Saturday, June 16, 9:30 p.m. Castro BAY AREA PREMIERE
Sunday, June 17, 9:30 p.m. Elmwood (Berkeley)
 |
| Postcards from London |
Jim (Harris Dickinson, pictured) is an ingénu, fresh off the train from his provincial life to begin a life of adventure and wonderment in the big city, London. He quickly falls prey to a robber, but he also discovers that, in the presence of true art, he faints — the legendary Stendahl syndrome. Fortunately (or perhaps not) he falls in with a group of rent boys who call themselves the Raconteurs, selling not just a quick bit of sex, but also some erudite storytelling about the great masters.
The sets are spare with lots of neon, looking more like a stage play than a conventional movie. Combined with the artworks coming to life after causing Jim to faint, the effect is an immersive, dreamlike, hallucinatory feel that brought to mind films like Lilies (Frameline 21), Naked Lunch, and eXistenZ. The sexuality is mostly kept to a PG-13 level (in US terms), but still palpably present. What really shines through is the dialogue, full of razor-sharp wit amidst the talk of Caravaggio, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. Definitely a MUST SEE, and definitely on my list as soon as it comes out on DVD.
• IMDb • official website •
No comments:
Post a Comment