lgbt
A secret love deserves to not be kept a secret anymore. It’s cheesy to say but the story of Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel should have been said much sooner. Terry Donahue is already a legend on her own, being one of the inspirations behind the great movie A League of their Own. She might have been one of the few women that played professional baseball when that was still not the norm for women but maybe what is the most impressive, and sad, is how who she is was never known, not only to the public but to her family until just a few years ago. Their story deserves to be told and A Secret Love tries to do them justice but the short run time and the overstuffing of the documentary impairs it from going in deeper in their story and a lot gets lost in the process.
Identity is something that defines you when you are part of the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a question that you wrestle with most of your life and sometimes it takes forever to answer it, sometimes you can never truly become yourself. Maybe that is why Man Made is so touching, so powerful. Because it’s about men finally being themselves, putting themselves out there and being true to themselves. It’s admirable, to say the least, and it’s a subject we don’t talk enough about and is not seen enough in film, fiction or not.
Movies make you feel things. Those feelings can vary from films to films but they are supposed to be there. Walking away from a film feeling nothing is never something that should happen. And then there are the movies that make you feel everything, overwhelms your sensations and make you question everything you think you know For me, Portrait of a Lady on Fire did just that. It’s not that it’s emotional per se, it’s more of a feeling that the movie gives you. While there is some moment that will bring you to tears, the atmosphere and story itself make you feel. Films that are able to set feelings without really trying are unique, they are in a category of their own, at least for me. I hate to compare films, I think it doesn’t do justice to them really. But if I had to compare Portrait of a Lady on Fire to another one, in terms of the way emotions, or at least what it made me feel, I would compare it to Call Me By Your Name. Let me tell you why.
When I first heard about Adam I wasn’t so sure. It’s a controversial subject. A young man pretends to be trans so he can get a lesbian to fall in love with him. It’s a tricky subject that if handled by the wrong person, it could have been a real disaster. While some aspects of it didn’t sit with me well, it also didn’t do a mockery of everything. And that is a lot due to the fact that the film was directed by Rhys Ernst (Transparent) who himself is a trans man. Had the film been directed by a CIS person, the point of view would have been totally different. Ernst brings a vision and a truth that no one else but him could bring.
I will start by saying that this was my second time seeing this film. I had the chance to see it during TIFF last year. But as soon as I saw it on the schedule for Inside Out, I knew I wanted to see it again. And just like I remembered, this film might just be one of my favourites.
It’s not perfect but it doesn’t need to be. There’s something very interesting to see a relationship that you know is doomed to develop on the screen. But the fact that Vita and Virginia don’t end up together doesn’t matter because the results are satisfying.
Unlike most people I know who are into genre films, I got into them fairly late in comparison. It wasn’t until I was about 15 that I was able to handle them. Seeing The Shining at the age of 10 traumatized me for nearly a month. I remember being in the room at one point as my family watched Freddy Vs. Jason and I realized, maybe it’s not so bad. It was also middle of the day on the weekend with all the lights on, so I got by just fine. It wasn’t until after the film was after that my family members told me that this film wasn’t necessarily scary anyway. “Not like the older Freddy or Jason films.” They were right, but I wasn’t sure how right.
When I sat down for Good Kisser I expected one film and halfway through I realize I was getting something else. And honestly, I am glad. I don’t exactly know what I expected but I think that from the premise I didn’t expect to find a film that is all about empowering yourself and finding your voice.
Avengers Endgame is breaking all box office records in the books. It is the fastest movie to ever get not only to 1 billion dollars but also to 2 billion and I would be surprised if it surpasses Avatar soon-ish. With a 300+ millions debut in North America alone and 1.2 billion worldwide, it is indisputable how big the film and the franchise is. And Marvel Studios deserves the praise for what it has achieved. Endgame is one hell of a film, giving everyone a satisfying ending to the Infinity Saga that we have been watching since the first Iron Man came out. But, if there’s one flaw for me in this near perfect film is the introduction of a throwaway gay character (played by one of the directors) and how the media decided to frame this character.
The UnderSCENE 