The Comedian

Tom Shkolnik's feature debut The Comedian (2012) tells the story of wannabe stand up comedian Ed (Edward Hogg) who has to contend with a mundane call centre job whilst fight feelings of intimacy for his flatmate Elisa (Elisa Lasowski) and the new blossoming relationship with Nathan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett of E4's Misfits).

Shkolnik comes to this feature having found some recognition for his short films and his professional relationship with producer Dan McCulloch led to the success of One Happy Moment which was made for the Digital Shorts scheme and BBC Films.

The film shot over 90 hours of footage to garner this film that lasts for only 72 minutes.  This may seem startling but that is down partly to the 'Rules of the Game' which include no script, only one take is allowed by two cameras at most.

Watching a film like The Comedian makes you realise why the script is just as important as any actor or director, the foundation of a narrative is imperative to any story whereas here Shkolnik is focused on showing a London that is real and indicative of the prevailing depression currently being experienced by the socio-economic population. Also that comedians do not make for the best of films due to the very internalised nature of the performer, even Scorcese and De Niro failed somewhat with The King of Comedy (1983) due to fact that Rupert Pupkin is sadly delusional

Ed hates his job, as he wants it to be fun and when he is told to buck up and improve he treats that as a threat to his existence.  His career as a stand-up does not seem promising as one bad gig ends with the compere criticising him in between performers ('Some people get up on stage and talk about gardening.  Others tell jokes') this is heard by us in the background whilst Ed sits backstage listening, beat up by how awful he was.  Ed spends a lot of time listening, and he gives the impression he is a better listener than communicator.

There are some nicely shot moments of photography by DoP Benjamin Kracun such as when Nathan walks down the street and a whiff of cigarette smoke floats into the air, but these moments are few and far between in a film that lacks a visual style for want of trying.

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett elicits the best performance of the film, adding some layers of complexity to a role that might have been thankless, but yet he makes you wonder how difficult it must be to live in a big city and be black and homosexual. The scene when they are pillored by young female homophobes on a bus journey home is quite startling and real, yet that is the only scene tinged with a real-ness about it.

Edward Hogg tries his best, and he could conceivably be a grandson of the original angry young men from up North in the 1960s with his Northern accent and self-critiquing behaviour (such as Tom Courtenay's Billy (Liar) Fisher) however, he is a confused young man who is unsure of what he wants and contradicts himself when something possible comes along, he attempts to reject it in a way that makes him seem selfless but in fact merely self-destructive.

Shkolnik states, 'I wanted to make a film about a London that I could recognise,' yet the fact you have an inter-racial homosexual relationship at the heart of the narrative and a French girl as the beautiful flatmate to this observer does not feel real but more forced unfortunately, as a way to say here is a white Northerner, a black Londoner and a foreigner as a means of ticking off the diversity checklist rather than showing London in a more real light.

The shooting of homosexual lovemaking do not match the intimacy of those in Weekend and Keep The Lights On - that showed the problematic nature of maturing a same-sex relationship in big cities far more effectively with a delicate tone and humility, the benefit those films had was a structure and fluency to the film-making process and intelligent scriptwriting.

The film may reach an audience who encourage the growth of British independent cinema, but anyone expecting a barrel of laughs will be sorely disappointed.

The Comedian is on limited release on Friday 31st May by Trinity Filmed Entertainment

LFF 2012: Keep the Lights On

Ira Sachs directs and co-wrote the screenplay for this semi-autobiographical tale about a destructive same-sex relationship set in the 1990s of New York city.

When we first meet Sachs' surrogate Erik (played tenderly by Thure Lindhardt) he is on a party-line hoping to hook up with random strangers in the city.  Erik encounters Paul (Zachary Booth) on one of these nights and there is an instant connection between the two; Paul however is a closeted homosexual and with his girlfriend.  Erik persists though and slowly the intense bond between the two leads to Paul's coming out , however, Paul has a strong drug habit that descends into addiction.

Erik also has his personal problems, he is a documentary filmmaker who is struggling to get funding and will not use his family's money to help cultivate his work, instead focus on outside funding.  Cleverly, Sachs chose to depict himself as a foriegner, to give that added dimension of foreignness as otherness.  Erik is the extreme outsider in New York - gay, foreign and out of work, but Lindhardt's performance full of doe-eyed innocence is a pleasing one, he is a soul in search of love, yet ignorant of the hurt he has to go through to get it.

At times the relationship is depicted with raw intensity that can be unsettling.  Paul's habit to disappear due to his drug habit culminates in the highlight of his downfall when he ends up in a plush Manhattan hotel during a cocaine binge.  Erik visits hoping to persuade Paul to come back to their house; yet Paul is too far gone and we witness Paul sleep with a rent boy whilst Erik is in the next room, Erik even goes to the length of watching as if to comfort Paul during his waywardness.

These moments albeit expertly performed by the actors, left this reviewer at times cold and numb from the lack of awareness in Paul's character in his own plight and the harm he causes Erik.  Erik wins a prestigious documentary award, yet he does not seem to make another film whilst is in the relationship, therefore the choice that Erik has to make should be easy and yet the sense of frustration in this depiction is palpable.

Thumbs up for the acting and bravery of depicting a passionate relationship helped by an evocative soundtrack by late New York composer Arthur Russell, but thumbs down for making Erik seem like such a fool in love.

Keep the Lights On is released from Peccadillo Pictures - which released Weekend from the 2011 London Film festival - on DVD today January 28th

She Monkeys

The debut feature of Swedish filmmaker, Lisa Aschan is a delightful, yet intelligent film that subverts the coming of age generic picture with a queer twist. It won Best Film at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, so you can see the universal themes of young love travels well.

14 year old Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser) joins an equestrian gym team (handstands and vaults whilst the horse is moving) where her naturalness on the equine beauties is initially met with trepidation and jealousy by Cassandra (Linda Molin).  Slowly though a kinship forms between the two teenagers, a friendship full of looks and unspoken feelings.

The dynamism of their horse riding routines speaks of their unspoken admiration and romantic affection towards each other.

There is a reassuring confidence about Aschan's direction - affection for the characters and a softness in the depiction of new adolescent love.  Aschan is helped by the equally brilliant performances by the two teenage girls, and even by Isabella Lindquist who plays Emma's younger sister, Sara; herself a young girl a bit confused with her emotional connections, as she falls for her cousin.

In the same vein as French film Water Lilies (2007) by Celine Sciamma , about sexual awakening in adolescent girls She Monkeys has a correct tone and fervour to succeed in garnering critical attention and some box office from the arthouse crowd.

The film is distributed by Peccadillo Pictures, a company that specialises in queer cinema and enjoyed huge acclaim with the British film Weekend, one of my films of 2011

She Monkeys is out on limited release from Friday 18th May

www.peccapics.com

Absent

Marco Berger is one of those rare beings, a voice in queer cinema, who wants to be heard upon the conscientious and stereotypical musings of homosexual cinema.

His latest work, Absent, inverts the teacher and pupil dynamic of seduction.  In this case it is the pupil, Martin (Javier de Pietro) acts upon or teases the reactions of his swimming teacher, Sebastian (Carlos Echevarria).

Martin is much like a femme fatale, a person who will not stop at anything until he has crossed the unholy line - and once that line is crossed there is not turning back.  As the twists and turns occur, so the expectation of desire and lust is lost, as regret and loneliness takes hold.  Martin can still grow into a man, whilst for Sebastian a career and reputation can lay in tatters.

The real-time first half of the film is shot quite brilliantly, using the naturalism and testosterone filled air of a male changing room to good effect; however, the effect is somewhat lost once the changing room is left for the outside world, so to speak.

Whilst the professional Echevarria delivers a soulful performance as the emotionally fraught teacher, the newcomer de Pietro, shows himself to be a novice and does not quite convince on the basis of this performance.

However, there is a smoothness about Tomas Perez Silva's cinematography - yet for me the film was not as definely told as a German counterpart, Sasha another piece of queer cinema which dealt with the proceedings with a bit more tongue in cheek and had an all around better resolution.

Yet, Berger (who also edited and wrote the screenplay) remains a distinct Argentinian auteur to watch out for in the coming years and works.

Absent is released by Network Releasing on DVD and is out now.

Sasha

Dennis Todorovic makes a startling and emotive feature centering on a frustrated young man, Sasha (played by debutant, Sasha Kekez), a would be pianist who dreams of studying at a conservatoire in his home town of Cologne, Germany.


Sasha though harbours a secret crush on his piano tutor, Gebhard Weber (Tim Bergmann), who is leaving for Vienna for a new job.  This announcement from Mr.Weber acts as the cause and effect of the piece, his leaving prompts Sasha to search his soul and declare to his best friend, Jiao (Yvonne Hung Hee) that he is gay.

The scene when Sasha comes out Jiao is one of aching heartbreak; she is expecting a declaration of love yet the film handles the scene beautifully shot against a lovely backdrop of the main river.

Once Sasha comes out, Jiao pretends to be his girlfriend to hide the fact from his homophobic father Vlado (Predrag Bjelac), a deadbeat Dad who never fulfilled his potential and lives vicariously through Sasha's achievements.  He is married to Stanka (Zeljka Preksavec), a beauty compared to the beast like Vlado.  She adores her son Sasha, yet so many of the film is concerned about identity and becoming who you are.

The film begins with the family, of Serbian heritage crossing the border into Germany. Immediately they are tarred with the outsider tag of being an immigrant, Sasha feels stressed to succeed at the piano due to the pressure of his parents.  Sasha's breakdown at his audition is marked for being a scene of raw emotion, thanks to the wonderful central performance by Kekez who enfuses his namesake with a mixture of optimism and cynicism, a product of nature and nuture colliding and going hand in hand.

Todorovic has a real confidence in his use of soundtrack the mix of classical and vintage music in comparison to the techno music to endorse the bold and new direction of the family and the decisions they must all make.  The film is as much about acceptance as just another gay movie.

The acting is all done well, a real naturalism stems from many of the performances - except Ljubisa Gruicic's performance as Uncle Pero, a role of comic relief that feels a little forced at times - and this is a really well directed and acted piece of cinema, which although can be categorised as queer cinema is anything but.

Sasha is released by Peccadillo Pictures and is out now on DVD.

http://www.peccapics.com/