LGBT DVD round-up - Christmas 2012
Yossi, Beauty, Hit So Hard and Co-Dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same reviewed
If your ideal Christmas involves spending the day on the sofa, a glass of sparkly in one hand and the remote in the other, it’s worth sourcing your entertainment from Peccadillo Pictures, the UK’s only LGBT-interest DVD distributor. Their latest batch of releases suggests that international Queer cinema is currently enjoying rude health.
Ease yourself into your day with Yossi ●●●, Israeli director Eytan Fox’s moving follow-up to his 2003 hit Yossi and Jagger. Ohad Knoller revives his acclaimed role as a semi-closeted doctor, living in Tel Aviv and still grieving for the lover he lost while serving as a soldier in Lebanon. The film is gentle in tone and slow-paced but leavened by an optimistic ending and a compelling performance by Knoller. An altogether meatier proposition is Beauty ●●●●, Olivier Hermanus’ unflinching look at the inner conflict suffered by a seemingly conservative Afrikaaner husband and father whose obsession with a friend’s handsome son threatens to destroy his veneer of respectability. While at times elliptical, deeply unsettling and featuring a roll call of ambiguous characters the film doesn’t shy away from strong themes of homophobia and racism and features a dénouement that will bring you up short.
Refresh your head with the wonderfully zany Co-Dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same ●●●●, a New York-set sci-fi spoof about a stationery store worker who finds true love with an alien from the planet Zots. The black-and-white, low-budget look deliberately recalls 50s B-movies, but the film’s warm heart and goofy humour make it a real offbeat pleasure. But perhaps the star on the top of this cinematic tree is Hit So Hard ●●●●, the incredible ‘life and near-death’ story of Patty Schemel, openly gay drummer with seminal 90s grunge band Hole. P David Ebersole’s documentary is a timely reminder of the musical excitement and excesses of a key period in rock history, with an inspiring human story of incredible talent, addiction and survival at its heart.