Reverend's Reviews: All You Want for Christmas

 

As the holiday season gets into full swing in movie theaters this weekend, viewers can choose between an animated version of the nativity story (The Star), a light-hearted biopic about Charles Dickens (The Man Who Invented Christmas), or the romance between a 24-year old man and a teenaged boy.  I wonder which one our readers will be most interested in?

Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) was declared nothing short of a gay masterpiece at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has had Oscar buzz ever since.  Adapted from Andre Aciman's acclaimed 2007 novel, it recounts an at-times tortured, gay coming of age story. 17-year old Elio Perlman (a strong performance by relative newcomer Timothee Chalamet) is spending the summer of 1983 at a sun-dappled Italian villa with his mother and father.  Elio's father (the terrific Michael Stuhlbarg, in an uncharacteristically sweet turn) is a professor of Greco-Roman antiquities.

One fine day, Mr. Perlman's new grad student intern arrives.  24-year old Oliver is tall, blonde, handsome and American, and perfectly embodied by the always pleasing Armie Hammer. Although Elio and Oliver are both drawn at first to local girls, they gradually become attracted to each other. A full-blown but intrinsically short-lived affair develops between the two.

I generally enjoyed and appreciated Call Me By Your Name even if I consider much of the praise accorded it thus far overblown.  It is obviously beautifully shot by Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom amidst great locations.  Gay director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, A Bigger Splash) frames the story and his actors in similarly attractive fashion even if he shies from much nudity, a fact which is being heavily criticized in the gay press. But between James Ivory's screenplay and/or Walter Fasano's editing, I found the first half of the movie and the initial, attraction-repulsion relationship between Elio and Oliver confusing.  The film gets better once they "consummate" and the focus is turned squarely on them.

Also, sad to say, some may find the age discrepancy between the two young men more disturbing in the wake of the Kevin Spacey sex abuse allegations.  I actually attended a screening of the film the day the news first broke about Spacey so it was impossible to divorce myself from thoughts of it.  The fact that Hammer is actually 31, not 24, accentuated my occasional discomfort.

But gay viewers especially will find Call Me By Your Name hard to avoid, and it shouldn't be avoided.  And trust me: you'll never look at peaches in quite the same way afterward.

Rebels on Pointe, also now playing in theaters, is an eye-opening documentary about Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.  This famed, all-male drag troupe was founded in New York City over 40 years ago.  Bobbi Jo Hart followed the company around the world and provides in-depth biographies of its longtime director and several members.  They have weathered the Stonewall riots, HIV/AIDS and ongoing discrimination but continue to entertain and inspire thousands of people every year.  Warm and funny, Rebels on Pointe is a must see.

As the season of shopping for others gets underway, I have a few gift recommendations based on what I have been gifted with myself in recent weeks.  The 2006 award-winning musical Dreamgirls was just issued as a combo Blu-ray/DVD/Digital gift pack in a spectacularly remastered edition with ten minutes of footage added by its gay director, Bill Condon.  Numerous extras are also featured, including Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's audition footage.  The movie looks and sounds stunning.

Fans of more current entertainment featuring a quartet of talented black actresses will surely enjoy Girls Trip.  Last summer's hit about a reunion of lifelong friends taking a no-holds-barred reunion trip to Las Vegas is now available from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.  Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and, best of all, Tiffany Haddish go all in for this frequently foul-mouthed, gut-busting yet heartfelt comedy.  It could also make fun, adults-only family viewing after holiday meals.

If live theatre is more your or your friends' style, I can think of no better gift than tickets to the touring production of Broadway's Something Rotten!  It is currently playing at LA's Ahmanson Theatre through December 31st but will continue on to major cities in 2018.  An outrageous spoof of both all things Shakespeare and virtually all stage musicals, it is choreographed in typically fantastic, hilarious fashion by The Book of Mormon's Casey Nicholaw.  If that isn't enough, Broadway stars Rob McClure (Chaplin, Honeymoon in Vegas) and Adam Pascal (Rent, Aida, Disaster!) are headlining the tour.  Both are superb, with Pascal especially enjoyable in a more flamboyant role than usual for him.  Besides, gay viewers can't go wrong with a show that includes such double entendre-laden songs as "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top" and "Hard to be the Bard"!

Happy holidays!

Reverend's Ratings:
Call Me By Your Name: B
Rebels on Pointe: A
Dreamgirls: Director's Extended Direction: A-
Girls Trip: B
Something Rotten! (Broadway touring company): A-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

MD Top 10: Christmas Movie Musical Numbers

Thanksgiving weekend can be a feast for the senses, beginning with the tastes and aromas of a festive family feast. You'll need a sharp eye and a quick touch for the ensuing shopping sprees on Black Friday. And then just open your ears and you'll hear it all around you: Christmas music!

Bridging one holiday to the next, Christmas music signals it's time to start rolling out the annual traditions of the season, from tree decorating to gift wrapping to, that's right, Christmas movie watching! Which is all just an elaborate lead in to:  

Movie Dearest presents (in chronological order) our Top 10 Christmas Movie Musical Numbers!

1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)


When one hears "musical number" you think of hordes of hoofers in flashy costumes dancing their feet off on sparkly sets while the camera spins around them. But sometimes the simple approach is best, such as just pointing the camera at the singer and letting them sing their heart out, as Vincente Millinelli did in this perennial favorite. Of course, it helps if the singer is Judy Garland, who's Esther plaintively warbles Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin's soon-to-be-classic to a weepy Margaret O'Brien as her sister Tootie. "Have Yourself..." has since gained the reputation as being the most depressing Christmas song ever, so it's no wonder that immediately after Esther finishes it, little Tootie runs off and beats the crap out of a couple snowmen.

2. "Silver Bells" from The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)


Bet you didn't know that this charming yuletide tune, by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, was from a movie, right? It's just one of many cases where a song has outlived the movie that introduced it, in this case a Bob Hope gangster comedy set in a Damon Runyan-esque New York City. The number is set within the bustling "city sidewalks, busy sidewalks" during "Christmastime in the city", where Hope (in a sorry-looking Santa beard) and his sweetheart Marilyn Maxwell (his other beard?) stroll along and are joined in the song by passersby, with Hope mugging as usual all along the way (he even flirts with a policeman!). And yes, that is William "Fred Mertz" Frawley as the grumpy street Santa at the start of the scene.

3. "White Christmas" from White Christmas (1954)


Of course, Irving Berlin's all-time bestseller was first introduced in 1942's Holiday Inn (and won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Song), but it got upgraded from a simple sing-along at the piano to the full-fledged finale twelve years later in this eponymous pseudo-remake. Bing Crosby is joined by co-stars Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Trudy Stevens), as well as a tiny troupe of ballerinas, as they croon about "treetops glistening" and "sleigh bells in the snow". Yes, there's a lot of red velvet and white marabou going on up on that stage, but at this time of year it's hard to resist such nostalgic, albeit cornball, sentimentality. May all your Christmases be white indeed.

4. "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame (1974)


Ah, Lucy. For years on the I Love Lucy show we thought you were just funning us with your out-of-tune shrills, but alas, it turned out you really couldn't sing. Or, several thousand cigarettes later, at least you couldn't by the time this wholly ill-conceived silver screen adaptation of Jerry Herman's Broadway musical decided to (mis)cast you as the larger-than-life Auntie Mame. Nevertheless, this number is fascinating to watch in a "just... can't... look away" sort of way, from the dull costuming (why is Mame in a nun habit?) to the imbecilic choreography (did they really need to spend half the song "decorating" poor, pathetic Agnes Gooch?). But then Mame dons that creepy as hell Santa Claus death mask and the whole thing is elevated to a whole other level of "WTF".

5. "It Feels Like Christmas" from The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)


In this, the like bazillionth filmed version of Charles Dickens' holiday ghost story, most of the familiar Muppets are relegated to minor roles while the juicy parts – namely the three Spirits of Christmas – were "cast" with original creations. So, instead of say, Fozzie Bear as the Ghost of Christmas Present, we get... a ginger bear! Burly, boisterous and vaguely Santa-ish, this jolly ol' fellow (voiced by longtime Muppeteer Jerry Nelson) introduces Michael Caine's Ebenezer Scrooge to the joys of the season, who at one point forgets his miserly ways and gets jiggy with it. Paul Williams, who was Oscar nominated for co-composing the songs for the original Muppet Movie, returned to contribute new Carols for this Christmas.

6. "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)


Fans of this stop-motion animated cult favorite have long argued over "is it a Halloween movie, or a Christmas movie?" This sleigh-belled ballad, written and performed by Tim Burton mainstay Danny Elfman, is a strong argument for the latter. Diametrically opposed to the film's spooky opening number "This is Halloween", "What's This?" is a candy-colored kaleidoscope of Christmasy cheer, with our hero Jack Skellington gleefully discovering all new kinds of tricks and treats. But then again, lyrics such as "There are children throwing snowballs/Instead of throwing heads/They're busy building toys/And absolutely no one's dead" swing the argument back to the pro-Halloween side. So here you have it, the film's whole thematic dichotomy, wrapped up in one catchy three-minute tune.

7. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)


Voice acting legend Thurl Ravenscroft (of Tony the Tiger and Disney's Haunted Mansion fame) memorably sung this one in the 1966 cartoon classic, but here the Grinch (a heavily made up Jim Carrey) croaks it out himself. Regardless of the fact that there is no actual mention of Christmas or holidays or even snow, "You're a Mean One" (music by Albert Hague and lyrics by Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss himself) has become a seasonal standard anyway, even with its mentions of seasick crocodiles and termite-infested teeth. Fun Fact: The soundtrack album for the animated television special won a Grammy for Best Album for Children in 1968. The recipient of the award? Horror film icon Boris Karloff, who voiced the original Grinch.

8. "Turkey Lurkey Time" from Camp (2003)


The camp of the title is Camp Ovation, a summer retreat for young performing arts students, which prompts the question "how is there a Christmas song in a movie set during the summer?" Well, among the many musicals the camp stages (seriously, how did they afford the rights for all of them anyway?) is the 1968 Burt Bacharach/Hal David stage musical adaptation of 1960's Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment titled Promises, Promises. This Act I closer takes place during the office Christmas party, with three bubbly secretaries (Alana Allen, Dequina Moore and Tracee Beazer) providing the entertainment, which escalates from a perky trio to a full-blown office blowout and climaxes with a hand flailing finale set to the ebulliently incessant belting of "Jingle bells! Jingle bells!". As seen here in Camp, the number is a considerably impressive recreation of the original Broadway "Turkey Lurkey" as frenetic-ly choreographed by Michael Bennett, later of A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls fame.

(By the by, if this list was ranked, this one would easily be in the number one spot.)

9. "Jingle Bell Rock" from Mean Girls (2004)


As a quartet of... sexy? Slutty? Skanky? Santa's helpers, the "Plastics" (Lacey Chabert as Gretchen, Rachel McAdams as Regina, Lindsay Lohan as Cady and Amanda Seyfried as Karen) slink along to a recording of this pop X-mas ditty (written by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe) for their Winter Talent Show act... that is, until Gretchen kicks the boombox off the stage (um, why doesn't the school auditorium have a sound system?). New girl Cady saves the day though when she starts singing live, and the audience quickly joins in for a merry sing along as the "mean girls" go on to mix and a-mingle their jingling feet. This scene has become so popular that all one has to do is search for "jingle bell rock mean girls" on YouTube to find a bevy of fan-made tribute videos, including a few by "mean boys".

10. "Toyland" from Tangerine (2015)


We come full circle for our last and most recent Christmas movie musical number. Like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", this melancholy arrangement of the usually peppier "Toyland" (composed by Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough for their 1903 children's operetta Babes in Toyland) is tinged with forlorn sadness. In the scenes leading up to this moment, sassy streetwalker Alexandra (Mya Taylor, who became the first transgender actress to win a major film award with her 2016 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance here) is seen tirelessly promoting her Christmas Eve singing gig at a local cocktail lounge. But it is all to no avail, as she ends up performing to a mostly empty bar. Taylor's haunting vocals add to the bittersweet air, yet she seems to gently acknowledge the irony of her situation through such lyrics as "Little girl and boy land/While you dwell within it/You are ever happy there".

Dearest Review: The Dark Knight Rises

2017 has been a busy year for The Batman.

The Lego Batman Movie:
Will Arnett’s growly Caped Crusader was the breakout character of the super-cute Lego Movie three years ago, so it was a no-brainer to spin him off into his own animated feature. Just as deliriously over-stuffed as its predecessor, this Batman Movie is filled to the brim with bat-references, including appearances by pretty much his entire Rogues Gallery and plenty of clever nods to his previous live action cinematic adventures. The family friendly plot finds our plastic hero facing off once again with his old foe the Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), who recruits an army of special guest villains from such other Warner properties as Gremlins and Harry Potter. Holy synergy, Batman! (7/10) Now available on DVD and Blu-ray and streaming on HBO.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Dynamic Duo

Batman & Bill:
The most tragic Batman story of all didn’t play out on the comic page or movie screen but in real life. Everyone’s favorite cowled crime fighter made his four-color debut in 1939, with Bob Kane credited with creating the future superstar superhero. However, Kane didn’t do it all by himself. A large part of what makes Batman the Batman we know today is thanks to writer Bill Finger, who was denied his proper credit (and all the money and acclaim that goes with it) by the fame-hungry egotist Kane (who deserves the Bat-Villain name Credit Hog). The bittersweet story of how Finger’s legacy was rightfully restored years after his lonely death makes for an engrossing and ultimately uplifting must-see for any true Bat-Fan. (8/10) Now streaming on Hulu.

Kane and Abler

Justice League:
Of course, Batman (as played by Ben Affleck) is one of the big guns brought together for the long-awaited first big screen adventure of DC Comics’ “World’s Greatest Heroes”. He and Gal Gadot’s kick-ass Wonder Woman recruit Jason Momoa’s über-hunky Aquaman, Ezra Miller’s geeky Flash and Ray Fisher’s high tech Cyborg to stop an encroaching global alien threat… oh, and also to resurrect Henry Cavill’s Superman, who was killed off in last year’s widely derided Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Learning from their mistakes from that one and capitalizing on the wonderfully received Wonder Woman from earlier this year, JL has been lightened up considerably (even ol’ Bats cracks a smile at one point) and is blessedly devoid of the dark tone that has made most of DC’s own “Cinematic Universe” such drudgery to watch.

In a League of Their Own

Racked by production problems and overshadowed by perennial rival Marvel’s ongoing dominance of the genre/flooding of the market, JL is far from the great superhero epic it certainly had the potential to be, but it’s still fun, with some cool fight scenes and enough positive hints toward future chapters/spin-offs to give at least this longtime DC "super friend" some hope for the future. (7/10) Now in theaters.

Coming soon: reviews of this year’s other superhero flicks, including Logan, Spider-Man: Homecoming and, of course, Wonder Woman.

Reviews by Kirby Holt, Movie Dearest creator, editor and head writer.

Dearest Review: Five Came Back

 

From Twin Peaks to Will & Grace, nostalgic revivals have been all the rage this year on television and at the movies as well. Witness these five recent sequels, all spawned from originals that range in age from 21 to 84 years old.

T2: Trainspotting:
Yes, it’s been two decades since Danny Boyle first brought from the pages of Irvine Welsh’s novel to the big screen (and set to the driving beat of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”) the lovable losers Renton, Spud, Begbie and Sick Boy. But there’s a good reason for the long wait, as now the characters, having survived their drug fueled youth, are older… yet not necessarily wiser. New schemes are hatched, old scores are settled, and all without quite so much heroine in this slick and stylish, funny and fitting follow-up to 1996’s cult classic Trainspotting. (7/10) Now available on DVD and Blu-ray and streaming on STARZ.

Whoever smelt it dealt it

Kong: Skull Island:
More of a reboot/launch of the “big-ass monster cinematic universe” then a direct sequel, this umpteenth iteration of the iconic “8th Wonder of the World © 1933” boasts impressive visuals and a surprisingly all-star cast, including Brie Larson (in her first “cashing in on that Oscar” part), a proverbially over-the-top Samuel L. Jackson, and scruffy scene stealer John C. Reilly (in the Ben Gunn role). For what at first glance seemed like a cheesy cash grab actually turns out to be a pretty darn good popcorn flick with potential for a few sequels of its own. (7/10) Now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

I love the smell of wet ape in the morning

Alien: Covenant:
Along with the unending adventures of Artimus Prime and Captain Jack Sparrow, the seemingly endless Alien saga just keeps trudging along, ever-increasing audience apathy be damned. Ridley Scott, who helmed the original film 38 years ago, returns again for this sequel to his prequel Prometheus, which confounded audiences five years ago. Covenant is less confusing but hardly engaging with its Passengers-like plot that keeps the aliens off screen for far too long. Of particular note for MD readers: Demián Bichir grieving his fallen husband, and Michael Fassbender’s Peter O’Toole-ian David macking on his android “brother” Walter, also played by Fassbender. (5/10) Now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Yep, Fassbender-on- Fassbender twincest… the fan fiction practically writes itself.

Blade Runner 2049:
Ridley Scott’s other sci-fi classic from last century finally got its long-delayed second chapter this year, albeit with Arrival’s Oscar nominated director Denis Villeneuve at the helm. Set 30 years later in a Los Angeles even more dystopian, the initial story – of a blade runner (Ryan Gosling, in a role perfect for his actorly quirks) who stumbles upon a potentially incendiary mystery surrounding the corpse of a replicant – seems distinctly removed from the original’s, yet slowly (granted, at times too slowly) reveals just how connected it truly is. As with the 1982 model, 2049 is thick with themes of identity and humanity, yet manages to outdo its grim predecessor in regards to emotionally resonance. (8/10) Now in theaters.

Stayin' (artificially) alive, stayin' (artificially) alive...

War for the Planet of the Apes:
War is right. This conclusion to the Apes prequel trilogy lays it on thick with the Nazi/Holocaust allegory, not to mention cinematic allusions to such World War II epics as The Bridge on the River Kwai and The Great Escape. It also works overtime to set up its connections all the way back to the original 1968 classic; who knew that a Chevrolet subcompact would factor into the mythology of the Planet of the Apes? Andy Serkis’ now stoic ape leader Caesar leaves plenty of room for Woody Harrelson to go all “Heart of Darkness” crazy as the skinhead colonel tired of all this monkey business. (6/10) Now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Lots and lots of monkey business...

Reviews by Kirby Holt, Movie Dearest creator, editor and head writer.

Reverend's Interview: France's AIDS-Themed Oscar Contender is Already a Winner

 

A number of powerful films depicting the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis are rightly considered classics. Parting Glances, Longtime Companion, And the Band Played On and Philadelphia helped to open eyes and hearts before there were any treatments for HIV infection. We can now add to this list Robin Campillo's excellent BPM (Beats Per Minute).

The new movie (original title: 120 battements par minute), which is France's submission in the Best Foreign Language Film for this year's Academy Awards, will opens theatrically in Los Angeles and NYC this weekend and in other cities later this month.

It is a painfully vivid but life-affirming and inspiring portrait of the ACT UP movement in early 1990's Paris. A brave group of male and female activists goes to battle for those stricken with HIV/AIDS, taking on sluggish government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies in bold, invasive actions modeled after New York's ACT UP chapter. The activists, many of them gay and HIV-positive, embrace their mission with a literal life-or-death urgency.

Amid rallies, protests, fierce debates and ecstatic dance parties, newcomer Nathan (played by Arnaud Valois) falls in love with Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart), the group’s radical firebrand. Their passion sparks against the shadow of mortality as the activists fight for a medical breakthrough. BPM is movingly intimate but boasts an impressive sense of large scale on a small budget, especially during its Pride scenes.

Any LGBT viewers alive at the time will recognize many of the issues and actions depicted in the film. These included sexually-graphic ad campaigns and spraying politicians with fake blood, although the recipients didn't initially realize the blood was artificial. Director/co-writer Campillo accomplishes the tricky task of showing ACT UP's excesses without denigrating the organization. This is significant since he knows them first-hand, as he revealed during a recent phone interview with Reverend shared with his two leading men.

"I was involved with ACT UP in Paris for for about five years starting in 1992," the Morocco-born Campillo revealed. "I came back toward the end of the 1990's so I was probably involved for ten years in all." At the time, there were approximately 6,000 new HIV cases in France each year. Like its New York chapter, ACT UP Paris's impact was ultimately blunted by infighting among its leader. This is shown in BPM but Campillo directs throughout with a riveting, non-judgmental verve.

Campillo is known to many viewers for his previous acclaimed films Eastern Boys, about a male Ukrainian prostitute, and the Oscar nominated The Class. He also wrote The Returned, a eerily effective French TV series about dead villagers returning to life that he helped adapt for American television. But BPM is a decidedly more personal effort for him.

"I came to ACT UP in 1992 but for many years I didn't realize I could do a film about it," he said. "I thought about doing a movie about the AIDS epidemic but only later realized it could be about my personal experience." Campillo has considerable insight into the health crisis both then and now, as evidenced by his finished film. This contrasts sharply with his two less-informed but nonetheless dedicated lead actors.

"I was 9 in 1992, so I did not remember ACT UP but I do remember the giant condom (they placed) over the obelisk in Paris," Valois recalled with a laugh. "I discovered AIDS in the movies or TV but fortunately did not have any family members or friends with it." His character in the film, Nathan, is equally naïve at first. Upon meeting Sean at an ACT UP meeting, Nathan asks "What's your job?" Sean replies in no-nonsense fashion, "I'm poz, that's all."

Valois's co-star, Nahuel (pronounced "Noel") Perez Biscayart, spoke of his similar upbringing. "I really dived into the story and script," he said. "I was 9 or 10 years old at the time depicted so I knew very little." Biscayart, who was born in Argentina, also admitted to not having any personal knowledge of someone living with HIV/AIDS. You wouldn't know his lack of first-hand experience from his intense performance, which necessitated considerable weight loss.

Valois and Biscayart have several steamy scenes together in the film, which I couldn't resist asking about. "It was a challenge (to film them) because its not just about the sex," Biscayart said. "It was about the characters really opening up to each other." There is a particularly graphic yet poignant scene between the two lovers toward the film's end. "The final scene at the hospital was not just a sex scene but was very emotional; it was very difficult," according to Biscayart. Valois immediately agreed with his co-star.

Those viewers fortunate to have lived to tell about the early days of the AIDS pandemic will find both nostalgia and modern relevancy in BPM. It reminds us of the once popular phrase "silence = mort (death)," which can certainly be applied to our current US political situation. As one character states in a sassy yet still-timely manner, "We don't want to die, darling."

Arnaud Valois, Robin Campillo and Nahuel Perez Biscayart at the New York Film Festival

Now as then, government agencies more often serve as a hindrance than a help to those dealing with HIV/AIDS on the front lines. There have been tremendous medical advances over the last 20 years but not all those infected have had equal access to them. BPM focuses in particular on the development of protease inhibitors, which were initially regarded with suspicion. "People will think they're better than AZT," one skeptical character says about the then-new medications. "I'll take any kind of hope," responds an infected woman.

According to Campillo, Biscayart and Valois, their film is being very well received thus far. "Its very popular in France, which we did not expect," said Campillo. "We had low expectations due to the subject and gay sex scenes; I did not think the film would be such a success."

Moviegoers too young to remember the time period depicted in BPM are also responding well. "Apparently, they are very moved and some are shocked at the beginning (of the film) because they didn't know so many people died from AIDS," said Valois. Biscayart seconded that by saying: "(Younger viewers) are going beyond activism and are excited about breaking taboos; girls are really excited about the gay sex scenes in the film (laugh)." Campillo and his stars are optimistic their work will be just as well received in the US.


With any luck, BPM will emerge as one of the five finalists for this year's foreign language Oscar. Even if it doesn't, though, this powerful movie should not be missed by moviegoers young and old, gay and straight. For more information about the film or to purchase tickets click here.

Interview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.