GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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Shelter
Me Wolfe
Video Director:
Screeplay:
Starring:
Unrated, 98 minutes |
Guess
Who's Coming To Dinner?
I'll be the first to admit it; there is a serious shortage of films that are strictly about the ladies on Cinemaqueer.com. Mea Culpa; I guess that makes me as bad as the straight guy who hates "chick flicks." I'm going to try to make up for it, and mix things up a bit more. Starting with this interesting one from Italy... |
 Bringing
back a souvenir from a foreign country takes on a whole new meaning in Mario
Mazzarotto's new film, Shelter Me.
Anna (Maria de Medeiros) and Mara (Antonia Liskova) are an Italian couple
who have just been on holiday in Tunis. When they get back home, there is
a surprise waiting for them when they open the hatchback of their auto.
A Moroccan lad, maybe 18 years old (perhaps younger), has smuggled himself
into Italy, hidden in a large box behind their luggage. |
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 Unless
I missed it, the film never makes clear how long the two women have been
together but, judging by their comfort level, Anna and Mara's relationship
has to span at least a few years. While it is quite clear that they
are very much in love, it is also apparent that Anna is used to getting
her way and her partner is always the good sport who goes along. One look
at the expression on Mara's face, when she comes home to find that the kid
is back, and you know this is not the first time she has been imposed upon.
It is a tribute to the actress as Liskova's face is a roadmap of emotions
in this scene; the look of wide-eyed amazement and shock can barely conceal
the seething rage she is trying to keep under control. |
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 Of
course, no one wants to come home and find an illegal alien sitting in their
living room and Mara hasn't had a good day to begin with. There are rumors
of layoffs at the factory where she works. Adding to this tension is the
fact that Anna's family owns the factory. The constant presence of
Anna's mother, who has recently arrived to take charge, doesn't help matters
either... mother disapproves of her daughter being a lesbian and she detests
her partner. Mara's father is also dying in a hospital from a stroke and
his condition has just worsened. And now there's an intruder in her home. |
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 Anna
gets her brother, who tells her to stop trying to change the world all by
herself, to find Anis work and lets the kid sleep on their couch. Tensions
in the household, that have already been simmering for some time, are brought
to a boil by the boy's presence. One night, Anis looks into the ladies'
bedroom and sees them lying together and is either confused or doesn't want
to believe what he has seen. He thought they were sisters and asks Anna
why they don't have any men, naively asserting that a woman should not be
alone. When she explains that they are not alone and that they have
each other, he still seems oblivious and we're not sure if it is an act.
If he was able to smuggle himself into the country, can he be as innocent
as he seems? What is clear, is that he appears to be attracted to
both of them. |
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 Shelter
Me is
an engaging movie that commanded my attention but, nevertheless, fails to
satisfy its intriguing premise. The story of an enigmatic guest throwing
the household into chaos has, of course, been done before; perhaps most
notably in Pasolini's Teorema (1968). The whole lead-up to the discovery
of a stowaway in the SUV is masterfully done, providing a splendid overture
for the acts that follow. Unfortunately, like many of the queer films I've
viewed this year, its last act doesn't quite live up to the themes established
in the movements before. If melodrama is your thing, then don't listen to
me. I've been known to be outnumbered in many of my opinions (I hate ABBA
for example) but, as a gay man, I was disturbed by a particular plot twist.
But please make up your own mind; a reviewer should guide your decision
and not make it for you. |
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 Many
riches are there to be mined. In addition to the lesbian angle, this is
also a movie about class differences. Besides the culture gap between Anis
and the ladies, Anna's family is wealthy in almost a Merchant-Ivory
way while Mara is Rosie the Riveter in the shoe factory. Anna is also a
lipstick lesbian and Mara is much more the tomboy and rides a motorcycle
to work. These aren't stereotypes, they are just two more ways to represent
societal opposites. The looks for both women are exactly right; an American
film would have exaggerated these characteristics, here they just seem like
real people. It helps when the actors' faces aren't recognizable from oversaturated
media hype in the U.S., though some filmgoers might remember seeing Maria
de Medeiros in Pulp Fiction and also as Anais Nin in Henry and
June. |
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Maria de Medeiros
also appears in: |
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 CLICK THE ABOVE BANNER TO PURCHASE THIS WOLFE VIDEO TITLE |
His
name is Anis (Mounir Ouadi) and he just wants to work in a foreign country.
When he explains how a little help from the hotel's Valet Parking got
him to where he is now, a flabbergasted Mara shouts "You paid someone
to hide in our car?" He is supposed to be meeting a relative and Anna,
who feels sorry for him, helps him get on the right train. She also gives
him money and, we find out later, her phone number in case he gets into
trouble. Mara is angry with Anna, but relieved that they didn't have to
bring him home. "You don't know him," says Mara and insists that he could
have killed them. "I didn't know you," Anna replies, warmly remembering
their first meeting, "But I let you into my home."
Shelter
Me is
very European in its look and feel. There is an image of a giant chair
in the middle of a roundabout that will probably stick in your memory
for a long time afterwards. The cinematography is exquisite and the acting
by all is flawless. Think