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Get Funked ...Queer Film Reviews by Brian Funk |
Brian Funk is ordinary. In a same sex relationship with The Reluctant Journalist for nine years, he is a mortgage paying public servant trying to endure the drabness of living in Brisbane suburbia. Coming out of the closet at the age of 14, garnering homophile support from friends and staff at the Catholic school he attended, and terrorising the priests of the local church, Brian is an insipid queer who has no opinion whatsoever.
The Reluctant Journalist, Ranaberry and Famine banded together and devised a plan to alleviate this cultural void and retroQueer was conceived at one in the morning following six bottles of champagne in a Valley pub. The aim of retroQueer is to talk about media products that explore, develop, comment or blatantly depict what may be deemed queer. So why not help Brian find out what makes queerness so intriguing?
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Whole New Thing: Spinning the FlaxReviewed by Brian Funk|
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Director Amnon Buchbinder's describes the making of Whole New Thing as a challenge 'to spin the flax into gold': a draft script in two weeks, five days of pre-production, fifteen days of shooting amidst three record-breaking winter storms and five weeks of cutting made this sharp and poetic film even more of a marvel.
Whole New Thing is a Canadian low budget film and Buchbinder's second feature. Notwithstanding having the mathematical skills of a 6th grader, 13 year old Emerson Thorsen has the cultural intellect of a 35 year old. Having written his first thousand page book 'The Fire of Evermore', and having been home schooled by his hippy parents, Kaya and Rog, Emerson reluctantly goes to school for the first time at the Chezzbrook County Middle School after concerns by Kaya over his intellectual imbalance toward culture and literature, and his university prospects without an all-rounded education.
Once there, his teacher Don Grant establishes a rapport with Emerson and looks out for his personal welfare while engaging with Emerson's wit and penchant for literature. Don is a gay 42 year old separated after a long-term relationship for which he blames himself; his life revolves around going to teach at Chezzbrook, caring for his dementia afflicted mother in a nursing home and engaging in anonymous sex with other men in public washrooms. He appears to be living his life in an existential transition; his home is filled with unpacked boxes and littered with books, candy and porn.
Don becomes intrigued by Emerson and the depth of his precocious and cultured maturity. This interest is clearly pronounced when, after Emerson's frustrated remarks about the feebly simple messages within the class's current reading project 'Snowboard Snowjob', Don has the students literally throw out the Enid Blyton-esque book and study Shakespeare's As You Like It instead.
Figuratively and emotively Don explains the nature of the Shakespearian masks of tragedy and comedy to the class by analogising the curvatures of the mouth depicted on the masks to the ups and downs of life. He explains that tragedy begins with a depressing foundation and a gloomy outlook but there are some events that occur in the story that may be promising and potentially bring good outcomes to raise ones spirits, however the story ends as it begins, bringing a reality check to the audience. Conversely, comedy begins on a high with good fortune and happiness, followed by events that shake this foundation: a disaster or problem that threaten a favourable outcome until things are worked through, the problem is faced and as such the story ends as delightfully as it started.
Emerson sees the humanity in Don's profound lecture and, as a result, his affections with Don begin. Meanwhile, Emerson's parents are in the midst of relationship difficulties and Don becomes the object of Emerson's misplaced love and infatuation during a turbulent period for the family. Don, however, does not present any indication of paedophilic proclivities; he expresses no sexual want for Emerson or makes any attempt to seduce him. Instead, he feels for Emerson's testing journey as he perhaps sees much of his younger self reflected in Emerson's adolescence, eccentricities and sense of the world around him as the young man encounters schoolyard prejudices at his difference, and is subjected to frequent jabs in the eyes from the bullies who conclude that he is gay.
Whole New Thing is a provocative and challenging film. It shatters the image of older gay men as predatory creatures and tests the boundaries of the student and teacher, the father and son, and the friend and lover, exploring instead the infinite possibilities in between.
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Strange Bedfellows: The Faux-Mo ChoiceReviewed by Brian Funk|
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As the top Australian film in 2004 reaping a measly $4.8 million from Australian cinema audiences, Strange Bedfellows presents not only an interesting shift in audience reception to gay themes, it also reveals the typical Australian film goer's retrospective appreciation for tastes in the same vein as the 'Strictly Priscilla's Wedding' genre popular back in the early 90s. Australian cinema audiences don't appear to engage much with Australian productions of the social realist or arthouse vein, relating more to a film like Strange Bedfellows which provides light comedy while delivering a gawky social commentary about same-sex discrimination and relationship equality.
Vince (Paul Hogan), who has inherited a hefty tax debt after carelessly signing a document provided by his ex-wife's solicitors, conceives a plan to ameliorate these debts through new laws. It's an election year and a new law affording many financial and legal rights to same-sex couples has been passed allowing such couples to claim many tax benefits retrospectively for five years. Vince persuades Ralph (Michael Caton), a long-time friend struggling with his auto-mechanic business, to register with him as a same-sex couple, thus potentially delivering a range of advantageous financial concessions to the two men as long as they can demonstrate that their same-sex relationship is bona fide.
Unfortunately, the tax office selects their application for a random audit and they are visited by a 'homosexual expert' played by Pete Postlethwaite. The pair then hastily seek training on effeminate behaviour from the local hairdresser who though straight, but has treaded the same path by feigning gayness for repute in his profession. Strange Bedfellows raises issues about pretensions, in particular, pretensions of a queer identity and the benefits this identity may bring to those who want to play gay for whatever purpose. The issue is deceptively complex, to some audience members this fraud may be laughable since many queer people still claim that the deprivations of having a queer identity outweigh the liberations, though doubtless others would say 'visibility at any cost' and find it flattering that a straight person may want to exploit a gay identity.
Vince, Ralph and the hairdresser are all playing gay for financial benefit. The film, however, raises the above complexities and then fails to make a moral judgement about the appropriateness of a 'faux-mo' choice. It downplays this exploitation through the voice of the local town gossip who says that 'everyone hates the tax office anyway.' Yet the film does make an unashamed social commentary especially through Ralph's stirring address at the local B&S ball declaring his love for Vince (as a mate) and implicitly supporting the equalisation and legal recognition of same-sex relationships through legislation (particularly since the revelation that evening that his daughter was in a lesbian relationship).
Strange Bedfellows represents a fictional Australia. At the present (August 2007), the possibility of such legal changes actually becoming reality in Australia remain only a possibility. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Australia has recently prepared a report for the Federal Attorney-General after nationwide submissions for its 'Same Sex: Same Entitlements' Inquiry. The Commission identifies some 60 separate Federal Acts, including the Marriage Act undoubtedly, that exclude same-sex couples from accessing financial and work-related entitlements. Tasmania, the last state in Australia to abolish homosexuality from the state's Criminal Code, is ironically the only state that allows for registration of partnerships, same-sex or not. The ACT which also pushed for such equality was not so successful after the Federal Government intervened and overrode the territory's bill. Following suit were a few local Councils such as Sydney and Melbourne City Councils that provide services to document relationship declarations for their constituents.
Three years after the release of Strange Bedfellows, the film seems quite prophetic. In an election year, even factions of the current Government led by Warren Entsch and Malcolm Turnbull amongst others are calling for the equalisation of same-sex relationships. If politicians keep their word, then the Australian film audience will be able to realise what they wanted to see three years ago.
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Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The DesertReviewed by Brian Funk|
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A gem of the AFC standard, Priscilla is one of the higher budget queer films produced in Australia. The concept of two drag queens and a transsexual ex-Les Girls performer travelling to the centre of Australia for a performance is, in my opinion, the birth of the quirkiness with which Australian film has often been associated.
By means of the mishaps that occur along the way, the film parallels their tour with the difficulties of the emotional life journeys that have already strengthened the characters of Tick (Mitzi), Adam (Felicia) and Bernadette. Tick, the prodigal father, agonises over meeting his teenage son estranged from birth. Bernadette bears the loss of her partner Trumpet, and despite being seemingly resigned to be a widow finds companionship in the most unlikely place. Adam with the exhilaration and naivety expected of a free, freshly-outed gay youth confronts prejudice, aggression and his own arrogance.
Estrangement, companionship-angst and antipathy are undoubtedly common themes that underlie many queer films as they relate to the universal queer experiences of coming out, identity revision and pride. These themes are poignantly demonstrated in the film when Adam, to cover a vandal's message to the troupe: 'AIDS fuckers go home!', paints the bus pink and purple. Adam, uncharacteristically without complaint or comment, defiantly transforms the school bus into a vehicle of pride. The verbal silence during these scenes deafens the viewer with the redundancy of words towards such bigotry. It reverses ACT-UP's catchcry and throws the 'Silence=Death' curse at the bigots. It was simply not worth the breath to say anything and the impact is sobering.
'I don't know if that ugly wall of suburbia has been put up to stop them from getting in or us getting out' advises Bernie after Felicia receives a broken jaw from cruising around Coober Pedy. Regional attitudes toward queer issues is the most palpable theme in Priscilla as the queer troupe leave the comforts and familiarities of the urban gay ghetto, and venture into a less socially heterogeneous outback. The film then overtly ploughs the old gay adage, 'visibility at any cost,' and bemuses the cautious regional communities with lavishly flamboyant drag.
As one of the earlier Australian films exploring the GLBT sensibility, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert cannot be dismissed from the canon of 'Most Influential Australian Films.' Its cultish popularity, its dramatic scenes of extravagant costumes against the barren outback and its facetious one-liners are still widely recognised today in Australia and around the world. The film's assimilation into popular culture perhaps provided the most effective thrust toward social acceptance of queer-identified people in Australia. If it is any indication, crowds at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade exceeded half a million for the first time in the few years after the film's release.
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The SetReviewed by Brian Funk|
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Exhumed from the annals of Australian celluloid by organisers of the queer film festival circuit, The Set is regarded as the first gay film made in Australia. Screened in 1970 and candidly displaying alternative sexualities and sexual fluidity without thematic censorship or moralising, The Set quite expectedly sparked controversy and widespread debate upon its release.
The plot revolves around Paul, an aspiring designer who walks into a store owned by high profile designer Marie and offers himself to be her protégé. She becomes attracted to the young man and propelled by her sexual motivations accepts his offer. Paul is quickly thrust into Sydney's eccentric upper crust known as 'the set' and in a sexually permissive environment begins to experiment with other men. He then lands himself a design project and seeks the assistance of student architect Tony, an attractive masculine hunk who moves in with him, to meet the critical deadline. Despite managing to seduce every woman he meets Tony is self serving, arrogant and sexually demanding, but unable to 'perform' effectively in bed with women. When his carnal urges are unmet by the women in his life (including Paul's cousin and aunt among others), he emotionally and sexually exploits Paul who happens to be infatuated with him. For macho Tony, Paul is both an object of contempt and convenient sexual release.
The film continues to explore this volatile relationship of sexual favours, while weaving in several other narratives and characters to provoke an amusing 70s style shock treatment with overt displays of infidelity, nudity, prostitution, suicide, drugs and alternative sexual practices on screen. Painfully B-Grade, The Set comes across as a student film with shoddy camera work and terribly engineered sound where you can hardly hear the dialogue for the music. The script is also awful with far too many complicated narratives, and the characterisation was thin (perhaps intentionally as the film was largely a comment about sex rather than personality). It also appears to want to parallel Breakfast at Tiffany's in its beatnik and mod style, however, due to the film's roughness it fails to hit the mark.
As a document of the sexual revolution though, the film's narrative does carry a message of sexual liberation and questions the mores of sexuality. The last scene of the movie for example sees Paul's estranged girlfriend learning of his homosexual exploits at a 'set' party. Unperturbed, she joins him and the others of 'the set' dancing and slithering in an orgy-like revel in a swimming pool. Although it is amusing to see a 70s film struggle with such overt sexual themes, The Set expresses an apathy and frustration with the restrictive norms of sexual conduct and morality during a time where most of the sexual adventures depicted in the film were in fact criminal acts in Australia.
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