LLGFF 1: Simply Divine

The British Film Institute's 27th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival kicked off Thursday night with the international premiere of Jeffrey Schwarz's documentary I Am Divine, celebrating the unforgettable star of Pink Flamingoes and Hairspray. Jeffrey was on hand to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards at BFI Southbank, then mix with the opening night crowd at the big party on HMS President, just down the river. The festival is one of the biggest in the UK, and the next 10 days promise a wide range of fascinating films addressing issues of diversity, gender and sexuality from every conceivable angle. Here are a couple of highlights from the first few days, including revivals of two recent releases for appreciative audiences...

I Am Divine
dir Jeffrey Schwarz; with John Waters, Ricki Lake 13/US ****
This fast-paced documentary tells the story of an important artist who changed cinema, music and the theatre forever, but died far too early at age 42 in 1988. Divine (aka Harris Glenn Milstead) was a childhood friend of filmmaker John Waters in Baltimore, and together they took the underground cinema world by storm. As his career grew, Divine's work as an actor became increasingly sophisticated, with breakout roles in Alan Rudolph's Trouble in Mind before the crossover success of Hairspray. Schwarz documents this with energy and plenty of trashy style, interviewing family, friends and costars while also letting us see lots of fabulous film clips, glimpses behind the scenes, archive interviews and never-before-seen performance footage. It's an engaging, funny and surprisingly moving doc that never tries to be anything more than the celebration of an icon.

White Night
dir-scr Leesong Hee-il; with Won Tae-hee, Lee Li-kyung12/Kor ***.
With minimal dialog, this is a film about feelings, focussing intently on its central character's dark reckoning with his own vengeful soul. Wongyu (Won) is a flight attendant based in Germany who returns home to Seoul for the first time in two years to see his ex-boyfriend. But their meeting doesn't go as planned, leaving Won to stew alone over a violent homophobic attack they experienced years earlier. While he plots revenge against the thugs, who have just been released from prison, he has an anonymous sexual encounter with Taejun (Lee) that takes a series of surprising twists over one long night. The film is beautifully shot and edited to force us inside the minds of the characters. This makes the story strongly evocative as these two young men bristle against each other, bringing up sharp, painful memories as well as some tenderness and hope. It's the kind of film that isn't too obsessed with plotting, instead letting the story meander in ways that leave us thinking.

Laurence Anyways
dir Xavier Dolan; with Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clement 12/Can ***. 
With each feature, 23-year-old Dolan gets more ambitious. This third time out, the unusually gifted filmmaker pushes things just over the edge into self-parody, but still tells a powerfully provocative story with a strong emotional undercurrent... REVIEW >

Keep the Lights On
dir Ira Sachs; with Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth 12/US ****
This gorgeously shot and edited film is an incisive exploration of two people struggling to make a relationship work over nearly a decade. Its honest perspective makes it thoroughly involving, even if it turns dreary in the final act... REVIEW >

LFF 6: Beard vs beard

Today at the 56th BFI London Film Festival, the red carpet paved the way for filmmakers Ben Affleck (with Argo, above), Michael Winterbottom (Every Day) and Ben Lewin (The Sessions), who were accompanied by their cast members. Oddly, I read about these big gala events, but don't actually get to experience them myself, as I am sitting in press screenings all day, plus the occasional press conference when I have the time. In other words, for most journalists the LFF isn't very festive. But then we do have the films. Here are some more highlights...

Argo
dir Ben Affleck; with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston 12/US ****
Based on an unbelievable true story, this entertaining thriller uses declassified documents to recount a news story from an angle never heard before. Both funny and thrillingly nerve-wracking, it also cements Affleck's status as an A-list director... REVIEW >

Keep the Lights On
dir Ira Sachs; with Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth 12/US ****
This gorgeously shot and edited film is an incisive exploration of two people struggling to make a relationship work over nearly a decade. Its honest perspective makes it thoroughly involving, even if it turns dreary in the final act... REVIEW >

The Sessions
dir Ben Lewin; with John Hawkes, Helen Hunt 12/US ****
Based on a true story, this quietly honest film manages to avoid sentimentality with startlingly earthy performances. And the straightforward filmmaking captures the inner life of the characters without becoming gimmicky... REVIEW >

Every Day
dir Michael Winterbottom; with Shirley Henderson, Jon Simm 12/UK ***
In the style of a fly-on-the-wall doc, this movie traces fictional events over a five-year period. And since it was actually shot over five years, it's a significant cinematic experiment. It's also moving story with very strong performances, although it's limited by the scale of the narrative as it follows a mother (Henderson) in Norfolk, coping with four precocious children on her own while her husband (Simm) serves a prison term. Over the years they learn to live without him, and enjoy being with him when they can. And that's about all there is to the film, which stirs in a few contrived events to liven things up. Without a more compelling plot, the movie is most notable for the fact that we watch the children grow up on screen in 94 minutes. Shot on grainy, hand-held video it looks like a TV doc, but Michael Nyman's surging score makes to feel more like a kitchen sink drama. It's a cool experiment, but it makes you wish more attention was paid to the story.

The Comedian
dir Tom Shkolnik; with Edward Hogg, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett 12/UK ***
This low-key improvised drama has a rather misleading title. Writer-director Shkolnik astutely explores the bleak aimlessness of his central character, drawing knowing performances from the cast. But it's so gloomy that it's difficult to connect emotionally... REVIEW >

Paralympics: More heroes

This week has sped by in a blur for me, as I have been watching films (see below) and attending the Paralympics every day. And it's been amazing to see how the British public has taken these athletes to heart, creating heroes whose names are just as well-known as the slicker professional sportsmen and women at the Olympics last month. Just over a week ago, we barely new the names of British competitors like David Weir (above), Ellie Simmonds, Jonnie Peacock and Sarah Storey, to name just four multiple-medallists.

As an accredited journalist, I have been able to attend anything I want, which is why I am taking advantage of the proximity and going to something every day. And all of it has been inspiring! On Monday, I watched GB vs Japan in wheelchair basketball. Tuesday was sunny, so I headed for the equestrian venue in Greenwich Park, then to the fencing arena in the ExCeL. Wednesday, I watched Britain's opening wheelchair rugby match against the USA. And today was 5-a-side football (right) semifinal between Brazil and Argentina - perhaps the most amazing thing I've seen so far, as the participants are all visually impaired, so they are blindfolded to even the field. These guys make the wheelchair rugby brutes look like sissies! 

There are only three days left, and I have my plans mapped out, although I might divert to check out something I've never seen before. And of course, come Monday I will really miss the roar of the crowds as they support all of the competitors then shift into deafening mode when a Brit appears! I'll also miss roaming around in the Olympic Park soaking up the amazing atmosphere.

CRITICAL WEEK:It's been another eclectic week at the movies for UK critics, but we finally caught up with Cannes hit Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt as a hitman. My opinions are also embargoed for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a teen drama starring Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. Another Cannes film was the hyperactive and rather unengaging Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Much, much better were the independent dramas Keep the Lights On, a beautifully filmed and played romantic drama, and Love, an offbeat and atmospheric low-budget sci-fi drama about an astronaut stranded in space. This coming week we have Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart in On the Road, Joe Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis in Looper, Sally Potter's drama Ginger and Rosa, and the British comedy sequel Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger.