ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

LGBTQ

Slamdance 2023: Silent Love

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Directed by Mark Kozakiewicz, the new documentary Silent Love begins in a small Polish village after the mother of Aga and Milosz passes away. Alone and hurting, Aga seeks to become legal guardian for her younger brother to help keep the family together. However, in the midst of their legal battle, an unknown piece of Aga’s life is revealed to her sibling when she confesses her love for her partner, Maya. Living in a highly conservative area, the LGBTQ community are viewed as immoral and Aga and Maya have kept their relationship a secret. As Milosz grieves the loss of his mother, the three come together to form a new family that challenges the status quo of this quiet corner of the country.

Directed by Marek Kozakiewicz, Silent Love is an intimate look at the redefinition of family in the modern age. Although the film begins as a story of one woman’s fight to care for her brother, it quickly becomes about much more as it expands its vision. But that’s what sets Love apart. Even though his intent was to focus on the custody battle, Kozakiewicz’s plans change as the story evolves. Suddenly, what begins as one journey splits into two dueling narratives that complement and inform one another in unexpected ways.

Despite the ‘big’ nature of these stories, Kozakiewicz keeps the film feeling small. This is one small family caught in a much larger world, fueled by bureaucracy and toxicity. As such, Silent Love feels like a very quiet film but that’s also the beauty of it. This is a story about a family attempting to come together in a world that threatens to tear them apart. Oppression against the LGBTQ community threatens the unspoken romance between Maya and Aga. Meanwhile, government inquisitions feel as though they could tear Milosz from his home at any moment. Although the odds seem stacked against them, Aga, Milosz and Maya want only to live in peace. 

To them, all that matters is each other.

As he follows their journey, Kozakiewicz captures Aga, Maya and Milosz’ intimate love for one another with grace and humility. With an unflinching eye, he walks with them as they face each moment together (or, at times, apart). In this way, Silent Love becomes a testament to the power of commitment in all relationships, whether romantic or familial. While this type of family structure may not be ‘traditional’ in this corner of the world, their love supports and celebrates each other in the midst of life’s storms. 

And Silent Love calls us to do the same.

Silent Love is screening at Slamdance ’23.

People are Amazing: 1on1 with Brendan Fraser and Samuel Hunter (THE WHALE)

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The Whale has shown us a whole new side of Brendan Fraser.

Best known for films like The Mummy or Encino Man early in his career, Fraser acknowledges that his decision to take on the role of Charlie may be unexpected to his fans. But when he was offered the character, he not only enthusiastically accepted but he was humbled by the opportunity.

“I’ve had so many diverse opportunities and movies I’ve made,” Fraser recalls. “I’ve gotten stretched in lots of different directions. Clearly, on paper, this is an actor’s role that distinguishes itself from so much that I’ve done or have seen done. To have the authenticity of it protected by Darren Aronofsky and Samuel D. Hunter’s award-winning play (then screenplay), I can’t think of any actor worth this weight in my peer group that wouldn’t want to pay attention to being a part of that. I still pinch myself that I was lucky enough to be the guy to get the job.”

Written by Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Whale tells the story of Charlie (Fraser), an online writing instructor who struggles with obesity. Weighing 600 lbs, Charlie feels embarrassed by his appearance and hides away from the world in his apartment. However, when heart problems threaten his life, Charlie refuses medical attention other than the care of his friend Liz (Hong Chau). Knowing that his life is coming to an end, Charlie reaches out to his estranged daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink) in the hopes of finding some connection to her. At the same time, Charlie receives visits from a Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a door-to-door evangelist from New Life Church who begs Charlie to repent of his sin so that his soul might be saved before the end.

Although covered by prosthetics and makeup, Fraser delivers such an authentic and honest performance that one cannot help but be changed by the experience. And, for Fraser himself, the time spent with Charlie left a mark on his soul as well.

“It takes an incredibly strong person, [and] not just physically, to inhabit a human body that it has that corporal composition,” he begins. “Yes, it was a laborious process to have all that application and live in it throughout the day. It was appropriately cumbersome, but that all was what Charlie had on board. And to take it off at the end of the day, it gave me a sense of–I don’t know if it’s like Survivor’s Guilt Lite or something. I could walk away from that after an hour and, interestingly, although all the appliances were off, I still had this vertigo. Like when you step from a boat onto a dock, that sort of modulating sense. So, I felt that I was living that man’s existence for however many hours a day we did this. I think it gave me an appreciation viscerally for those who live with obesity in this way. And the story itself struck all the notes in my heart and empathy about what it feels like to be overlooked or mocked or shut away and forgotten about and the ramifications of how that affects your personal life. Clearly, Charlie is a man who yes, has a no small measure of regret. But he still does have hope that he can reconnect with his daughter, while he is running out of time, to let her know that he loves her.” 

After the frenzy of support that he’s experienced online over the past few months for his performance, Fraser remains amazed at the response to his return to the big screen. Even though The Whale is a very different type of film for him, he also understands that he is a different person than he was in his youth.

“It’s kind of cool because everybody has kids of their own now and they were kids back then,” he explains. “It warms my heart for sure. I appreciate it. It’s eye-opening for me to be straight up, honest. I’m a different guy now and that was then. I feel different. I look different. I’ve got a kid who’s got special needs, who’s going to be 20 soon. My other son’s going to be a senior in high school. My other kid is going to get a driver’s license and… I feel like I’ve grown up some too. So, putting that gravity of our lives that we have to work to play a part that’s not as mass produced or easily digestible in its pop culture fare is everything I was looking for in this. Who knows what the future’s going to [bring]?… I’m grateful for the support.”

Given the sensitive nature of the character of Charlie, it was important for everyone involved to make sure that they present his journey in a sensitive manner. Although the story stemmed from his own journey, Hunter and Aronofsky worked together with the Obesity Action Coalition so that the film did not reinforce any dangerous stereotypes or stigmas.

“I actually don’t know [when they first got involved]. It was really from the beginning when we first started,” says Hunter. “I developed a script with Darren over many, many years. When we finally were sort of like, ‘Okay, I think we might be doing this’, we brought them on very early on. We did a special screening for them a long time ago… like a very early cut of the film. This comes from a very personal place for me. I, in part, wrote this because I grew up gay in North Idaho and I went to a very religious school that taught that people like me shouldn’t exist. Eventually, I started self-medicating with food and I continued for a really long time. Of course, that’s not everybody’s story who’s big. There’s plenty of people out there who are big and happy and healthy. That wasn’t my story and that’s not the story I decided to tell. So, I think it was just very, very important to us early on that we brought in the OAC as a partner to make sure that we brought a level of authenticity to this beyond my lived experience.”

“Their concerns are legitimate,” Fraser responds, “that we wouldn’t be making a film that would compromise them, [or] that would make them feel as if they were now seeing on the big screen the manifestation of the story of their lives that they’ve had to live that put them in such a state that they can’t feel like they can get away from their challenges. It was a process of meeting with individuals who had lived with obesity, had had bariatric procedures, or were going to. They gave me their stories, their testimonials, in the most candid way that it was moving. I was moving to learn. And I’m no demographic psychologist or anything, but I noticed from person to person who I spoke to, and it was at least between 8-10 zoom calls that winter, that their journey began with someone early in their life who was quite cruel to them, verbally made them feel horrible about who they were. Sadly, I noticed it was often a man. It was often their father, from just among the eight or 10 people that I spoke to. What that just let me know is it’s true. Years and years ago in Bangkok, I was at a temple [with a] massive golden Buddha and a plaque out front said, ‘painful indeed is vindictive speech’. That stayed with me. I mean, words have meaning. To break the cycle, I felt duty bound to tell this story, not in a Hollywood way that put actors in costumes and suits and makeup that defy gravity to be a one note joke because, with their support, we needed to take a risk to do this. Art is about taking a risk. We’re not going to please everyone. I don’t anticipate it, but I do feel confident that… some hearts and minds could be changed. Not everyone, but some. And I’m okay with that.”

What’s more, after connecting with Fraser, Hunter knew immediately that he had the humility and grace required to bring Charlie to life onscreen.

“It’s been a really long process,” recalls Hunter. “It’s been a decade… It’s been a really long journey, but I’m really glad it took 10 years because it took 10 years to figure out how to make it the right way. At the core of that was who is Charlie and I feel so personally connected to [him] and this story. It was hard for me to write [because] it came from a very vulnerable place and I was terrified about who we were going to give it to. But from the moment that Brendan read the screenplay in a little theatre in the East Village, about a week before COVID hit, I felt completely safe in his arms and continue to feel so, so safe.”

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“Sadie Sink was there too… I had a front row seat,” Fraser adds. “That performance could have been compromised by the trope of the angsty teenager who walked in the door. But she showed up utterly pressing in her talent… And on top of that, her character shows up with a lot of questions and will not be ignored. That’s a testament as [Sam’s] writing.”

With this in mind, The Whale is more than a screenplay for Hunter. It’s a window into the experiences of his youth. As a result, one can understand why, despite his enthusiasm, Hunter might be anxious to hand it over to another person to bring it to life onscreen. Even so, after his conversations with Aronofsky, he became increasingly comfortable trusting the director with his screenplay.

“I was excited about the whole thing. I feel like when he called me and he said, ‘Let’s meet and let’s talk about making The Whale into a screenplay’… I still am an off-Broadway kid and this is a very different world for me. So, I was really anxious about it because I just didn’t know what to expect. I think I bought Final Draft to write this screenplay and I guess I came into it thinking like, ‘Oh, I guess he’s going to want to do that thing of like opening it up’. I was really nervous about that because I was like, ‘What is that?’ I don’t know if the story wants that and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do it with integrity. But very early on, Darren [said] let’s keep it in the room and that was the moment for me where I was like, ‘Okay. He gets it. We both want to make the same thing’.”

“I was on set the entire time,” Hunter continues. “I’m working with everybody very closely, but I wasn’t part of the editing process. And so, I walked into a theater [to see the first cut] with sweaty palms. I’m like, okay, what’s this going to be? But like five minutes in I was like, ‘Oh, he did it. It’s exactly what I hoped it would be’. I knew that Brendan’s performance was there. I saw it every day. It was a thing to behold. It was a marvel, but you just don’t know what’s going to happen in the editing room. And, once I saw it for the first time, I think I walked out of the screening room and I waited to call my husband and he was really nervous about it too. So, he was like, ‘Why are you not calling?’ And I just kind of walked down the block because I just needed a moment. And then finally I called him and I just burst into tears.

“I feel ya. I couldn’t get outta my chair,” echoes Fraser. “Just thinking, I need to gather myself here and thinking this could change some hearts and minds. I mean, that’s an altruistic notion, but I thought people are going to have to reorient the patterns of thinking that they brought into before seeing this film. They’ll be thinking twice about it after they leave it. It had such an impression on me. It just made me feel like this could do a lot of good. And movies are distractions. They’re entertainment. I get it but this just fed my soul.”

Fraser may be on to something. Part of the power of Charlie’s journey throughout the film is his undeniable optimism about the human spirit. Despite all the trauma that he’s endured and the brokenness within him, he clings to the belief that ‘people are amazing.’ Asked if they agree with Charlie’s optimism, Fraser and Hunter both trust that there is hope for humanity.

Says Fraser, “I believe it. I believe Charlie believes that because he’s an optimist and essentially, he has a secret superpower, which is to see the good in others and to bring that out in them, even when they don’t know that about themselves. I mean, as an educator, it’s his job. But the tragedy is that he’s overlooked that in his own family. The regrets he has for the relationship that could have been with his ex-wife, with his daughter. That’s the journey that we must go on.”

“I think we live in such deeply cynical times, and I’ve never been a cynical person and I’ve never been a cynical writer,” Hunter points out. “This way, maybe even more so than any of my other [projects],… as a writer, and I think Darren is a filmmaker too, we’re just kind of opening a door and inviting you inside. We’re not going to grab you and drag you in with the tricks like plot gymnastics or visual effects, or none of the [other] things that normally drag an audience through the door. So, as such, I think I’m just opening the door and inviting you inside. The trick is, if you’re going to meet that with a furrowed brow, then we’re kind of at an impasse, you and I. But if you have just a little bit of faith and walk through that door, I’m hoping that we can have a rewarding experience together. I’m a humanist through and through. I do believe that, that people are amazing and I actually think that that’s the harder choice to make. Cynicism is easy. Believing in nothing is really easy. Having faith in people is hard. And I think that’s ultimately what this story is about is hard one faith in other people.”

Similarly, in the midst of its quest for hope, The Whale also highlights the power of ‘one true thing’. As a teacher, Charlie insists that the best thing that his students can do to contribute to mankind is to write something honest. This sentiment resonates with Hunter as well who argues that his film is an invitation of others to share their stories with the world as well.

“Weirdly, I think in 2022, more so than when I wrote the play, the idea of truth and honesty is becoming like really important,” Hunter concludes. “I think that we live in really cynical times. We live in a time where people are incredibly guarded. They don’t want to open up. They don’t want to be honest with each other. They stick to their sides or their patterns. And I think that this movie is just, in a very simple way, asking for people to walk in the door.”

“Just see it,” Fraser emphasizes. “And ask yourself that question too, because at the heart of it all is authenticity. From the creation of Charlie himself to what he says and what he feels and the hope that you attach that his journey will be complete and the breathlessness you have up until the last moment of this film, it’s powerful stuff.”

To hear full audio of our conversation with Brendan Fraser & Samuel Hunter*, click here.

The Whale is available in theatres on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.

*A special thanks to our friends at The Movie Podcast for helping us with our audio issues!

The Inspection: Grace Under Fire

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In a space that values power above all else, The Inspection shows that the strongest are the meek.

The Inspection tells the story of Ellis French (Jeremy Pope), a young gay Black man who has been rejected by his mother (Gabrielle Union) due to his sexuality. With few options, French joins the Marine Corp in an attempt to lay the groundwork for his future. However, as he enters into boot camp, he discovers a system that is rooted in toxicity and prepared to discard him.

Written and directed by Elegance Bratton, The Inspection is the type of film that feels as though it was cathartic for the creator. Setting the tone is a solid performance by Pope that speaks to the emotional challenges of his situation. As Private French, Pope infuses his character with a compelling mix of humility and strength. However, the strongest work by far comes from Union. As French’s unrelenting mother, Union is a harsh and bitter soul who struggles to acknowledge her son’s sexuality. In a performance unlike any we’ve seen from her before, her character is one that the viewer always hopes for yet is constantly disappointed by. While her screen time may be limited, it’s also undoubtedly some of the best work of her career.

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On the surface, the film feels like an exploration of the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community during the years of ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’. As French strives to prove his worth, he is constantly met with opposition by the hyper masculine who feel threatened by his sexuality. Slurs and beat downs become common place in  aworld that demands all men fit into the same mold. Similar to Oscar-darling Moonlight, Inspection wrestles with the challenges of living into one sexuality in a world that prevents them to do so.

However, in a deeper way, inspection is an exploration of toxicity, as these characters try to figure out what it means to be a man. Set in post-9/11 America, The Inspection delves into the brutality and shame that can exist within the American military. In this world, masculinity is synonymous with being a marine. (Note that this is not to say ‘male’, per se as the film does include female recruits as well.) Tasked with creating the next, elite-level of Marines, their commanding officer is vicious and unrelenting. To him, his responsibility is not to make them stronger, but to make them invincible. (“If [French] passes, he won’t be a man. He’ll be a monster, just like me,” he snarls.) Anything that strays away from the typical “Ooh-rah” brand of male energy is considered a threat to the military, and, by extension, American safety. 

THE INSPECTION. Credit : Josiah Rundles/A24 Films

However, what sets French’s character apart is not only his sexuality. Instead, it is his compassionate heart which affects his every choice and action. For him, grace is always the order of the day, whether it is extended towards another hurting brother-in-arms or to his own estranged mother. While it may not change the system, his heart and soul shine brightly in the shadows of rage and toxicity. 

Unlike other films designed to ‘pull the curtain back’ on the brutality of the military, Inspection fights for the souls of its marines. Though their superiors want to shape them into monsters, one cannot help but hope that they do not lose themselves in the process. This is a story that yearns for balance between military might and a compassionate heart. In this way, although Inspection may not challenge the military system itself, it still manages to call out those within it to redefine what it means to stand as the nation’s suit of armor.


For that reason, this is one Inspection that passes with full marks.

The Inspection is available in theatres on Friday, December 2nd, 2022.

Tár – Hubris and its cost

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“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18 [NRSV])

In Tár, written and directed by Todd Field, we meet a woman at the very pinnacle of professional life. Her accomplishments may astound us. Her world seems to be as full as it can be, but we slowly get clues that our admiration of her may be misplaced.

Cate Blanchett stars as Lydia Tár in director Todd Field’s TÁR, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is a world renown musician, conductor, and composer. We first see her as she is being introduced for an in-person interview. The interviewer lists her numerous accomplishments, including being the first woman to be the conductor of the prestigious Berlin Symphony. It’s impossible not to be impressed with what she has attained. The first third of the film lets us see her as she displays her competence, confidence, and even a bit of swagger in various settings, both personal and professional. She is among the best in the world at what she does, and she (and the people around her) know it.

She is preparing for a particularly important concert. Much of the film is built around rehearsals for this, but there are many undercurrents that are involved. Her family life involves her relationship with Sharon (Nina Hoss) who is also the symphony’s concert master, and their young daughter, Petra. Lydia relies on Francesca (Noémie Merlant) to keep things running smoothly. We may not really notice some of the little things that will become cracks in this picture of success, but they are there all along.

(L to R) Nina Hoss stars as Sharin Goodnow and Cate Blanchett stars as Lydia Tár in director Todd Field’s TÁR, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

First, we see her belittle a student at Juilliard. Her criticisms may well be accurate, but they are done in a way that diminishes rather than constructs. When she confronts a bully at Petra’s school, she becomes a bully herself. And then there are small insinuations of sexual impropriety, which creates questions about the attention she gives to a new cellist in the symphony.

Sophie Kauer stars as Olga Metkina in director Todd Field’s TÁR, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

The film leaves us with doubt as to the truth of the serious accusations against Lydia, but there is ample smoke to justify the possibility of flames. The #metoo aspect of the charges are a reminder that such issues are not always a case of male privilege, but are at their core about power. (Although it is of note that at one point, Lydia calls herself Petra’s father.) Whether or not the accusations are true, we have seen enough of Lydia’s behavior to begin to think of her as arrogant. We know that she has been manipulative and heartless. All that will add to the depth of the fall when it comes to this haughty spirit.

The film is a complete package of great performance, music, cinematography, and story. All of it works together to lead the audience from our opening attraction to Lydia and all she has achieved to the point where we see the depths to which she has plummeted and wonder how she can maintain the pride that has filled her life—and led to her downfall.

Cate Blanchett stars as Lydia Tár in director Todd Field’s TÁR, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features

Tár is playing in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of Focus Features.

Private Desert – Love and Loneliness

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“Remember when we talked about being alone in the world?”

Aly Muritiba’s Private Desert is a story of a man’s search for a way out of his loneliness and isolation. Much of that solitude is self-imposed and the result of being in a very conservative masculine world. His journey will push his understandings about love and about who he is as a man. [Note: In the film, the story reveals things slowly. This review will include information that might be considered spoilers.]

Daniel (Antonio Sabola) is a police academy instructor on suspension for the brutal beating of a rookie. He is also the caregiver for his father (retired police) with rapidly failing health. Already feeling isolated from his colleagues, he has also been ghosted by the woman he has fallen in love with online. He sets out to drive 2000 miles across Brazil to find Sara, whom he has never really met.

What he is to discover is that Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) is genderfluid, with two personas: Sara, who Daniel has fallen in love with, and Robson, living out his birth-gender as a blue-collar worker who lives with his grandmother. Sara has seen videos of Daniel’s violence, and is unsure if she would be safe with him.

This is a meeting of two worlds. Daniel, from the cold south of Brazil, is very conservative. He has learned that men are to be self-contained. Even in a crowd he seems to be totally apart. Yet, when we see him with his father, we see tenderness and kindness. The constraints of Daniel’s life seem to be symbolized by the cast he has on his wrist through most of the film.

Sara/Robson, in the sunny north of the country, has struggles in a world that is not welcoming. He and his mother attend an Evangelical church (The Church of God’s Will [!]) that would see him as sick and sinful. At the church he is told, “salvation and happiness don’t always walk hand in hand.” He sees both Robson and Sara as his real identity.

The conflict that Daniel and Sara face is not just about gender, but about what it means to live and love in ways that society may not approve of. Sara/Robson has had to find a path to joy throughout their life, but it has been difficult. Daniel faces having to see the world in a much different manner. He would need to see himself in an entirely new way. The question is whether he can love the Sara he discovers. Can love help him to open from the constraints of the world he has inhabited his whole life? Is there more to love than the passion between two bodies?

The film uses the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to emphasize the struggle between the two worlds/loves/futures. As the song talks about “falling in love” and “falling apart”, we see that the meeting of these two people and worldviews will be a mixture of both.

Private Desert is rolling out in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Anaïs in Love – Life of passion

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Does passion provide an adequate foundation for how to live a life? In Anaïs in Love, from director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, we watch a young woman who focuses her life around shifting passions that blow through her life. Does it lead to happiness? Will it ever last?

Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) is a thirty something student who is constantly behind on her thesis. Actually that lateness is one of the defining characteristics of her life. She is very frenetic, flighty, and egocentric. She is willing to dump a boyfriend when she feels a loss of passion. She jumps into relationships easily, but never seems to be willing to sustain them. Her fear of elevators leads to her meeting Daniel, who is much older and married. As their affair runs its course, she becomes entranced by a photo of Daniels’ wife Emilie. She begins what can only be described as a stalking relationship, following Emilie to a writer’s conference, while blowing off a conference she is supposed to be overseeing for her thesis supervisor. Can the wife of her lover be the true love of her life?

Anaïs has a lot in common with the character Julie in last year’s Oscar nominated The Worst Person in the World. Both young women are likable even as we watch them tear through relationships without much concern for the pain they may cause others.

The subject of passion comes up in various ways through the film. Anaïs’s thesis is about the portrayal of passion in 17th century literature. When her mother has a recurrence of cancer, Anaïs wonders if this bad news is because her parents have lost their passion. Even in her relationships, we see them as passion driven, rather than personal. She is willing to have sex with someone, but doesn’t want to sleep with anyone. She’s not even going to commit to a night together.

Watching Anaïs stalk and seek to win over Emilie, is a humorous misadventure, but it tends to underscore Anaïs’s irresponsibility, to the point that we can’t see how she is ever going to find stability in her life. Perhaps she can win Emilie’s love, but viewers are going to have a hard time seeing that this will be any different than all the other relationships that she has entered and left. While Anaïs is very likable, and we want her to find happiness, we keep waiting for her inner child to start growing up. It is only then that she will have hope of something more than the desire of the moment.

Anaïs in Love is in select theaters and coming soon to VOD.

Photos courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

I Love America – Love and healing

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“Forgiveness doesn’t heal the wounds of the past; it transforms them.”

Lisa Azuelos’s I Love America is structured as a rom-com, but that is really just the pretty clothing put on to attract us to a story of grief and healing. In a sense it is a story of being lost and not knowing it. So it makes it all the more important to have been found.

Lisa (Sophie Marceau) is a fifty year old film director who has come to L.A. to write a screenplay, although there is much more going on in her life. Her children are grown, and her mother, a famous singer who abandoned her for a career, has just died. But this trip is not just business. When she is asked at immigration what the purpose of her trip is, she replies “I want to start a new life.”

On arrival she connects with her best friend Luka (Djanis Bouzyani), who has thrived in L.A. as the owner of a drag night club. Luka is determined to restart Lisa’s sex life, and sets her up on a dating app.  Luka has his own dating issues and while finding many partners, never finding one who will love him. But soon Lisa finds a great match in John (Colin Woodell). Their relationship grows quickly, but of course in true rom-com fashion, hits a serious roadblock.

But the film also flashes back frequently to Lisa’s childhood and teen years. Each of those flashbacks show us a bit of her sense of abandonment by her mother. Although she speaks of not feeling anything when her mother dies, we see in the flashbacks the great love she had for her mother, even if it wasn’t returned. This has become an important part of who Lisa has become, even if she doesn’t recognize it. A telling line (that isn’t emphasized, but clearly matters) is when she tells a date, “I created my kids to make sure somebody loves me in this world.” Perhaps it’s said in jest, but it is a very real sentiment. It reflects both her love for her mother and the lack her mother’s love.

As the film plays out, it is by embracing the feelings—both love and anger—that Lisa held for her mother that allows her to move on into new relationships that are based in trust and being trusted. She and Luka each learn that there is more to love that just immediate experience and connecting sexually with others. It is more important, they find, to connect emotionally. It is then that love can have a chance to bloom.

I Love America is streaming on Prime Video.

13 Minutes: The Storms of Life

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In Lindsay Gossling’s 13 Minutes, a natural catastrophe brings devastation to a community. But this isn’t your typical disaster movie that brings the survivors together to return to the way things were. Rather, this is really about the personal catastrophes that were already present in their lives.

Set in a rural Oklahoma town, we meet several people who are struggling in various ways. Rick and Tammy (Trace Adkins and Anne Heche) who are struggling to keep their family farm afloat. Their son Luke (Will Peltz) is a deeply closeted gay man. Maddy (Sofia Vassilieva) is facing a surprise pregnancy. Tammy, who also works at the clinic, strongly pushes her to keep the child. Her mother Jess (Thora Birch) is more pragmatic and suggests that Maddy has choices. Ana (Paz Vega) works at the local motel but has plans to buy a house so she and her fiancé Carlos (Yancey Arias), who is undocumented, can live the American dream. Brad (Peter Facinelli), the local TV weatherman, and Kim (Amy Smart), the local emergency response coordinator, have a hearing-impaired daughter, Peyton (Shaylee Mansfield).

The first half of the film is spent allowing us to meet all these people and see the struggles they each must deal with in their day to day lives. There is a bit of background noise that bad weather is coming. It turns out that there is a massive tornado headed for the town. Soon, people are seeking shelter (or not) as it comes ever closer. After it hits, the devastation is total. Survivors must try to find loved ones and begin to deal with the massive emergency they all are facing.

The storm is something of a metaphor for the issues that people are facing in their lives. Each may be facing the loss not just of buildings, but of the world that defines them. The film doesn’t paint a rosy picture of a community that becomes stronger in the face of adversity. Rather this film shows that life’s trials are often very demanding, and may not resolve happily.

The film spreads itself a bit to thin by trying to include so many areas of personal struggle, including LGBTQ issues, abortion, immigration, disabilities, cost of medical care, and the family farming crisis. All of those issues are well worth looking at from a personal perspective. But the film never really resolves the many trials that the people are facing. Instead the film leaves us looking at a world that has been thoroughly destroyed. There is no vision of a rebuilding community. And there is very little vision of the rebuilding from the personal catastrophes that the characters have been living. Some of those issues are exacerbated by the natural disaster.

13 Minutes is playing in select theaters and coming to VOD in November.

Photos courtesy of Quiver Distribution.

My Name Is Pauli Murray – Historic Footnote

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“I want to see America be what she says she is in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. America, be what you proclaim yourself to be!”

When filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West were making the Oscar-nominated RGB, they came across a citation that Ruth Bader Ginsberg had in her brief arguing for women’s rights before the Supreme Court. They thought it was worth finding out who this person was. My Name Is Pauli Murray is what they discovered. Fifteen years before Rosa Parks, Pauli Murray was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus. Decades before the Wilmington Lunch Counter Sit-In, Pauli and other students desegregated restaurants in DC. Pauli was one of the founders on the National Organization for Women. Essays Pauli wrote were part of the arguments laid before the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Pauli made the case that the Fourteenth Amendment could be used to protect women’s rights (as Ginsberg argued). And yet, so few of us have heard of Pauli Murray.

Pauli Murray stars in MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios ©2021 PM PM Doc, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The film’s title makes it clear that this is an introduction. Pauli Murray’s name is one we should know, but don’t. And Pauli is an interesting personality. Pauli was something of a polymath. Pauli was an author, lawyer, poet, and eventually a priest. (Pauli was the first Black woman ordained in the Episcopal Church.) Pauli often practiced confrontation by typewriter, writing letters to people of power. When writing to FDR, Pauli would copy Eleanor Roosevelt, which lead to a friendship.

You may note my lack of pronouns here. Pauli was gender non-conforming, and in today’s language would probably identify as transexual. As a child Pauli dressed and acted as a boy. The family referred to Pauli as a boy/girl. For a time, Pauli rode the rails in the persona of a man. When facing surgery at one point, Pauli anticipated the doctors discovering undescended testes. (They didn’t.) This sense of inbetweenness is important for understanding some of the work that Pauli did.

Much of the film is made up tape recordings of Pauli reading from an autobiography as it was being written. It is important that we can hear that story in Pauli’s own voice. It is also important to hear the stories of people who knew Pauli and who have continued to build on that legacy.

What I miss from the film (and that is no doubt because of my ministerial background) is any real examination of the theological understandings Pauli developed while attending seminary later in life or serving as a priest. Given Pauli’s wonderful insights while studying the law, I would expect that Pauli could also bring that background and intellect to the realm of religion with similar insights.

Pauli Murray stars in MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios ©2021 PM PM Doc, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Pauli Murray truly was one of those unknown giants upon whose shoulders people are still standing seeing a future that can be made better. Pauli might well be seen as a footnote in the history of civil, women’s, and LGBTQ rights. To be a footnote does not lessen the impact. Indeed, we use footnotes as foundations for important ideas. Pauli may not have been someone most of the world see do important things, but great things were built upon Pauli’s work.

My Name is Pauli Murray in in select theaters and will be available in Prime Video beginning October 1.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg stars in MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios ©2021 PM PM Doc, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photos courtesy of Amazon Studios.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye – Complex Simplicity

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For many people, Tammy Faye Bakker is probably best known for being the butt of jokes and SNL skits. Her outlandish makeup was a trademark that was easy to satirize, as was her singing and onscreen demeanor. But what of the person behind all that? The Eyes of Tammy Faye, directed by Michael Showalter, gives us a very sympathetic look at this woman who was an icon to televangelism, and who also became a champion of LGBTQ rights. The film is based on an excellent documentary by the same name from 2000 directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Screenwriter Abe Sylvia has done a masterful job of expanding and transforming that documentary into a narrative film. (Although, there are some small bits of dramatic license, but nothing that really does harm to the story.)

The film follows Tammy Faye’s life from a child in International Falls, Minnesota, where she was somewhat discouraged from going to church because her mother had divorced and remarried. But Tammy Faye (Jessica Chastain) was so attracted to the church that she went anyway, and when she spoke in tongues, she was readily accepted. When at Bible college, she met and fell in love with Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield), who even then was proclaiming the prosperity gospel. They soon married and set out on the road as traveling evangelists.

Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” and Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

When their travels took them to the area of the fledgling televangelist Pat Robertson, Jim and Tammy Faye started doing a kid’s show for him, which Jim leveraged into “The 700 Club”, the first Christian talk show. Soon, Robertson wanted that show for himself, so Jim and Tammy Faye started their own televangelist network (PTL) which grew rapidly. The vision was always far ahead of resources, and debt was a constant problem, especially after building a theme park that rivaled Disneyland. Through it all the couple lived a luxurious life. In time, Jim Bakker was eventually charged with and convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

While the documentary covered all this history with archival footage, this film takes us behind the curtain to see all this taking place through Tammy Faye’s perspective. And that allows us to see a multi-faceted person who has more to her than we may suspect.

The film opens with a scene (reenacted from the doc) of Tammy Faye at a TV studio having her makeup removed so that more camera-friendly makeup can be put on. While the makeup comes off, she talks about all her makeup. We then discover that some of it is permanent. Tammy Faye concludes, “Yeah, this is who I am.” We are struck by how the real and the persona are blended in such a way that it’s hard to separate one from the other. As the film progresses, we see Tammy Faye as someone who is blended in many ways.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

One of those ways is how she seems to be in a constant tension between her stolid Midwestern upbringing (personified in her mother, played by Cherry Jones) and the lavish lifestyle that surrounds her. Certainly, Jim’s messages of prosperity as a sign of faith gives some spiritual cover for that (even if a dubious theology). Even though she’s very comfortable with all the luxury, there is always her mother’s disapproval of it.

The film also makes a point that Tammy Faye was more than just Jim’s wife. (That is truer here than in the documentary.) To be sure, much of her life, its rises and falls, were caused by Jim and his dreams (and lack of solid morals), but there were ways that Tammy Faye had her own sense of power and her own desires. A key illustration is a scene in which Jim, Robertson, and Jerry Falwell are all sitting down at a barbecue to talk business. The women are all left on the periphery. That is, until Tammy Faye, baby in arms, pulls her own chair up to the table to insert herself into the discussion.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” and Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

It should be noted that Chastain is one of the producers of the film as well as the star. When she first saw the documentary, she was moved to make it into a film and bought the rights. There is a certain “Time’s Up” feeling to that place-at-the-table scene. This view of Tammy Faye as one pushing for women’s rights adds another layer to her persona in the film.

Later, Tammy Faye became the first leader among Evangelicals to show great compassion to AIDS sufferers, which led her to be compassionate toward LGBTQ people in general. She understood them to be beloved of God. She may or may not have approved of their lives, but she saw them first and foremost as God’s children. This at a time when many of the other televangelist were referring to AIDS as a plague sent from God to punish gays.

Randy Havens as “Steve Pieters” and Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

After watching this film, I watched the documentary for comparison. While there are some differences in how the stories are told, the films together serve to give a fuller picture of the events and of Tammy Faye. The impression I had of Tammy Faye after watching both films was that the best description of her is “simple”. (By that I mean uncomplicated, not mentally deficient.) The picture this film gives us of Tammy Faye is a woman who is guileless. In spite of her garish makeup, with Tammy Faye, what you see is what you get.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” and Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo by Daniel McFadden. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

That simplicity applies to her gospel message as well. The “Gospel according to Tammy Faye” is “God loves you. He really does.” As one trained in theology, I know that there are volumes written to describe the Gospel and the many nuances that grow out of God’s relationship to the world. Back when the Bakkers were riding the wave of televangelism, I would have likely belittled them for many valid reasons. But I also can say that that simple statement of God’s love is truly a full statement of the Gospel.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye opens in theaters September 17.