BFI Flare: Hit the road

We're into the second half of the 38th BFI Flare film fest, and I've been enjoying the wide range of films in the programme. The four highlights noted here are quite an eclectic bunch, very different styles of moviemaking from four countries — a comedy, drama, collage and documentary...

Drive Back Home
dir-scr Michael Clowater; with Alan Cumming, Charlie Creed-Miles 24/Can ****
Based on a true story that took place at a time in Canada when men were sent to prison for being gay, this film bristles with dark humour as it recounts a story involving brothers and entrenched societal homophobia. Writer-director Michael Clowalter and his cast fill the screen with sparky attitude and offbeat character touches that are both funny and honest. It's a lively, entertaining movie that cleverly uses its period to explore present-day attitudes.

The Pleasure Is Mine [El Placer Es Mío]
dir-scr Sacha Amaral; with Max Suen, Katja Alemann 24/Arg ***.
Like its central character, this drama from Argentina is a bit flippant and enigmatic, pulling us in with pure charm. Unfolding in fragments of scenes, this observant film follows a quick-thinking hustler who finds it easier to manipulate people than to make a meaningful connection. Writer-director Sacha Amaral shoots with offbeat wide-screen camerawork that sharply captures the characters, which makes it eerily easy to put ourselves in their shoes.

Memorabilia
dir-scr Charles Lum, Todd Verow; with JJ Bozeman, Justin Ivan Brown 24/US ****
Planned by filmmaker Charles Lum before his death and completed by his collaborator Todd Verow, this experimental film is a collage-style film memoir tracing a gay man's sexual journey, including things rarely spoken of on film. It's also unusually honest in its depiction of inner yearning, creating a gorgeously lusty vibe that runs through even in the more prosaic interludes. So the cumulative effect is dreamy and resonant.

Fatherhood 
[Tre Fedre]
dir-scr Even Benestad, August B Hanssen; with Kristopher, David, Sindre 25/Nor ***.
Warmly soft-spoken, this documentary presents three men in a relationship in a matter-of-fact way. Being gay in Norway has never been a problem for these guys, although being a throuple did catch people off guard, as did the way they planned to become parents. These are earthy, funny men who will clearly make good fathers, and the film knowingly traces their journey as they prepare for the birth.

Full reviews will be linked on Shadows' BFI Flare page when published.

BFI Flare: Just keep walking

These are unusually busy days for me, with this week's normal releases alongside watching films for the 39th BFI Flare film festival, which is running on London's Southbank until Sunday. Here are four more festival highlights, including the festival's special presentation film Dreams in Nightmares...

A Few Feet Away [A Metros de Distancia]
dir-scr Tadeo Pestana Caro; with Max Suen, Jazmin Carballo 25/Arg ***.
With the tentative energy of a young man who isn't quite sure who he is yet, this drama from Argentina draws us in with its easy authenticity. It may feel a little underwritten, but filmmaker Tadeo Pestana Caro has a strong sense of visual style, tapping into the attitudes of the characters. The editing feels a bit abrupt, jumping from scene to scene, but Caro is unafraid to take the story in some very dark directions. It's an unusually introspective, thoughtful drama.

Dreams in Nightmares
dir-scr Shatara Michelle Ford; with Denee Benton, Mars Storm Rucker 24/US ***.
Strikingly photographed by Ludovica Isidori, this drama has a wonderfully visual kick, pulling us in with dreamlike imagery and vivid textures that we can almost touch and smell. Writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford uses the loose structure of a road movie to send three characters on an odyssey into their souls, and into the soul of their nation. While the film is a bit meandering, it continually touches on resonant issues from knowing perspectives.

Viet and Nam
dir-scr Truong Minh Quy; with Pham Thanh Hai, Dao Duy Bao Dinh 24/Vie ****
Right from the opening shot, there's a sleepy, dreamlike quality to this film that becomes mesmerising, especially as dreams and visions feature strongly throughout this story. Shot on 16mm film, cinematographer Son Doan's eye-catching imagery mixes earthy beauty and grainy authenticity. And the narrative unfolds in the characters' faces. This is a resolutely gentle film, and viewers who can follow its quiet rhythms will find it darkly involving.

Mea Culpa
dir-scr Patrick Tass; with Patrick Tass, Randa Tass 25/Bel ****
A collage-style documentary, this film is a yearning statement from filmmaker Patrick Tass, who lives in Belgium, to his mother in Lebanon. It explores the geographical distance as well as how they hide things about themselves from each other. The images are beautifully shot and edited, capturing offhanded real-life moments as well as deeper thoughts, ideas and emotions. It's a fascinating exploration of identity, seen through filters of nationality and sexuality.

Full reviews will be linked on Shadows' BFI Flare page when published.