FILM
Guide to LGBTQ Films in June
Gear up for Pride month with a slate of movies
BY GARY M. KRAMER
June is Pride Month and
there are plenty of fi lms
available for streaming as
well as some classic titles
being released (or re-released) on
demand and home video. Here’s a
guide to what to watch this Pride
month.
NEW FILMS:
“The World to Come”
Released earlier this year, this
fi lm is also available on home video
June 1. This beguiling fi lm has Abigail
(Katherine Waterston) mourning
the recent loss of her daughter
and eking out an unhappy life with
her husband Dyer (Casey Affl eck)
on a farm in upstate New York
in 1856. Her situation changes,
however, when she meets her new
neighbor Tallie (Vanessa Kirby),
the wife of Finney (Christopher
Abbott). Director Mona Fastvold
Out trans comedian Julia Scotti was a fi nalist on “America’s Got Talent” and now has a documentary,
“Julia Scotti: Funny That Way.”
chronicles how these two oppressed
women fi nd a measure of
happiness, meeting regularly, and
COURTESY OF 1091 PICTURES
becoming more intimate. As they
silently test the waters of their forbidden
attraction, viewers will feel
a spark of electricity between them.
Leisurely paced, and providing a
strong sense of time and place, this
affecting drama generates most of
its interest in the tender scenes
between the two women. Fastvold
emphasizes the social constraints
these women must endure and,
while “The World to Come” does
feel stifl ing at times, that is to the
fi lm’s credit.
“Julia Scotti: Funny That
Way”
This documentary, available
on VOD platforms starting June
1, uses interviews, animation,
and performance clips to showcase
the personable transgender
comedian Scotti, who was a fi nalist
on “America’s Got Talent.” She
describes standup as “opening
your soul” and likens it to the diffi
culty of living one’s truth. Scotti
talks on and off-stage about her
life before her transition, and she
startles herself watching a clip of
a transphobic routine she earlier
performed as a man.
This documentary also shows
how Scotti has bonded with her
son and daughter who were initially
kept from her after she
came out as trans. Scotti’s humor
stems from her cockeyed outlook
on life, and this fi lm captures her
well.
“Bare”
Out June 22 on video and on demand,
Aleksandr M. Vinogradov’s
— ahem — revealing documentary
chronicles the audition and
rehearsals of Thierry Smits’ dance
“Anima Ardens,” which is performed
by 11 naked men. This observational
fi lm, which addresses
issues of masculinity, weakness,
possession, ritual, and bodies,
does not provide much insight into
Smits or the performers as it concentrates
more on their bodies and
skin. However, the dancers are poetry
in motion as they execute various
movements in unison, in small
groups, or solo. “Bare” unfolds almost
entirely in the theater, and
the staging can be hypnotic. Arguably,
the best scenes are the dancers
hanging out on a smoke break
talking about their relationships,
or a casual scene of them goofi ng
around while showering and in the
locker room. The near-constant
nudity of the attractive performers
will be a draw for most viewers,
who may not care that “Bare” is at
times, a bit unfocused. The actual
dance production itself is vague,
but the imagery is vivid.
CLASSIC REISSUES:
In June, the Criterion Channel
is providing a retrospective of several
fi lms by the out gay writer/
directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey
Friedman. Highlights include the
groundbreaking 1977 documentary
profi ling more than two dozen
gay men and lesbians, “Word
Is Out,” to the 1989 Oscar-winning
short, “Common Threads,”
about the AIDS quilt, and their
1984 Oscar-winning documentary,
“The Times of Harvey Milk.”
Also of note is their 2010 fi lm,
“Howl,” a stylish, highly compelling,
and multi-layered feature
that chronicles Allen Ginsberg’s
remarkable poem and the obscenity
trial brought against its
publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
“Howl” deftly uses animation, interviews,
and courtroom drama to
make Ginsberg’s words and imagery
sing.
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