Gay-themed films will be screened at the Titus Brandsma Center on June 22. The line-up includes FOR A LOST SOLDIER (Holland - 1992) and THE SUM OF US, which is one of Russell Crowe's works Down Under. Screenings will start at 1:00pm. For a Lost Soldier "For a Lost Soldier" was voted Best Feature at the 1993 Turin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It's a lush, moody and romantic movie, based on the best-selling Dutch autobiography by Rudi van Dantzig. A chain of events leads contemporary choreographer Jeroen (played by "The Fourth Man's" Jeroen Krabbe) to recall his first erotic friendships. Sent away as a boy during World War II to a small fishing village, young Jeroen develops a strong friendship with another new boy, Jan. In the games and stories that mark the beginning of his sexuality, Jeroen always plays the spectator. Then comes Liberation, and the arrival of the Allies. Jeroen finds a new friend in the handsome Canadian soldier Walt (Andrew Kelley). "For a Lost Soldier" is a rich period piece, portraying the optimism and hope of a newly liberated village alongside the warmth of a liberating relationship between the boy and the soldier, neither of whom even speak the same language. Surprisingly subtle, Roeland Kerbosch's artful film describes the bold, joyful affection shared by an unlikely duo. The Sum of Us David Stevens's play, a hit at home and off-Broadway, became a sort of pilgrimage rite for many gays and lesbians who dragged along (eventually grateful) parents.... This is the rare stage work that actually improves in screen translation, maintaining intimacy while "opening up" to lovely effect. Harry (Jack Thompson) and Jeff Mitchell (Russell Crowe) are a not-so-unusual dad/son couple on the surface: working-class, sharing a house in the wake of a wife's death, sparring amiably over household chores. The big dif is that Junior is a young gay man, and Pop doesn't mind one bit. If anything, he's too supportive, embarrassing Jeff's dates with the back-slapping eagerness of a potential father-in-law. One such incident cools the ardor of a handsome young gardener (John Polson) whose own closet home life has ill-prepared him for such openness; on the flip side, middle-aged Harry's courtship of a lonely widow (Deborah Kennedy) crashes against her own homophobia. Full of humor and feeling, this sweet-tempered comedy--which really earns its late turn toward hankie-soaking drama toward the end--sketches a depth of family understanding most gay men and women can only fantasize about. That it comes off as utterly believable pays tribute to the superb cast, canny writing, and astute direction. The lack of overt preachiness makes this possibly the best gay-positive propagandic tool mainstream cinema has yet offered. A must. (Review by Dennis Harvey) |