir-scr Toni Karat; with Toni Karat, Birgit Bosold 22/Ger ***
Director Toni Karat perhaps takes on a bit too much with this ambitions project, combining a photography book with a documentary film to explore the idea of self-love. While the images are absolutely stunning, they say even more than the talky interviews, which sometimes feel academic and perhaps even strident. Yes, each point made is an important one, especially when commenting on gender disparity in society. But the nuance gets lost in the spoken words.

BEST OF YEAR
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
dir Laura Poitras; with Nan Goldin, Megan Kapler 22/US ****.
With this extraordinary film, documentarian Laura Poitras takes a multifaceted look at a fascinating artist. As a biography of photographer Nan Goldin, this is a clear-eyed look at her life, work and survival. And it seamlessly connects her efforts to raise awareness of the Sackler family's direct responsibility in more than half a million deaths from opioid addiction. All of this is skilfully woven together with a remarkably gentle hand... FULL REVIEW >

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C R I T I C A L   W E E K

I've been struggling to fit in theatrical releases alongside the festival films this week, but I did manage to see Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman in A Good Person, a perhaps overlong but strongly resonant drama about human connections. Keanu Reeves returned for John Wick: Chapter 4, which is a vast improvement over the last couple of chapters, feeling fresher, more stylish and dramatically deeper. Supercell is a rather silly storm-chaser thriller with Skeet Ulrich and Alec Baldwin, overloaded with melodrama and cliches, but still entertaining. And from Italy, The Eight Mountains is a spectacular epic about a complex friendship between two very different young men.

As BFI Flare continues until Sunday, I will also be watching next week's action-fantasy blockbuster Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, Ben Affleck's Nike biopic Air, Alexandra Shipp in Space Oddity, the screen-based thriller Missing, horror comedy Summoning Sylvia, Japanese drama Plan 75, political thriller Cairo Conspiracy and Moroccan drama El Houb. And I also have a stage show to see (review here soon).