BFI Flare: Making connections

The 34th edition of the British Film Institute's Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival was supposed to kick off last Wednesday (the photo above is from the opening film Cicada), but of course it was cancelled, like everything else at the moment. I've covered this festival for 22 years, and it's my favourite - not just for the terrific mix of movies but also because it's one of the best chances all year to hang out with filmmakers and encourage new voices. The BFI is hosting a virtual festival over the next week, a selection of the films on its BFIPlayer, including live filmmaker Q&As. It won't be the same, but it's something!

I will cover as much as I can remotely from isolation at home, including the now-iconic annual collection Five Films for Freedom. To get started, here are some films that have been seen already in London - either at London Film Festival last October or on general release in the UK. Most are already streaming somewhere...

And Then We Danced 
dir-scr Levan Akin; with Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili 19/Geo ****
There's a lovely mix of personal emotion and societal outrage in this sensitive Georgian coming-of-age drama. Swedish writer-director Levan Akin keeps the camera close to the protagonist, seeing events tightly through his eyes as the world comes into brighter focus for him. What it says about empty, fearful machismo is very harsh, and this is also an engaging celebration of artistic freedom. And a bold statement of support for Georgia's LGBTQ community... FULL REVIEW >

Matthias & Maxime 
dir-scr Xavier Dolan, with Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas, Xavier Dolan 19/Can ***.
There's a bold, bracingly fresh idea at the centre of this film, and actor-filmmaker Xavier Dolan spends much of the running time avoiding it, just as his characters do. The film is sharply written to catch the rhythms of 30-somethings still working out where to go with their lives. And the central story of two lifelong friends has a strong kick, even if it comes a bit late... FULL REVIEW >

You Don't Nomi 
dir Jeffrey McHale; with Adam Nayman, David Schmader 19/US ****
A fascinating exploration of the notorious 1996 drama Showgirls, this documentary asks whether it's a masterpiece or a turkey. Or maybe it's both at the same time. Certainly, Paul Verhoeven's film has become a cult classic in the two decades since it was declared the worst film of the year (it swept the Razzies). With comments by journalists, academics and commentators, plus archival interviews with the actors and filmmakers, this is a deep dive into why such an obviously trashy movie has had such an indelible impact... FULL REVIEW >

Pain and Glory [Dolor y Gloria]
dir-scr Pedro Almodovar; with Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia 19/Sp *****
At age 69, Pedro Almodovar delivers on of his most intimate, powerfully inventive films, a striking rumination on the nature of artistic creation in the story of a filmmaker looking back on his life and work, neither of which are quite finished yet. The movie is of course visually sumptuous, but there's also a confident maturity in the storytelling that makes several moments drop-dead gorgeous. It's, quite simply, a stunner... FULL REVIEW >

Booksmart 
dir Olivia Wilde; with Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever 19/US ****
Like a blast of fresh air, this raucous teen comedy approaches high school from an unapologetically female perspective. The film doesn't merely flip the gender, it inventively finds a new path through the usual tropes to create fantastically vivid and complex characters while indulging in the kind of silly outrageousness that has always been reserved for boys. It deserves to be a massive hit... FULL REVIEW >

Critical Week: Locker talk

Amid sunny weather in London, while many critics decamp to Cannes for 10 days of frantic festival action, there has been the usual eclectic collection of press screenings. Olivia Wilde steps behind the camera to direct the hugely entertaining teen comedy Booksmart, as raucous as any high school comedy and comes from a refreshingly female perspective. For contrast, Keanu Reeves is back in killing mode for John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, which starts off with a series of breathtakingly inventive action sequences before settling in for a relatively rote final act.

The week's indie was Funny Story, a comedy with a very dark undercurrent, beautifully played and bravely written. The foreign film was Portugal's frothy ambrosia Diamantino, a surreal and pointed but surprisingly sweet satire of politics and celebrity culture. And there were three docs: Apollo 11 is a gripping archival film with no present-day material, telling the story of the first man on the moon with pristine film footage and a strikingly intimate perspective. From the brilliant mind of Werner Herzog comes Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, which cleverly traces the life of the late writer on an unusual trek through history and geography. And the finely assembled The Lavender Scare recounts a little-known spin-off of the McCarthy hearings, as government workers were hunted down and ruined for being gay from the early 1950s until the law was repealed in the 1990s.

I have two more screenings before I leave London for a couple of weeks: Will Smith in Disney's live-action Aladdin remake and the animated sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2. There may be some films I can catch up with while I'm in the US, not to mention whatever might be on the plane. I'll be updating the blog along the way...