Though our beloved Mount Royal may be sporting a stunning array of leafy colours, the real eye-catching rainbow of diversity in town is Image+Nation, Montreal’s queer film fest – the biggest and longest-running in Canada. To celebrate its 22nd season, the fest has arrived a little earlier this year, bringing with it pics in a variety of genres, starring actors of every ethnicity. Whether you love musicals, edgy dramas, three-tissue weepies or something a little scarier, there’s plenty for all to see.
Those with a fondness for Joss Whedon-styled sing-alongs will find themselves happily humming along with Fruit Fly, the latest offering from US director/song-writer H.P. Mendoza. The full-length musical, which follows a Philippina performance artist temporarily setting up shop in a San Fran artist’s commune, opens with a catchy number devoted to “Public Transit” that’ll immediately draw you into her perky little world. The location may be many miles away, but it’s still gratifying to know that we’re not the only city in the world that has to laugh at wonky bus schedules and incompatible train fares to keep from crying.
The film goes on to hit other pitch-perfect notes, including two club-set dance numbers devoted to a certain “hag” label that many in the community will surely get a kick out of. A few technical issues will pull you out of the production from time to time, and yes … the ending utterly fails to sum up the story arcs in a satisfying fashion … but it’s definitely worth checking out. Fly is Rent without the melodrama, and Friends without the pasteurization. A follow-up would sure be fun.
On the opposite end of “fun” is Shank, an uncomfortable, abrasive and thoroughly impressive import from first-time British director Simon Pearce that manages to pull you into its twisted, painful embrace without bothering to ask for consent. The narrative follows four different characters whose paths intertwine as a young man slowly begins breaking free from his delinquent behaviors (and seriously nasty gang friends) and starts coming into his own sexually.
The editing often jumps from one character’s perspective to another’s, effectively replicating the kind of nervous energy one would feel if trying to escape a violent lifestyle, all the while bringing an air of mystery to the unravelling of the story. The performances exceed all expectations and the script even pulls out a few clever twists in the explosive climax. It may not be the prettiest pic, but it sure is compelling.
Hanna Free should take notes. Proof that all good screenwriters should remember to “show, not tell”, this dialogue-heavy film wastes a full 90 minutes desperate to champion the beauty of a lifelong same-sex partnership without ever really showing what’s so special about the couple at the centre of its sentimental story. Sharon Gless (of Queer as Folk and Cagney & Lacey fame) is all but wasted as the titular Hanna, whose only discernible obstacle in the tale is overcome within the first 40 minutes. The production values may by high, but the dramatic tension is on life-support. It’s safe to say audiences will relate to the nursing home-bound heroine as she struggles to escape her chair and make it out the door.
Thankfully, there’s plenty else to take in. The packed 11-day schedule includes the HomoHorror bill – a selection of zombie and ghost stories just in time for Halloween – and a special panel focusing on the success of Quebec’s LGBT filmmakers. So grab your favorite fruit fly and take in one of the city’s best annual fests before all the colours in our local cinematic landscape fade back to white.
Fruit Fly screens Sunday October 25th at 1 pm at the Imperial, and is followed by Shank on October 28th at 9:15 pm. Hanna Free can be seen Saturday, October 31st at 1 pm in the De Seve Cinema. For more information and schedule information, please consult the Image+Nation website.
