FILM
Guide to Queer Films Coming in July
Watch new and classic movies this month
BY GARY M. KRAMER
When Pride Month
ends, LGBTQ fi lms
keep on coming!
This month brings
a handful of queer cinema classics
along with some new releases
to streaming services, DVD, and
other platforms.
Pariah
Criterion is issuing a 10th Anniversary
DVD of Dee Rees’ outstanding
2011 feature debut based on
her 2007 short of the same name.
Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a teenager
who hides her AG (aggressive)
butch identity from her religious
mother Audrey (Kim Wayans).
Audrey suspects her daughter is
a lesbian —“I’m tired of her tomboy,”
she laments — and asks her
husband, Arthur (Charles Parnell),
to talk to his daughter about
her sexuality. Meanwhile, Alike
experiences all of the high-strung
emotions of a confused teenager
grappling with her desires, most
notably when she makes a connection
with Bina (Aasha Davis),
a student at her school. The dazzling
cinematography reinforces
images of Alike’s gender, sexuality,
and identity, and Rees gives
her characters quiet moments to
reveal themselves. “Pariah” lets
the drama and family dynamics
come to a head in the expected
confrontation, but it is still a searing,
shattering moment. Rees may
have made a familiar coming out
story, but its reliance on the tropes
do not make Alike’s articulation of
her desires and frustrations seem
cliché, in part because of the fi lmmaker’s
sensitivity and Oduye’s incandescent
performance.
Werewolves Within
This is a fun horror-comedymystery
in which a handful of residents,
including a gay couple (out
actors Cheyenne Jackson and Harvey
Guillén) are trapped in an inn
during a storm. Oh, and a werewolf
is on the loose, killing people
and pets. But don’t fear — the fi lm
is more amusing than scary. Available
on demand July 2, this is not
necessarily a queer-themed fi lm
Niv Nissim and John Benjamin Hickey in “Sublet.”
but has out gay actors.
The God Committee
This movie includes out gay actors
Colman Domingo and Peter
Kim as two members on a board at
a New York hospital that makes decisions
about which potential heart
patients will receive a much-needed
organ donation. The fi lm allows
Domingo and Kim’s characters to
address some ethical issues, but
some of the other board members
(Kelsey Grammer and Janeane
Garofalo) are less principled.
Sebastiane
On July 7, OVID.tv is screening
the fi rst and last fi lms by the late,
great gay fi lmmaker Derek Jarman.
Set in 303 AD, Jarman’s groundbreaking
feature debut chronicles
a group of able-bodied Roman
soldiers in exile. The title character
(Leonardo Treviglio) disobeys
the orders of his commanding offi
cer and is repeatedly punished.
Still, he still fascinates the men,
who alternately befriend and fi ght
with him — until he is martyred
in a scene that is at once violent
and erotic. Throughout the fi lm,
Jarman clearly enjoys fetishizing
Treviglio, and the sexual tension
that exists as Sebastiane is spied
while showering, or tied down in
the desert, is palpable. A sequence
in which two soldiers make love in
slow motion in the water and one
GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT
where the men unwind in the bath
are highlights.
Blue
Made in 1993, Jarman’s fi nal
theatrical release was an extraordinary
experimental documentary
about his life with HIV. A static image
is a symbol of his sightlessness
— AIDS had destroyed his retinas.
This may sound like a rigorous approach
to presenting fi lm — and
at times, it feels that way — but
Jarman’s poetic narrative, full of
beautiful imagery, stream of consciousness
candor, and justifi ed
outrage, creates a powerful, revealing
self-portrait. “Blue” is full
of fascinating insights, as when
Jarman equates his hospital with
an S&M club, where everyone is
anonymous. This is an appropriate,
elegiac last fi lm.
Sublet
Out gay fi lmmaker Eytan Fox’s
poignant dramedy, out July 13 on
DVD, has New York Times travel
writer Michael (John Benjamin
Hickey) arriving in Tel Aviv on assignment
“to write about the city
as it is.” He sublets an apartment
from Tomer (Niv Nissim), a student
who makes “artistic horror” fi lms.
As Michael settles in to soak up the
city, he allows Tomer to stay and
act as his guide. As they come to
know each other over fi ve days, the
very different men exchange impassioned
thoughts about monogamy
(Michael appreciates it, Tomer
resists it); musicals (Michael loves
them, Tomer loathes them); and
even attitudes about Germany (Michael
refl ects on the history, whereas
Tomer sees a new opportunity).
But “Sublet” is best when Michael
gets out of his comfort zone. This
happens a few times, but it is most
affecting during a meal at a Kibbutz
with Tomer’s mother (Miki
Kam). Hickey gives a wonderfully
understated performance, while
screen newcomer Nissim exudes
charisma.
Here Comes Your Man
Out July 27 on DVD, this is the
fi lm version of a TV series about
Aaron (Jason Alan Clark) who
meets Jordan (Calvin Picou) on
an app for sex. There is an odd
vibe as Jordan is a bit reluctant
to jump right into bed with Aaron.
He wants to get to know him
a bit fi rst. It soon becomes clear
why — this is Jordan’s fi rst time
having sex with a man. Aaron,
meanwhile, discloses that he is
HIV-positive. And although they
are both feeling good about their
encounter, Jordan ghosts Aaron
afterwards; he is in a relationship
with a woman. “Here Comes Your
Man” is a genial, low-budget production,
and it has an amateur
aesthetic both in terms of its style
and the acting. That gives the fi lm
a bit of low-key charm as Jordan
reconnects Aaron and they spend
more time together.
But as their relationship develops,
and includes threesomes,
there is a question of whether
these two men are going to stay
together. Issues of communication
come into play during an anniversary
getaway. “Here Comes
Your Man,” is buoyed by Jason
Alan Clark’s upbeat, outgoing
performance, whereas Calvin Picou
plays Jordan too close to the
vest, which makes him hard to
read at times. At least the supporting
best friend characters,
Cassie (Noelle Miller) and Malcolm
(Clay von Carlowitz) add
some humor and verve to this
slight but passable time-fi ller.
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