FILM REVIEW: CALL ME KUCHU

A scene from Call Me Kuchu.

The ugly and the undeterred in Uganda

By Don Simpson

Like the Nazi propaganda machine, the Christian fundamentalists of Uganda (and some American Evangelicals) worked hand in hand with the popular Ugandan newspaper (that functions more like a gossip tabloid), Rolling Stone, to effectively communicate to the Ugandan population that the LGBTI community was a bunch of disease-carrying rapists who were actively recruiting others to undermine Christianity and destroy the country's moral fibre.

The Ugandan LGBTI community -- otherwise known as kuchus -- was left three options: go back into the closet, emigrate to a more queer-friendly environment, or stand up for their personal freedoms.

Like good documentarians, directors Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall had the premonition to document a group of Ugandan LGBTI activists who took a stand against their government. Wright and Zouhali-Worrall conducted a series of interviews with both sides of the issue; without injecting their own opinions and judgments, they admirably allowed everyone to freely speak her or his mind.

Outed by Rolling Stone and under constant threat of being turned in by their own family or neighbors, these activists had to walk the fine line of staying safe while inciting change. In most cases, it is the influx of vigilant human rights activists from around the world and the presence of video cameras that serves as the most effective protections for the LGBTI community. Call Me Kuchuserves one of the rare examples of cameras having a (mostly) positive influence on the subjects they seek to capture.

The documentary also captures the loss of one of its primary subjects.

An emotional tsunami, Call Me Kuchu is about sticking together and not conforming to popular opinion despite the ever-present dangers of not abiding by the government's tyrannical rules, looking forward into the future and making sacrifices for the greater good. While it is impressive to see so most of the Western world stand up to Uganda on this issue, sometimes it can be easier to criticize the follies of others than to point out one's own faults.

It is not that I am complaining that the United States took such a firm stand against Uganda's gay death penalty bill, but it does seem a bit hypocritical, since in most U.S. states the LGBTI community is still not permitted the same rights as everyone else; and, in many areas of the U.S., the LGBTI community is still the recipient of hatred and violence.

So, while watching a documentary about the hardships of the kuchus may seem a bit foreign, it is actually a very relatable topic for Americans to contemplate.

LAFF 2013: THE NEW BLACK

A scene from The New Black.

Churches, choices and civil rights

By John Esther

For director Yoruba Richen, the 2008 presidential election was a bittersweet pill to swallow. As a member of the African-American community the election of Barack Obama was historical, somewhat unbelievable. A moment to cherish for a lifetime, especially for an African American. On the other hand, the California resident and lesbian was deeply saddened to see a majority of California voters strip the rights of her LGBT brothers and sisters vis-à-vis Prop 8.

As African Americans around the country celebrated that November 4th night, GLBT citizens took to California's streets to protest the great injustice. Immediately the powers-that-be-telling-lies started to pit African Americans and LGBT citizens by erroneously claiming 70 percent of African Americans voted for Prop 8. According to a study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, black support was in the mid-high 50 percent.

As a result, Richen, the director of Promised Land, decided to examine the sometimes compatible, sometimes contentious, sometimes cantankerous, church and secular relationships and attitudes between the African-American community at large and the African-American-LGBT.

The result is The New Black, an entertaining documentary focusing on why the African-American community, a historically oppressed group, would not be overwhelmingly in support of the LGBT community. As any reasonable viewer would expect, and the documentary soon confirms, the emotionally-based reason is not really much different than the non-African-American community. It is the role of the religious right in African-American churches. Like their non-black counterparts, too many African-American preachers are using the same old anachronistic arguments against the LGBT marriage equality.

Using the 2012 election in Maryland regarding Measure 6, which allows same-sex marriage in the state, Richen interviews people from different sides of the issue. We see activists working hard professionally and personally (coming out to loved ones) in order to make sure the legislative measure is supported by a majority of Maryland voters. Richen also gives plenty of space for opponents of marriage equality to shoot off their mouths.

Of course, we know a majority of Maryland voters made history last November, but how and why it was done is what makes The New Black another important text used toward equal civil rights in this country.

The New Black screens at LAFF 2013 June 14, 7:30 p.m., Regal Cinemas; June 16, 6:50 p.m., Regal Cinemas. For more information: www.lafilmfest.com

FILM REVIEW: PARIAH



Alike (Adepero Oduye) in Pariah.

Invisible lesbian

By Don Simpson

Alike (Adepero Oduye) is very shy and totally unsure of herself. At 17-years of age, Alike attempts to define herself by her tomboy wardrobe, as if wearing a placard that boldly states “Kiss me, I’m a lesbian”; because that is really all she wants, a kiss. Hanging around her bull-dyke best friend, Laura (Pernell Walker), further accentuates her boyish traits. Of course Alike’s overprotective Christian mother (Kim Wayans) does not like that. She wants Alike to wear clothes that flaunt her girlish figure; but that seems to only make Alike rebel more. Luckily, Alike’s father (Charles Parnell) is oblivious enough to his surroundings that she is able to maintain a somewhat “normal” relationship with him while her meddling little sister (Sahra Mellesse) is the only family member who is fully cognizant and accepting of Alike’s sexual orientation.

As much as I like Pariah, and would never want to discount its message, it is very difficult for me to overlook some of the very same issues that I had with Lee Daniels’ Precious. For instance, the images, set design and performances seem more like Hollywood representations of Alike’s world; a hyper-real manifestation of reality. Drama and emotion are tweaked off the charts like some nauseatingly sappy poetry or excruciatingly trite singer-songwriter lyrics. The dialogue seems oh so perfectly manicured, and certain scenes seem all too purposeful. Two scenarios in particular seem especially unreal to me: when an AP English teacher urges Alike to “go deeper” with her soul-baring poetry and when Laura passes her GED only to have her mother slam a door in her face when she tries to tell her the good news. (Oh, and do not even get me started on the conclusion…) The apparent falsities constantly distract me from the emotional core of this heartbreaking tale — which is a crying shame because several of the performances are quite amazing and I really do love Pariah‘s overall message. The story would have really benefited from a more realistic representation and a wee bit more directorial restraint.

Yet I want to conclude this on an uplifting note, because Pariah really is quite effective in portraying how a teenager’s closeted queer lifestyle can lead to friction at home, leaving a crumbling family unit in its wake. This is by no means Alike’s fault; her parents are irritatingly irrational and clueless towards her homosexuality. The overall situation seems brutally honest, as if it is torn directly from the pages of Rees’ personal experience.



AGLIFF 2011: TRIGGER

Kat (Molly Parker) and Vic (Tracy Wright) in Trigger.

Bang up job

By Don Simpson

Vic (Tracy Wright) and Kat (Molly Parker) are best known for fronting Toronto’s famed 1990s grrrl rock band,Trigger. As is often the case with rock and roll, drugs, alcohol, sex and egos — in no particular order — were all to blame for the band’s thorny demise. In an instant, Trigger was gone.

Director Bruce McDonald’s Trigger finds the two fallen rock stars a decade or so later. After not speaking to each other since Trigger’s break-up, Vic and Kat find themselves facing off across a small table at a chic modern restaurant. Their reunion could not start off much worse. Kat shows up an hour later than Vic, then her cellphone rings (important business to which she must attend). Vic’s disdain for Kat’s fun, flighty and flirty personality promptly rears its ugly head. Both women flash their claws. A violent fight seems eminent. The question remains: Will it happen before, during or after the benefit they are both scheduled to attend?

Over the course of one single night, Vic and Kat regurgitate their history. A battle between ideologies and lifestyles commences. They judge their own pasts -- fluidly alternating between the romanticism and hatred of their memories -- while criticizing each other’s presents. A lot has changed since their days in Trigger. Vic is a recovering drug addict, who still resides in Toronto; she looks to a book titled The Spirituality of Imperfection for the answers to life’s questions, and is negotiating the release of a solo album. The “terminally unique” Kat is a recovering alcoholic; she long ago abandoned Toronto for Los Angeles (well, Silverlake) and works as a music supervisor for Lifetime. Eventually, Vic and Kat’s fiery philosophical clashes simmer down long enough for the two women to delicately discuss their fears and aspirations, as well as their unique perspectives on aging, dying, relationships and love.

On the surface, Trigger plays like a romantic stroll around Toronto at night, as Vic and Kam act as our guides, but the locations are far from romantic (other than Allan Gardens) or noteworthy. At its heart Trigger is a talkie. Trigger is all about screenwriter Daniel MacIvor’s uncanny command of the English language. Ranging from gracefully poetic to subtly rhythmic to downright spastic, the dialog twists and turns between mean, raunchy and bittersweet; yet despite the literary flourishes, every word and every phrase seems perfectly natural. It is completely believable that Vic and Kat would speak in these somewhat affected ways.

Speaking of… Wright and Parker’s performances are nothing short of amazing.Trigger finds both actors at the pinnacle of their craft, portraying characters that were seemingly custom crafted just for them. What reportedly started off as a sequel to McDonald’s punk mockumentary, Hard Core Logo (1996), Triggerquickly evolved into a farewell love letter to Wright, whose health was slipping due to pancreatic cancer. (Wright passed away in June 2010, at the age of 50.) I do not know if Wright’s portrayal of the world-weary Vic, accentuated by her sunken eyes and graying skin, is more amazing if you know she was dying when she shot Trigger or not. No matter what, I cannot imagine a more appropriate swan song for an actor.