| Growing Up is Hard |  |
Date: Thursday, 10/21/2004
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: DCJCC
Tickets: Free
Type: Collection of short films
Metro Weekly Rating: 
(4 out of 5)
by Will Doig
THOSE OF US who grew up in
the socially tolerant north instinctively assume that coming out in the trailer
parks of rural, red-state America means a fist to the cheekbone, which is why Puberty
in Pink () is both so squirmingly uncomfortable and yet ultimately
satisfying. The nuanced reactions of 12-year-old Jeremy's elders -- his
whore-by-night mother and her GMC-driving cowboy lover -- to his sudden
appearance in mom's splashy slutwear and makeup manage to surprise over and
over in this film's short sixteen minutes. You're left feeling bittersweet and
happy not to have been pandered to.
Likewise in A Different War () , which traces a similar struggle of
sorts, that of a young boy in Israel trying to reconcile his sensitive nature
with a warrior culture. His brother and friends scale security walls to scream
hate-speak at the Arabs on the other side. Becoming a man means to risk being
shot at but, in the end, everyone finds a way to grow up without compromising
their true natures.
The program closes with a 20-minute weird-out called Fairies () .
It's hard to know where to begin. Prep school dodge ball turns ironic camp
musical? Love story via the locker room? The film is bizarrely off-kilter,
filled with non-sequiturs, and only occasionally gains a foothold in reality. I
liked it. I think. I laughed. Nervously. But laughed nonetheless. Worth seeing
for the soundtrack if nothing else.
| More information |
Film Links:
· Reel Affirmations details
Festival Venue:
Cecile Goldman Theater at the
DCJCC
1529 16th Street, NW; Washington, DC 20009. (202) 518-9400. (map)
3 blocks east of Red Line Metro / Dupont Circle station.
Tickets:
You may buy your tickets or passes in advance: Online at BoxOfficeTickets.com
or by phone at (800) 494-TIXS (494-8497). Or you may visit the Lincoln
Theatre (1215 U Street, NW, WDC); the DCJCC (1529 16th Street, NW,
WDC); Lambda Rising (1625 Connecticut Avenue, NW, WDC); or Universal
Gear (1601 17th Street, NW, WDC).
|
For more info visit the official Reel Affirmations website. |
