Reeling 29: The Chicago International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival offered plenty of great screenings of features and shorts. Here are a couple of reviews from the festival. Catch up on films from the film fest’s lesbian shorts’ programs here and here.
The Fish Child (El Nino Pez)
Lucia Puenzo’s The Fish Childmay seem like a jumbled blend of character and confusion in its first few moments, but it quickly becomes an emotionally charged and deeply engaging film. The Fish Childis one of the darkest movies I’ve ever seen, and not just in terms of content. Every shot is literally soaked a grainy darkness that immediately sets the tone, and presumably symbolizes just how bleak the two leads’ futures are. The leads in question are Lala (Ines Efron) and Ailin (Mariela Vitale Emme), who have been in love for six years since Ailin arrived from Paraguay to work for Lala’s family. The two have been trying to save enough money to run to Paraguy together, but their plan is made less plausible when Lala’s famous father turns up dead.
Ines Efron is near perfect as the young and conflicted Lala who adores Ailin as much as humanly possible. She works her look of wide-eyed innocence masterfully, and her passion is award-worthy. Mariela Vitale Emme also puts forth a touching performance as the complexly layered Ailin who only grows more humanized and tragic as the story progresses.
Efron and Emme also exhibit a very natural chemistry, which is a necessity since they carry essentially the entire film. The Fish Child offers everything from love to mystery to fast-paced action, and it never fails to come through in all respects. So if you happen to find The Fish Child on DVD or in your area, check it out. If the first 20 or so minutes seem confusing and out-of-order, but don’t worry. It’ll all come together eventually, and the “OH!” moment is definitely worth it. And if you love The Fish Child (or even if you don’t) you may, like me, be inspired to also watch director Puenzo’s other LGBT film XXY, which stars Ines Efron as an intersexed 15-year-old. XXY does much justice to a story that is not often told, and I can’t recommend it enough.
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Eyes Wide Open
Being Jewish and familiar with the Orthodox movement’s views on not-so-awesome views on homosexuality, I just had to see Haim Tabakman’s Eyes Wide Open(Israel). In Eyes Wide Open,Aaron (Zohar Shtrauss) is an Orthodox butcher who falls for his new employee, the young and more free-spirited Ezri (Ran Danker), who embraces his sexuality a bit more openly. The men share not only a physical connection, but a strong understanding of each other that makes for a deeply passionate bond. Unfortunately, nothing but chaos ensues when the town beings to learn of Ezri’s “differences”, and watching the deterioration of the two leads’ social positions while their love strengthens is devastating.
It is undoubtedly the skill of the two lead actors that gives Eyes Wide Open the ability to make such an impact. Shtrauss’s conflicted Aaron is so heartbreaking it’s almost painful to watch, and Danker has the perfect amount of charm and gravity as Ezri. It is upsetting to watch the Orthodox view on Ezri and Aaron’s relationship, but the film deals with this as realistically as possible. By no means does anything huge or unexpected happens in Eyes Wide Open. In fact, it’s a bit long to carry on with the same unfortunate situation that has such a bleak, foreboding nature. Still, It is always fascinating to see the perspectives of another culture, and Eyes Wide Open gives a first hand look into a world we couldn’t imagine.
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