Hey folks, Harry here with Film Chick's look at a couple of films that have played SXSW this year. Personally I'm seeing tons of stuff this year, but due to extracurricular activities - the writing part has been a bitch to get done. Here ya go...
Hey there Harry! I've been seeing some mighty fine films this year at SXSW and have enjoyed all of the reviews that your crew have posted, but there are two films that haven't been reviewed, and I think that they both deserve a mention.
The first film is SMALL TOWN GAY BAR.
This is a documentary shot in a couple of towns in the South that have figured out ways to incorporate gay bars into their lives. Well, I say that, but most of the locals "don't appreciate" the gays and lesbians just being themselves. However, the gays and lesbians find a way to keep their clubs alive - by buying owners out if they're no longer interested in running the establishments or by buying previously closed bars and returning the sites to their past glory.
There's a story of how the gay community reacts to and is strengthened by a hate crime murder. The film also shows their reactions when local preachers take down license plate numbers around know gay bars and then read them out over a morning radio show. And somehow the director was able to interview Fred Phelps, the well-known preacher who shows up anywhere (even at funerals of homosexuals) to protest their lifestyles. (Films like this remind me of how lucky Austinites can be.)
The film is so very touching and important because these people finally find places to "belong" when their everyday lives are less than supportive of them. And they're able to keep their clubs alive and strong and pumping out the dance music. This is a film well worth seeing.
The other movie that I feel deserves some talk is CRUEL AND UNUSUAL.
This is another documentary, and it deals with transgender people in prison who are locked away according to the sex with which they were born, instead of with the sex with which they identify. Just imagine placing a woman in lock down with hundreds of horny men. Tis is not a good situation.
And while in prison, most of the transgenders do not receive their medication, causing intense withdrawals, depression, and occasionally suicide. Some of the women are forced to live in solitary confinement "for their own safety." However, put a person in solitary for months, or even years, at a time, and that person will tend to go insane.
Many of the inmates tell stories of sexual abuse from peers and from guards. Another describes how she threatened to cut off her "thing," as she refers to it, if she doesn't get her medication. She ultimately castrates herself, then threatens to cut off the rest...and does follow through. Be warned that the film does get graphic surrounding this story.
The documentary does have its faults, but overall it is an amazing story with an intense message. I highly recommend it.
Film Chic
