Three to see at Garneau Theatre
Here are mini reviews of three standout films playing at the brand new Rainbow Visions Film Festival, running Thursday, Oct. 15 through Sunday, Oct. 18 at Metro Cinema at Garneau Theatre. Each is really worth a look for vastly different reasons.
THE GLAMOUR AND THE SQUALOR
Directed by: Marq Evans When: Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
With the recently released Kurt Cobain documentary Montage of Heck, ’90s nostalgia is officially in full force in documentary film. Those of us too “whatever” to care about the details back then are now lapping up the hidden stories behind the marketing juggernaut known as grunge and “indie” — but this tight little doc rewinds to the point when people were first hearing the music. Seattle DJ Marco Collins was the first to play Eddie Vedder and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, among many others including Beck, on commercial radio — a definite tastemaker who exposed an entire genre to the mainstream. But he also understood his power, and got caught up in a rock-star culture of sex and drugs. He just kept quiet about who he slept with in an age when “fag” and “gay” were some of the most casually dropped descriptors. Now searching pawn shops for a Nirvana gold record he sold off for a long-forgotten next hit, Collins looks back at what he lost and why in this humble, touching portrait of not knowing when to quit.
OTTO; OR, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE
Directed by: Bruce LaBruce When: Saturday, Oct. 17 at 9 p.m.
Since the beginning, zombie films have been tinged with allegory — from the racial tension in Night of the Living Dead to the wink at mindless consumerism in Dawn of the Dead to the terrors of too much contact, sexual or otherwise — willingly passed along via the sorta-zombies of It Follows. Otto; or, Up With Dead People takes things down to a more human scale as our protagonist (handsome Jey Crisfar as Otto) becomes a zombie after enduring a breakup that leaves him cold, dead and smelly. With the clever device of a black-and-white zombie film being shot within the film, Otto’s first rise from the grave is later revealed to be staged, and thus we’re not entirely sure whether he’s actually undead or simply gone to pot and stopped bathing. Not that there isn’t gore — including actual pornographic penetration of an open wound, be warned. But the film is more philosophical than action-horror-based, and Katharina Klewinghaus is terrific and hilarious as the pompous-yet-brilliant director delivering the bulk of LaBruce’s feelings about the modern world. Great, thoughtful stuff.
TANGERINE
Directed by: Sean Baker When: Saturday, Oct. 17 at 9 p.m.
Shot beautifully, successfully and entirely on iPhone, there’s never been a film like Tangerine, sleeper hit of Sundance. This story of two trans street workers is played with insane yet believable drama by Kitana Kiki Rodriquez as Sin-De Rella and Mya Taylor as Alexandra. Rella, recently released from a month in jail, is hilariously out for blood after she finds out her boyfriend has taken up with another woman. Dragged along on the hunt, Alexandra passes out handbills to her concert that night as Rella interrogates and abuses would-be clue holders. Meanwhile, we’re shown the tough slog of cab driver Razmik (Karren Karagulian), dealing with addicts, vomit and his demanding mother-in-law. But as we’re drawn into sympathizing for these three, their own selfishness muddies the waters. They’re real and compli- cated people. Something about the quality of the footage makes this feel like a documentary instead of a drama; it’s a terribly valid portrait of the decaying American jungle of L.A. That said, the music, editing and dialogue are all nothing short of masterful — the motivations behind all the terrible behaviour understandable to anyone with empathy. The last scene is one of the most simple and touching moments a director could muster. Don’t miss this; it’s basically perfect.