Tunten lügen nicht

At the screening that I saw, the title was "Queens Don't Lie".

A long, sombre,but greatly absorbing documentary, sometimes rather indulgent.

But kept my attention (and that of the audience) for the duration.

I'd see it again too.

This documentary about four Berlin drag queens is probably an absolute must if you are a Von Praunheim aficionado. If you have seen many of his feature films, these four queens will give you a lot of insight about the other films they have worked on, and how all four have interacted and developed since the mid 80s. The personal stories they tell about HIV and AIDS are also particularly poignant, and worthwhile.

However unlike THE EINSTEIN OF SEX, or even his recent documentary about Fassbinder, here Von Praunheim does not deliver a film likely to captivate audiences, even at gay film festivals, unless they are German language festivals. The movie is mostly all interviews, with little archival material or other images which would render it more watchable to non-German speakers.

The dialogues are really fantastic; these four people are articulate. But ultimately, the film will turn off a lot of people. For the audience the film targets, it does not disappoint. But, I should point out, it is not likely to become a crowd pleaser as the director's other work has. In any case, 8 out of 10.