chong_an's reviews

A 5-year-old girl, her university-aged sister, and their single mother move back from the countryside to Taipei, where the mother opens a noodle stall in a night market.

The youngest goes to school, is somewhat taken care of by the 2 family members, at time tries to help, but also at times is left to amuse herself. She wants a dog, but ends up inheriting her father's meerkat. Her left-handedness causes trouble with her grandfather, who calls the left hand "the devil's hand", something that leads to unintended results.

The older girl goes to work at an unrelated shop, and when she happens upon an old schoolmate, they wonder why she is not in university, given her previous grades, and why she suddenly left school without goodbyes.

The mother's finances are shaky, repeatedly being late with her shop's rent. Grandma is not too supportive, as (culturally) a married daughter is the responsibility of her husband's family. The owner / operator of the stall next to hers (who sells trinkets) takes a shine to her, but she refuses his help, preferring to pawn her jewelry to raise money.

Everything comes to a head at grandma's 60th birthday celebration, where various family secrets are revealed. I do wonder why they all have to be revealed at that time.

The actor playing the 5-year-old is very good, given that she has to play a wide range of emotions. The bustling shops of the market are an eye-opener, and it seems that motor scooters are a major form of transport. This becomes a fascinating glimpse of life in Taipei for ordinary people.

This is a story of the life of William Shakespeare and his family in the Stratford environs, based on a few known facts. The time period is from Shakespeare meeting his wife, to the opening of Hamlet in London. A lot of time is spent on the drama of home life, including that with some of the in-laws. Not being much use locally other than as a Latin tutor, Shakepeare leaves for London. The desire for his family to join him is put off with various excuses, until a successful Shakespeare buys his marital family the biggest house in town.

Being away much on business, with occasional visits home, Shakespeare misses the birth, death, and funeral of his only son Hamnet (a.k.a. Hamlet). Instead, he uses Hamnet's name for the title and lead character in his tragic play, as ghosts of father and son abound.

The mostly rural scenery has a washed-out coloring, seeming to indicate a historical story (similar to Nuremberg), accentuated by dim or available-light-only photography.

Because the story is so much concentrated in the family life in the Stratford area, it is fitting that the credits list his wife first, not Shakespeare. Shakespeare may have played sword-fighting with his son, inspiring the closing scene of Hamlet. There are quotes from Shakespearean plays, as the (screen)writer may be stretching to connect Shakespeare's plays with his family. His wife, being a witch and medicine woman, may have inspired the witches of Macbeth.

The problem, I find, is that if you are not a fan of Shakespeare, and do not know his work reasonably well, you lose a significant part of the plot. For films currently playing, I have recommended Rental Family for those interested in Japanese culture, and Left Hand Girl for those interested in Taipei life. However, does anyone care about life in rural 16th century England, even if there was a major historical figure in it? This I why I can only give this film a rating of 7, as it is not for everyone.

Several Iranians share a common bond. They have been imprisoned, tortured, subject to mock executions and other abuses, but eventually set free. Blindfolded while being abused, they all remember "peg leg", a guard / torturer who lost a leg in the Syrian war, and seemed to make his prosthetic leg squeak as his signature presence. Years later, they are adapting to some form of "normal" life.

The instigator of the events in the story thinks that he had found "peg leg", captures him, ties him up, and is about to bury him alive, but his captive sows enough doubt in his mind that he stops and consults other former prisoners, in a chain of connections. Things get ever more complicated as more people are involved. Meanwhile, they have to deal with other distractions like running out of gas, dealing with security guards, going to a hospital, etc.

This is a believable story of how different people deal with a common trauma. The director is rather sparing in his use of locales - a lot of action occurs in or around the van "peg leg" is imprisoned in - shades of his earlier movie Taxi.

I am rather surprised that a movie critical of the Iranian regime made it out of Iran. What I am less happy with is the somewhat misleading introduction to the story.

Jeffrey has been discharged from the army with no marketable skills, though with a talent for keen observation. Working at a McDonalds is not providing enough money to keep his family in the style they deserve. He starts robbing the stores, knowing when they turn over the week's cash receipts. His entry thru the roof earns him the name "roofman".

In his robberies, he is apologetic and kind, and once gives his jacket to an employee before he locks them up in the cooler. Caught and jailed, his wife divorces him, and keeps him away from his daughter and twin baby boys. He escapes, and ends up living in a toy store, where he turns off the security cameras' recording function, while setting up his own monitoring system.

When an employee (Leigh, a single mother) fails to get the manager to donate to her church's toy drive (returned toys have no value), Jeffrey brings a sack of toys to the church, stays for the post-service dinner (1st real food in ages) and is "introduced" to Leigh. He starts a relationship with Leigh and her 2 daughters. Despite knowing that he should move on to avoid recapture, this semblance of a happy family life keeps him around.

Channing Tatum is charming as Jeffrey, and Kirsten Dunst is believable as Leigh, who has to suspend disbelief in their relationship - "John" claims to be a secret federal agent living in a location that cannot be disclosed. Photos and videos played during the closing credits show that most elements of the film actually happened. I was left wondering why the army did not offer outplacement services.

Eleanor, 94, has been living in Florida for many years. After her husband passed away, her long-time friend Bess moved in for 11 year, until Bess also passed away. Eleanor moved "back" to New York City, where she stayed with her daughter Lisa in her Manhattan apartment, occupying grandson Max's bedroom, as Max is away at college.

A busy professional woman, Lisa can't be Eleanor's companion. Instead, Lisa is searching for a seniors' home for her, and enrolls her in a program at the Jewish Community Center. There, she joins a "group", before finding out that it is a Holocaust survivors' group, where the participants swap their stories. Journalism student Nina is intrigued with Eleanor's story, and befriends her to be interviewed for an article. This gets somewhat out of hand, as Eleanor is actually telling stories Bess had told her, on many a sleepless night when they lived together. Eleanor herself was born in Iowa, not Poland, and converted to Judiaism only upon marriage. As the survivors deal with survivor guilt, Nina is also dealing with the recent passing of her mother, and a father whose response to his loss is silence.

I am usually not keen on Holocaust stories, but this one touched me. June Squibb is wonderful as a bossy old lady, while Rita Zohar is perfect as the actual Holocaust survivor. I do have two quibbles about the film. There is too much of an age difference between Eleanor, her daughter and grandson. It is interesting to be presented with the biblical story of Jacob masquerading as his older twin brother Esau to get their father's blessing - rather than being punished, Jacob founds the nation of Israel. However, this is placed in the context of Eleanor's task for her Bat Mitzvah, and I doubt that she would qualify for the ceremony - as an adult convert, the conversion ceremony should have included Bat Mitzvah elements.

This film is somewhat mystical and allegorical. Themes include racism, unwelcome migrants, slavery, freedom, overlaid over a teen girl's coming of age and sexual awakening.

The location harkens of Belgium, one of the two countries of production. Whites are in power, and Blacks are servants / hired help. White soldiers patrol the streets, Black migrants are unwelcome, and may be abducted and disappeared - maybe a premonition of the current U. S.

Reachable by foot from the town, thru a small forest, is an estate and mansion, where a White family lives. Mistress of house is Florence, who lives there with her mother, a man of unspecified relationship, and Florence's 16-year-old daughter Fanny. Unable to have children after Fanny, but desiring more (especially girls), she has a continuing project of bringing in single mothers with daughters, none of whom seem to stay for long.

The latest couple are from Congo. The mother went to work in the kitchen, and lives apart from the daughter Cécile. Cécile is assigned to live in the personal servant's room next to Fanny's room, and quickly get hunky groundskeeper Rufus as her boyfriend. Fanny bonds with her, adopts her culture (hairstyle, etc.), and spies on her and Rufus, yearning for her own experiences. But as Florence's health declines, Fanny has to grow up and take on responsibilities.

There is a suggestion that Cécile and her mother should at some point "go north", and indeed are encouraged by a friendly driver to "steal away" and do so. It seems that "North" represents freedom and security, and harkens to Canada, the other country of production. There are echoes of the Underground Railroad in the 1800s U. S., or the current situation, where migrants desiring Canada may risk transiting the U. S. One disappoitment is that Fanny does not appear to go to school, or get private tutoring.

I saw this film at the World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, with director and cast Q+A. An antelope that occasionally appears in the forest symbolizes freedom. Congo was conceived before Belgium came into the picture, the two being related by colonization, exploitation, and abuses. The Q+A somewhat helped me understand the film, and added one point to my rating.

Ali and Amir are fraternal twin brothers whose mother died in childbirth. They are living with, and working for, an "uncle", a fisherman and fish processor on the Malaysia seaside. Ali somewhat takes care of Amir, who speaks only in English names of animals, for which they are bullied by schoolmates. They seem to have a telepathic link, with their playing a game of matching bottle caps blindfold.

Their father is distant, only using them in his dubious schemes. An early scene has him directing them to illegally pick durian fruit, mentioning that the best are known as "the fox king'. A new English teacher arrives - a prodigal daughter who really prefers to be elsewhere. Both are enamored with her, which leads to a rivalry. This is despite the teacher having a relationship with another teaher.

I saw this film at the World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, with director, cast, and producer Q+A. The director has an identical twin, which inspired this story about twins. His name-checking of Toronto and Tokyo is due to him and his brother having connections there.

I am mildly disappointed that the English class is not conducted in English, given that the students are proficient enough for the teacher to offer them books to read, with Amir (the only student to accept) picking up Animal Farm.

This is a film about love and relationship, but the raunchiness means that it is not for everyone. François and Julie are a long-time Montreal married couple with 2 schoool-age daughters. They have separate professions, love one another, but their sex life has gone stale. Inspired by their younger friends, they decide to go to an open relationship sexually.

Even as they start by meeting other swinger couples, it is obvious the two are reacting to the situation differently. They then exploring independently, sometimes going to sex clubs and sex parties. They learn about being open sexually while still being committed, When they find that their sexual turn-ons are different, they have to find ways to reconcile and work together, as per the name of the final "chapter".

At its heart, this is a decent film about a committed relationship, though with a wild ride thru a series of sexual situations.

I saw this film at the North American Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, with director, cast, and producer Q+A. The sex scenes were rehearsed (clothes on) before the cameras arrived, though there was one mishap that required a later reshoot. Shooting on filrm meant that the action was more urgent, like a stage show, since they could not afford many reshoots. Meanwhile, "their daughters" were sisters in real life, and were encouraged to ad lib, likely leading to a more authentic reaction than could be scripted by an adult.

Brendan Fraser plays an American actor who has been living in Tokyo for 7 years. His career has not been a success, doing things like toothpaste commercials. A chance gig has him connected with Rental Family, a business that rents out fake family members, friends, apologetic mistresses, etc. There are roles that specifically require a white man. His 1st official task is to play bridegroom, getting married to a young woman, who then can leave her family, ostensibly to go with him to Canada, but in fact for her to be with her lesbian lover.

In between other short-term roles, a couple of several-weeks continuing roles come up. One is to be a friend to an aging actor, under cover of being a journalist who wants to write his life story. Another is to play the long-lost father of a young girl, whose mother is trying to get into a good school, but believes that a single parent will not be acceptable. In both cases, the hiring client is not the subject of the relationship, so his acting skills are called upon. However, he gets emotionally attached, and complications ensue.

I saw this film at the World Premiere series of screenings at Toronto International Film Festival, with director Q+A. It seems that rental families are a real business in Japan, especially in Tokyo, where people are lonely, and psychotherapy is not easily available and socially disdained. Some businesses specialize in particular aspects, while others (like in the film) are generalists. Also, there are shrines around Tokyo, where, for a small offering, strangers can go to pray and meditate.

The situations are heartfelt, and Fraser does a good job playing the actor who is conflicted by playing a fake role in real people's lives. Recommended for those who are interested in a glimpse of the underbelly of Japanese culture.

The youngest of 3 sisters, Fatima graduates high school in suburban Paris, and enrols in university "in the city" to study philosophy. While in high school, the boys have distinct ideas about what is appropriate sexual acts, and what is inappropriately gay. Fatima turns down her boyfriend's offer to ask for her hand in marriage, but instead goes on dating apps to find older women to teach her how to be a lesbian.

The bulk of the film is about her university years, where she blossoms into a full-fledged lesbian, but has a crisis of faith, consulting with her Iman. Despite the title, the family is written out of this part of the story, except for a vist to her mother.

I saw this film at the North American Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival,with a Q+A with the star and producer. The film is based on an autobiographical novel, with the novelist also writing the script, with some added information that was not in the novel. There are titbits that include the reason for Fatima to play soccer by herself. At her time (I estimate early 2010s) and place, there are no girls' soccer teams to play on.

In the 16th century wars between Christians and Muslims, atrocities occur on both sides. Christians captured by Muslims are often sold as slaves, though high-ranking captives were held for ransom. This is speculation about what could have happened to Miguel de Cervantes, who later went on to write Don Quixote.

A student of letters turned soldier, he is captured and arrives in Algiers. Wit a broken arm, he is not worth much as a slave, but he convinces the slave auctioneers that he is worth more in ransom money, and is imprisoned with others in the Bajá's courtyard.

Besides paying enough ransom, prisoners can be freed by converting to Islam (the Bajá himself is a convert). They could also try to escape, but the penalty for failure includes death by impalement. Minor offenses are punished by cutting off an ear.

Miguel entertains his fellow prisoners by telling stories, even if he repeats them. This brings him to the attention of the Bajá, who uses him as his personal entertainer. If he amuses, he gets small gifts, and maybe a day pass to roam Algiers. Eventually they get close enough to share a bath, though the Bajá disclaims any sexual interest in the skinny semi-cripple, since he has a harem of dancing boys.

On his outings, Miguel is befriended by a barber, whose establishment also serves (forbidden) alcohol, and provides the services of male geishas (the adult version of dancing boys). Miguel persuades the Bajá to allow prisoners out for labor duties, with the Bajá collecting the pay. This makes Miguel a lot of friends, but also jealous enemies. Prison politics and betrayals ensue.

This is a plausible story, well acted, and nicely photographed. Good storytelling indeed.

If the characters were not flawed (and mildly irritating), the story would be less interesting. The immigrant parents follow a pattern of being secretive, and communicating only when needed . Mid-20s Ash blames his father's infidelity for causing his parents' marriage breakup, and so ignores his mother's entreaties (without explanation) to call his father, as well as his father's phone calls. His father, in return, invades Ash's sanctum of a Hakka restaurant, which he frequents with "his boys" - friends from childhood.

His father's tremors has been diagnosed as Parkinson's. The parents seem to have picked the correct son to lean on, as Ash's brother seems to be an unemployed layabout. Ash, however, switches into take-charge mode, getting groceries, trying to teach his father to cook, introducing him to a cannibas store, and getting his father appointments with medical specialists. However, his father prefers to withdraw, missing the possibility of brain stimulation therapy, which would avoid the side effects of his medication. He also does not tell Ash that he likes his job as a bus driver, while Ash enthuses about the possibility of a softer job in a collector's booth.

Ash is an aspiring writer, but his novella is going nowhere. He commutes daily from suburban Scarborough to a downtown Toronto coffee shop "to write", but mostly just stares at his computer. He refuses to write a stereotypical immigrant novel, like the author in American Fiction (2023) refusing to write a Black ghetto novel. Also, he is going by the dictum of "write what you know", but does not go out and get life experiences, like the protagonist in Trick (1999) and Sebastian (2024). His nightlife, too, is downtown, often with the threat of missing the last train home.

At the coffee shop, Ash meets and develops a relationship with barista Claire, the only major White character. Claire has moved over 2,000 miles away from home for university, but also another 300 miles for a summer job. For reasons I can only guess at, Claire demands that her Brown customers give her their "real" names to write on their cups, not just an easy-to-pronounce White name. Ash, meanwhile, exhibits reverse-generation racism, after finding (from his father) that not only his mother has a new boyfriend, but that he is White.

This is a good portrait of the Scarborough - Toronto dynamic. While technically amalgamated into the City of Toronto, Scarborough still feels that it is an inferior suburb, unsuccessfully aspiring to downtown status, like our protagonist Ash.

The time period is around 1980, as Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. It shows the effect of the political change on one farm family, plus the white and black communities around them.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Bobo, an 8-year-old girl. She shares her room with her teenage sister. Their father is a soldier, and can be on duty away from home for periods of time. The heart of the family is their mother, for whom their cattle farm is her life, even though she also is a part-time police desk officer. They have two black servants, Jacob and Sarah, and Bobo seems closer to Sarah than her own mother. While Bobo is fascinated by black culture, she has learned to treat all black people as an underclass.

Ironically, for the secondary characters, the relationships between the members of the black community are more murky than the relationships between the members of the white community.

At the start, the Bush War is still going on. Terrorists are killing whites, and mother sleeps with a gun by her side. We go to the 1980 election, where mother implores the blacks she knows to vote for "The Bishop" - a centrist politician. But when Marxist Mugabe wins, the whites have to decide whether to leave or to try and stick it out.

The film is based on a personal memoir from 2021. There is a disclaimer that, while based on actual events, there have been fictionalizations for dramatic reasons. The time line seems to have been compressed. The sister is hanging around the home all the time, with no indication that she is being home-schooled, so she should mostly be away in boarding school somewhere.

With that caveat, the film works. Bobo is a delight to watch, and writer / director / star (the mother) Embeth Davidtz does a good portrayal of someone who lives under multiple stresses.

Hamed is trying to throw a surprise party for his friend / roommate Ramen, both for his birthday and his going away (abroad). The site is an unused warehouse owned by his now-deceased father. With the help of a close circle of friends, they clear out enough of the space for the party. But they run into a problem with his older brother, who threatens to call the police. Earlier, there was a scene with Hamed's sister, who despairs of their older brother being controlling, and not distributing the family assets.

Along the way, various repressive influences are mentioned. A dry soccer watch party in 2014 (World Cup Brazil vs Germany) caught the attention of the police, who showed up hunting for alcohol. This raises the question of when the events of the film took place, and what was the age of the participants. Another sub-plot relates to a friend who ar recently burned to death in a mishap involving making his own alcohol - black market alcohol could contain poisonous methanol. Meanwhile, the DJs are leery about performing for unknown clients.

I saw this at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ film festival. There was only one reference to Hamed being gay. Otherwise, the mostly-single guest list is the only "chosen family" by implication.

Christian and Aske used to be a couple, but these two university students in Denmark have now broken up. While Aske has moved on, Christian is still stalking Aske, and trying to persuade Aske to reunite. Meanwhile, Christian seeks solace in internet dates, but only gets sexual encounters - one date is shown rejecting his offer to stay the night. Christian also has a supportive sister and mother, but he is not about to divulge everything to either of them.

This is a decent exposition of Christian's turmoil, but I don't see much character development. There is an epilog, and I would be more interested in the period in between.

This is a good documentary of the Pride movement from the 1950s persecution to almost the present. It features interviews with various notable individuals, and archival footage (including some from activists' private libraries).

For those who lived it, it is a piece of our history. For younger folks, it is instructive as to how we got to the freedoms we might take for granted. For some sub-communities (women and racialized groups), it is a reminder of the internal battle to be recognized - that Pride is not just a white male event.

My one disappointment is that this seems a bit centered on Toronto, but that is where most of the archival material could be found. I saw it at the Inside Out film festival, and the director was sad at potentially useful material in private collections that had been lost or thrown out. The Q+A closed with a member of the ArQives urging people to donate material that might be significant to them for safekeeping for the future.

This documentary is narrated by Tam O'Shaugnessy, who met Sally Ride as teenage tennis players, and ended up being her life partner for Ride's last 27 years.

Tam played several years of professional tennis, while Sally went to university. Sally managed to get her Ph. D in astrophysics in time for her to be selected as an astronaut candidate for the 1st group NASA recruited to include women and minorities. There is a lot of footage and discussion about her training, etc. Leading to her 1st flight, making her the 1st American woman in space.. Afterwards, the story concentrated on her publicity work, including her refusal to meet with sexist Bob Hope. Her doctorate allowed her to demand being addressed as Sally or Doctor Ride.

Sally had crossed paths with Tam, and, while married to a fellow astronaut, started seeing Tam regularly on the side. After Sally quit NASA for a teaching job in California, Tam reluctantly joined her, and they stayed together for the rest of Sally's life. Keenly aware of the negative reaction to the coming out of Billy Jean King, Sally kept her private life secret, and it was only when Tam wrote Sally obituary that she was outed.

Some notable people in Sally's life also appear in this film, like Billy Jean King and some of her fellow astronauts. It is not an exhaustive recitation of Sally's career, and the omissions may lead to some misleading impressions. However, the main theme is that of the relationship between Sally and Tam, and that comes off very well.

In a small seaside fishing village, the Catholic church and associated land is to be sold to cover reparations for priestly misconduct. Eliza, her mother, and other women of the community, try to fund-raise to save the church.

Eliza has two secrets. One is that she has been taking artistic selfies of herself and posting them on social media, picking up a decent number of followers. The other is a relationship with Toni, the village's only openly lesbian. Things go awry when a wealthier resident finds her pictures, and blackmails her into having sex with him.

The scenery is gorgeous, and I am amused at an old-fashioned cut to crashing waves. There may be slightly too many characters in the movie, but it is otherwise well done.

Some years earlier, now-architect Lucas tried to kiss his best friend Felipe, who promptly vanished. Now it is Lucas' turn to vanish after declining his boyfriend's very public marriage proposal, heading to the seaside resort town of Canoa Quebrada.

Seeking a dune buggy tour, he find Felipe, who now calls himself a professional lover. Felipe gives Lucas a private tour of the dunes, and more. Meanwile, Lucas finds his own sexual escapades - as a threesome to a couple, and with a bear (fat man) who mutually declares that they are not normally "my type".

It is a bit of a cheat for this to be a musical, since much of the musical numbers are performances in a drag club. I saw this as the Closing Gala of the Inside Out film festival, and the producer or director mentioned that some of the performers are famous in Brazil - something that de not mean much for a non-Brazilian audience.

Anand, the sole surviving child, has returned to his home village in rural India for his father's funeral. As a relatively rich city boy, this 30-year-old is a very eligible bachelor, and could easily have his pick of young women with no older unmarried sisters. However, he is gay, and while he dreads questions about his unmarried status, he is persuaded to stay for the full 10-day mourning period. Only his parents know he is gay, and his mother has already spun his loss of a lover (to marriage) as a girl cheating on him and breaking his heart.

He meets up with his childhood friend (cousin?) Balya, who is also gay, and whose gay experiences are limited to quick sex-by-appointments with members of the gay underground. With a preference of parents for boys, there is a gender imbalance of marriage-age singles, and Balya (who milks cows, herds goats, and occasionally drives cars for a living) is hoping that his relative poverty keeps him single. But no luck - some girl is actually interested in him, trying to get in touch thru his sister.

The two form a relationship, with Anand joining Balya on his daily work at times. Cultural rules about being in mourning include only eating two meals a day, and only snacking on fruit in between. One day, Balya leaves Anand some rare cactus pears he has foraged - fruit whose defensive spikes have to be removed before eating.

Maybe not to Indian audiences, but I found fascinating all the rules and rituals of Indian funerals and marriage. There was a early dispute over who should light the funeral pyre - Anand is the closest relative but is unmarried, but there is a cousin who is married. There is also a rule about eschewing footwear, and concern about Anand following Balya herding goats, possibly burning his feet going barefoot on the sun-baked ground (even though it is winter).

I saw this at the Inside Out film festival, preceded by a director's introduction on video. He mentioned that this is somewhat autobiographical, and somewhat softened from his personal experiences. Even though that would have been decades ago, I shudder at the thought of the negative interactions.

From an early age, Z's life is about singing. Z has turned that into a career, starring as Éponine in the local (Toronto) version of Les Misérables. However, as Z transitions into a man, the testosterone plays havoc with Z's voice, and Z has to get a job as a bartender, and get vocal coaching to deal with his new vocal range.

This is a bit of a fantasy. The vocal coach is very professional, non-judgemental and supportive, and we see many rounds of their working on singing scales. Z's bar boss turns out to be a (further along) F-to-M trans. At one point he provided emergency testosterone to Z, and later got Z to join him on stage in a karaoke duet, reigniting Z's performance desire.

I saw this at the Inside Out film festival, with a director / writer / cast Q+A. It was shot over a year (or more), and my impression was that Breton Lalama (Z) was actually transitioning during that period. The story arc ("it is not a documentary!") was set by writer / director J. Stevens, with Breton Lalama also getting a writing credit for his collaboration, especially in detailed dialog.

This is not for the squeamish. An early scene has Z preparing a needle and giving himself a shot of T. It seems that there are no user-friendly dosaging systems like Ozempic pens.

This is a decent version of a transition story, but with the subject matter, may be of specialized interest.

Starwalker (Star) is a 2-spirited young aboriginal. He was taken from his biological family, and has run away from his foster parents. Cruising in his usual East Vancouver park, he meets Levi, a young white man who is working and living at the House of Borealis, a drag show cabaret. They fall in love, and Star joins the troupe. But House Mother's health is failing, and she abhors doctors and hospitals (and so does Star). As Mother designates Levi to be her successor, backstage jealousies erupt. Levi has to make a decision that is not popular.

This is an interesting mixture of 2-spiritness, drag, music and dance. Star's aboriginal heritage, his being 2-spirited, and his personal history / traumas are an integral part of the story. The drag is a mixture of styles - the MC insists on doing it with a full beard. The songs were good, and they do drive the plot forward, in showing the emotional side of events, even if they may slow down the action. The on-stage dances are choreographed by a former drag performer, who mines various dance styles. The principals do show heat towards each other, though sometimes when singing the chemistry drops as they concentrate on the music.

I saw this at the world premiere at the Inside Out film festival, with a Q+A with the director and crew. There was much care taken in working in both aboriginal culture and what is often a "typical" personal history. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed and was moved by it.

Released from juvenile detention, 18-year-old Wellington finds that his parents have run away from him, leaving without forwarding address or phone number. He is taken in by Ronaldo, a male escort more than twice his age, and who also deals drugs on the side. When their 1st joint expedition does not go fully as planned, Ronaldo calls Wellington a baby, which he then adopts as his name. Theirs is a turbulent relationship. Ronaldo and his separated-from-him family help Baby find his mother. However, Ronaldo wants exclusive use of Baby's time, which leads to conflicts.

Enough snippets of their life is shown - doing sex work, dealing drugs, and just being together. But Wellington has other interests, like finding a sugar daddy, or his street drag busker buddies.

In a small town in Croatia, the weather forecast is for heavy rain and flooding, and the townspeople are adding sandbags to buttress the local levee.

Nearing high school graduation, Marko has decided not to go to college, but stay and help his father expand his auto repair business. His father is also coaching him for an arm-wrestling competition. He shares a room with his younger brother Fico, who is fond of bunnies, and he tells Fico a story of a boy whose favorite "wild bunny" friend suddenly left without saying goodbye.

The story is an allegory about his former best friend / boyfriend / 1st love Slaven, who abruptly left 3 years ago for Berlin, but is now back in town for his father's funeral. After initial resistance, Marko returns to his old ways with Slaven, while finding that his desire for girlfriend Petra has disappeared.

This is rather dark and moody, with repeated images of the river's running water, possibly symbolic of Marko's mood. Marko is quite convincing as the horny straight boy until his old flame reappears. There may be a bit too much arm wrestling in the movie. I saw this at the Inside Out film festival, and afterwards we were debating what the ending actually was.