Stranger by the Lake and Hawaii, two sunlit and sex-soaked queer movies, are arriving this week to chase away the winter blahs of this eternal freeze for ice fatigued Chicagoans. Even better: Both films—one thematically dark, the other light—are tremendous.
For the entire film, openly gay French writer-director Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake takes place at a nude beach in France on a secluded, sun-drenched lake leading to a dense forest—a perfect cruising spot for the gay men who are found there day after day swimming, tanning and trolling the forests for anonymous trysts. Franck ( played by Pierre de Ladonchamps ) is among the regulars—a handsome, boyish looking man with a good body who has no trouble finding guys to hook up with. It's so easy that he's bored with the usual assortment. He chats up Henri ( Patrick D'Assumcao ), a heavyset middle-aged man who sits alone, staring out at the lake, whose non-judgmental point of view strikes a chord within Franck.
Then Franck spots Michel ( Christophe Paou ) for the first time. With his beefy musculature, Tom Selleck mustache and confident air, Michel is the kind of distraction that Franck has wanted. The two chat each other up but, much to his disappointment, Michel has a jealous lover. That night, hanging out longer than usual, Franck accidentally witnesses Michel drowning the lover—but does nothing. The next day he nervously glances around for Michel, who doesn't seem to be there. Then, at dusk, there he is—the proverbial Adonis striding naked out of the water. Michel walks right up to Franck, asking to share his towel. Franck's lust gets the best of him and a hot ( and very explicit ) affair commences between the two. Soon the lover's body is discovered and, not long after, both Henri and a perceptive police detective suspect the truth. At the same time, Franck's desire begins to turn to love. As the noose begins to tighten and the violence escalates, will Franck's conflicting emotions be enough to keep him quiet about Michel?
Guiraudie's tricky, complex movie has found nearly universal acclaim since it debuted at Cannes last year ( winning him the directing prize and the film the queer Palm award ). The film's suspense aspects have been favorably likened to the voyeurism of Hitchcock—especially his Rear Window. It's an apt comparison, although the movie's low-key thriller aspects aren't quite as deliciously exciting as in that Hitchcock masterwork. But Guiraudie's larger theme—the sometimes-thin line between sex and death tied to the depths of desire one person can feel for another ( especially when one of those gorgeous men just happens to be a murderer )—is worth all the hosannas that have greeted this great queer erotic thriller. The film, which played here last fall at both the Chicago International Film Festival and Reeling, opens Friday, Feb. 21, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.. www.musicboxtheatre.com
Queer eroticism is also the winning drawing card of Hawaii, an Argentinian film from writer-director Marco Berger.
Sexual tension runs rampant as two young men slowly discover their attraction for one another during a long hot summer in the Argentinian countryside. The humidity and animal magnetism rise daily when Eugenio ( Mateo Chiarino ), an introspective writer who is living at his family's lakeside home, accepts the request of his former childhood friend Martin ( Manuel Vignau ), who is down on his luck, for handyman work. As the languid, humid summer days pass, the desire between the two men ( who are only interrupted once in their solitude by a brief visit from Eugenio's brother ) becomes almost unbearable.
But sexual confusion also reigns as the two slowly become reacquainted. And though lust is in the air as the two go about their daily chores ( Berger creates a palpable sensual languor aided by the lush tropical locale ), it's a toss-up to see whether Eugenio or Martin—who are often shirtless or naked in each other's presence—will make the first move. Berger's contemplative, sultry film is not only the ultimate tribute to the slow burn, offering queer audiences a delectable payoff, but it's also a very well-acted character study. The film, which debuted in Chicago last fall at Reeling, is out on DVD from Canteen Outlaws. http://canteenoutlaws.com/hawaii/
"LGBT rights is in its revolutionary phase right now. It's frightening for some, it's revolutionary for others. But what does that mean for Black people who happen to be LGBT?" That's the question activist Sharon Lettman-Hicks—who's with the National Black Justice Coalition—asks at the outset of filmmaker Yoruba Richen's compelling documentary The New Black. And though Richen's movie can't possibly provide a definitive answer by its end 80 minutes later, it explores this often divisive issue with a depth and understanding that helps to fill a gap that has been desperately needed.
Richen brings the issue sharply into focus as it follows the 2012 campaign for ( and against ) same-sex marriage in Maryland through the lens of the African-American community. In an even-handed, thoughtful manner—surprising giving the propensity for nastiness from the opposition that usually accompanies the grappling for even the smallest gains by LGBT activists—The New Black manages to find compassion and parity on both sides. The movie is gifted with individuals who, like Lettman-Hicks, speak with effortless eloquence in discussing their feelings on the subject. ( The impassioned Lettman-Hicks also states about the struggle for LGBT equality: "This is the unfinished business of Black people being free." )
As the film tracks the progress of the anti-gay Question 6—a referendum to overturn the same-sex marriage law in Maryland, a state in which African-Americans make up 30 percent of the population—it goes backstage, inside the Black church, considered the all-powerful bastion of conservatism and the wellspring of so much homophobia that sought to enact it. Yet Richen finds a measure of compassion and, even here, viewers are left realizing that this is a much more complex and thorny issue for the African-American community, which has been painted time and again with the anti-gay brush, than is normally reported.
With openly lesbian filmmaker Yvonne Welbon ( Living with Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100 ) producing, The New Black is the rare documentary that illuminates both sides of the issue it examines. The film opens Friday, Feb. 21, at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 N. Fullerton Ave. www.newblackfilm.com/ .
