Romeo Is Bleeding USA Director Peter Medak Reviewed by Rich Sinclair Going to the film festival was, for me, to escape a certain genre of | film: the big budget, Hollywood genre. How naive was i to think that | could find the festival a ‘Hollywood-free’ zone. This film, like the best in its genre, attracted me because it sounded like it could be a fresh approach. Director, Peter Medak (The Ruling Class) has created a really hip tragedy-thriller cop show. It is well marked with a fine balance of the most successful elements of Hollywood escape films: sex, money and violence. It’s about lust, and yeah, it’s got a twist, but it’s not fresh. Gary Oldman plays Jack Grimaldi. He is a cop who can’t say no to anything. He tips off locations of witnesses being held by the police, and the Mob then makes the hit. Jack gets a nice wad of cash in return, and he puts it in a hole in his back yard. His scheme starts to fall apart as his obsession with easy cash escalates and his better judge- ment falters. Then some cops get killed in a hit and things get messy for Jack, who must kill the assasin, Mona (Lena Olin). If it wasn’t for Jack’s stupidity, the film would be over here. His obses- sive behavior develops further as instead of killing Mona, he tries to make it with her. Anyway, he falls for her and she carries on with her own agenda, which is wholly evil, and Jack nearly dies many times. Jack loses his mistress, his wife, his cash, and almost his mind. This film has a spiraling feel to it. We watch Jack, painfully stupid, fall faster and deeper into his tiny hole. More than anything, this film is a bloodbath account of one poor little white male and his problems adjust- ing to the excesses available to him. | guess it’s entertainment to some, but | can’t help but see it as lowest common denominator, beer com- mercial dredge. The cops and robbers thing is always the same. Diversity in this genre seems to be a function of the latest hip trends and adds nothing more than a twist to the usual. When’s it gonna change? Furthermore, this film does nothing positive to the status of women. The female lead, Mona, is a black garter-belt toting, tit-flashing, sex/ violence epicenter.Jack’s wife cooks diner and is the victim of lies. Jack’s mistress is really naive,young and submissive as hell. She ends up dead. All of these females are victims of Jack’s destructive search for gratification. None of the women are autonomous. They all serve the male. Boring, boring, boring. A beer commercial. I’m left with nothing more than an impres- sion of what's hip in Hollywood these days. And that’s got as much depth as a shallow mud puddle. LIVING PROOF; H.I.V. AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS U.S.A. 1993 Directed by Kermit Cole Reviewed by Tristesse Seeliger Living proof, directed by Kermit Cole, is a documentary about people living with H.I.V. . As the title indicates this film is a positive look at living with the virus. We are introduced to men and women who have decided to make the most of their situation. These people have been brought together by Mr. Cole and photographer Carolyn Jones, who, during the making of the film is working on a photographic show dealing with the same theme. __ Living Proof is upbeat and has quite a glamorous aesthetic due to the New York studio location. The majority of people interviewed are your basic New York fare, being artists, children, the gay swim team, writers, a drag queen, a yuppie, a Jewish woman, a homeless person, eTC... . | don’t think it is possible to do a film like this one and cover all the types of people and backgrounds that H.I.V. touches but | couldn’t help but feel like the subject was being glossed over slightly. Yet the filmmaker maintains his goal of creating a piece that is positive and not glorifying the experience in any of the inter- views. “I wouldn't wish this on anyone but now that | have it I’m going to live with it”, says the female painter. Love seemed to be one of the most important factors of daily life in continuing on after contracting the virus, which pretty well makes this applica- ble to all of us. | wish that maybe the questions asked in each interview could have dealt with some more practical aspects of treating H.I.V. like... how is the need for touch and sex dealt with? Or perhaps what types of medical treatment help the most for each person emotionally and physically? Western or Eastern medicine? Have people been using naturalistic remedies instead of prescription drugs? This type of information would help to positively educate people and arm them with tools to use in the case of having to personally deal with this issue. | believe people fear this virus because it strikes the taboo area of sex and sexuality and as a society we don’t openly talk about these issues that much. The queer community deals with it much better in my opinion because their sexuality is already a taboo and they have been taught to deal with fear all their lives. “Human beings are at their best when faced with the worst”. When | walked out of the theatre | was crying. | was looking around at all these fragile people walking out with me and at all of the fresh film goers filing in. | felt really vulnerable and sad. | thought about my friend that died two years ago due to H.I.V. Would he have liked this film? Yeah, he would have, but he was the type of person who would have had a hard time sitting through a two hour film with out getting antsy. Maybe here lies a lesson for us all. Be kind and get on with it. Romeo Is Bleeding USA Director Peter Medak Reviewed by Rich Sinclair Going to the film festival was, for me, to escape a certain genre of film: the big budget, Hollywood genre. How naive was | to this that I could find the festival a ‘Hollywood-free’ zone. This film, like the best in its genre, attracted ‘me because it sounded like it could be a fresh approach. Director, Peter Medak (The Ruling Class) has created a really hip tragedy-thriler ‘cop show. It is well marked with a fine balance of the most successful elements of Hollywood escape films: sex, money and violence. I's about lust, and yeah, it’s got a twist, but it's not fresh. Gary Oldman plays Jack Grimaldi He is a cop who can’t say no to anything. He tips off locations of witnesses being held by the police, and the Mob then makes the hit. Jack gets a nice wad of cash in return, and he puts it in a hole in his back yard. His scheme starts to fall apart as his obsession with easy cash escalates and his better judge- ‘ment falters. Then some cops get. Killed in a hit and things get messy for jack, who must kill the assasin, Mona (Lena Olin) if it wasn't for Jack’s stupidity, the film would be over here. His obses sive behavior develops further as instead of killing Mona, he tries to make it with her. Anyway, he falls for her and she carries on with her ‘own agenda, which is wholly evil, and Jack nearly dies many times. Jack loses his mistress, his wife, his cash, and almost his mind. This film. has a spiraling fee! to it. We watch Jack, painfully stupid, fal faster and deeper into his tiny hole. More than anything, this film is a bloodbath account of one poor little white male and his problems adjust- ing to the excesses available to him. | guess it’s entertainment to some, but | can't help but see it as lowest common denominator, beer com ‘mercial dredge, The cops and robbers thing is always the same. Diversit ‘genre seems to be a function of the latest hip trends and adds nothing more than a twist to the usual. When's it gonna change? Furthermore, this film does nothing positive to the status of women. The female lead, Mona, is a black garter-belt toting, tit-lashing, sex/ violence epicenter jack's wife cooks diner and isthe victim of lies. Jack's mistress is really naive young and submissive as hell, She ends up dead. All of these females are Victims of Jack's destructive search for gratification. None of the women are autonomous. They all serve the male. Boring, boring, boring. A beer commercial. 'm left with nothing more than an impres- sion of what's hip in Hollywood. these days. And that’s got as much depth as a shallow mud puddle. FILM FEST FILM FEST FILM ret tts TAT Ql al al WW us SAS Ms Ri YRS AY RY Ay YAY RF NSH Ss wha HELE BET TT a AOS TA Ne ki ia 1 ali LIVING PROOF; H.I.V. AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS U.S.A. 1993 Directed by Kermit Cole Reviewed by Trstesse Seeliger Living proof, directed by Kermit Cole, is a documentary about people living with H.LV. . As the ttle indicates ths film is a positive look at living with the virus. We are introduced to men and women who have decided to make the most oftheir situation. These people have been brought together by Mr Cole and photographer Carolyn Jones, who, during the making of the film is. working on a photographic show dealing with the same theme. Living Proofis upbeat and has quite a glamorous aesthetic due to the New York studio location. The majority of people interviewed are your basic New York fare, being artists, children, the gay swim team, writers, a drag queen, a yuppie, a Jewish woman, a homeless person, eTC.... I don't think it is possible to do a film like this one and cover al the types of people and backgrounds that H..LV. touches but I couldn’t help but feel lke the subject. was being glossed over slightly. Yet the filmmaker maintains his goal of creating piece that is positive and not glorifying the experience in any of the inter- views. “I wouldn't wish this on anyone but now that I have it I'm going to live with it, says the female painter. Love seemed to be one of the most important factors of daily life in continuing on after contracting the virus, which pretty well makes this applica- ble to all of us. I wish that maybe the questions asked in each interview could have dealt with some more practical aspects of treating H.LV. like... how is the need for touch and sex dealt with? Or perhaps what types of medical treatment help the most for each person emotionally and physically? Wester or Eastern medicine? Have people been using naturalistic remedies instead of prescription ‘drugs? This type of information would help to positively educate people and. arm them with tools to use in the case of having to personally deal with this. issue. | believe people fear this virus because it strikes the taboo area of sex and sexuality and as a society we don’t openly talk about these issues that much. The queer community deals with it much better in my opinion because their sexuality i already a taboo and they have been taught to deal with fear all their lives. “Human beings are at their best when faced with the worst”. When I walked out of the theatre | was crying. | was looking around at all these fragile people walking out with me and at all of the fresh film goers filing in, I felt really vulnerable and sad. | thought about my friend that died two ‘years ago due to H.1.V. Would he have liked this film? Yeah, he would have, but hhe was the type of person who would have had a hard time sitting through a two hour film with out getting antsy. Maybe here lies a lesson for us all. Be kind and get on with it.