Saturday, June 16, 2018

Postcards from London

Postcards from London, dir. Steve McLean, 2018 UK, 88 minutes 💖
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.

IMDbofficial website

No comments:

Post a Comment