Philadelphia Weekly

After a week of both outrageous and thoughtful offerings, the
Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival continues with more of the
same. The following is a sampling of what's on tap for week two:

Born Again

Arriving on the heels of atheistic bestsellers like Richard Dawkins' The God
Delusion and Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great: How Religion
Poisons Everything, Markie Hancock's diaristic confessional elaborates on
those books' two most potent threads: the religious indoctrination of children and the
hypocrisy of organized religion touting the strength of family even as it severs family
ties over matters like homosexuality. For its first half Hancock's story can be a bit
too earnestly quotidian, though there's a great moment where she discovers she loves
filmmaking, and the doc--which has till then consisted of still photos and archival
footage--springs to life with home movies, her life finally put in motion. While Hancock
gives her nonplussed relatives plenty of time to speak (or at least hang themselves),
she rarely turns the camera on herself, literally or figuratively. However right her
conclusion--that, as per Hitchens, religion poisons everything--Hancock takes herself out
of the equation a bit too casually. B-
(Matt Prigge) Sun., July 22, 2:30pm. Prince Music Theater.

Boy I Am

"Right at 5 p.m., that's when the physical pain melds with the psychological," says
Norie, a female-to-male (FTM) transgender who binds her breasts every day. Binding is
but one struggle Norie, Nicco and Keegan encounter as they try to reconcile their
psychological makeup with a physical body that just doesn't fit. Boy I
Am documents these FTMs as they ready for testosterone therapy and chest
surgery. But as surgery nears or gets postponed, Nicco struggles to come up with the
$7,500 fee; Norie wonders whether it might be easier to never see his family again; and
Keegan can't wait for the day when someone refers to him as "sir," and doesn't retract
it the moment they hear him speak. Boy I Am is an insightful portrait
of current transgender issues. B (Brook R. Midgley) Sun., July 22,
12:15pm. Arts Bank.

Boy's Love

An overwrought, overacted film, Boy's Love tells the story of
magazine editor Taishin breaking through model Noel's asshole facade to reveal obviously
buried anguish. Most of the film is ridiculous, and the action leans heavily on
unanswered ringing cell phones and doorknobs about to be turned--all of which predictably
culminate in Noel's self-destruction and Taishin coming to the rescue. D
(B.R.M.) Wed., July 18, and Sun., July 22, 5pm. Wilma Theater.

The Bubble

For a movie about a gay relationship between an Israeli and a Palestinian--much less
one by Eytan Fox, the master of restraint behind Yossi & Jaguar
and Walk on the Water--The Bubble is a lot subtler for
a lot longer than would seem possible. Fox is happy just to limn national and sexual
identities, particularly those of a group of young Israelis coming to grips with having
barricaded neighbors. For more than 90 minutes it looks like Fox has made the first
movie about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that doesn't end with a suicide bomber. We
should be so lucky. C+
(M.P.)
Fri., July 20, 7:15pm, and Sun., July 22, 2:15pm. Prince Music Theater.

Kate Clinton: 25th Anniversary Tour

Director Andrea Meyerson's documentary Kate Clinton: 25th Anniversary
Tour bills itself as more than a concert film, but nevertheless it's Clinton's
stage performance that proves most satisfying. The self-described "last lesbian comic
standing" riffs on kids, prescription drugs and tampons, but her political humor scores
the biggest laughs (example: "George gives bush a bad name"). When the camera wanders
backstage to document Clinton hobnobbing at the Dinah Shore Weekend or chatting with
longtime girlfriend Urvashi Vaid, the behind-the-scenes glimpses are less than
revealing. C+
(J.C.R.) Thurs., July 19, 7:15pm. Arts Bank.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

First the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie, now this.
7th Heaven kiddie David Gallagher one-ups Jessica Biel by playing
the eternal pretty boy in Duncan Roy's modern-day rogering of Oscar Wilde. More like
The Video Art of Dorian Gray, Roy's version features plenty of
wincingly smug, fabulously bored readings of the source's one-liners, but of course
fumbles hardest whenever it has to adhere to the plot. Roy pumps in the opera and
pretentious split-screen experiments for compensation purposes, but even such maneuvers
can't out-shrill Gallagher's camptastic implosion on a "10 items or less"
supermarket lane. C-
(M.P.) Thurs., July 19, 7:15pm, and Sat., July 21, 4:45pm. Wilma
Theater.

Spider Lilies

Movies about 'Net life seemed silly and uncinematic even before 2002's
On_Line. Too bad no one told Taiwanese filmmaker Zero Chou. A fussy ode
to disconnection, Spider Lilies posits the ever-unconsummated love
between a mousy female tattoo artist and a webcam pixie, plus one pervy policeman. It's
not hard to spot Chou's intelligence, but she has neither the rigor to make the ideas
soar nor the chops to make the film more than just the 1,026th movie to ruminate on
alienation along the information superhighway. With any luck, it'll be among the last.
C
(M.P.) Sun., July 22, noon, and Mon., July 23, 7pm. Prince Music Theater.

Suffering Man's Charity

Insufferable. Alan Cumming's solo directorial debut is an exhausting and indulgent
dark comedy. Cumming himself takes on the lead role of John Vandermark, a reclusive diva
of a cello instructor and perhaps the most irritating main character since Adam
Sandler's Little Nicky. Vandermark has a thing for young male hustlers
with questionable talent. When he gets fed up with his latest leech, a chauvinistic
young writer (David Boreanaz) who never pays the bills, Vandermark exacts gruesome
revenge � la exploitation cinema. Watch the spittle fly as Cumming hogs the screen in
incessant fits of grating overacting. This isn't camp--it's crap. F
(Philip Malaczewski) Sat., July 21, 9:30pm. Wilma Theater.

The Victim

Get this, Charlie Kaufman: The Victim is about a horror film that,
about an hour in, pulls back to reveal a film set. But not so fast: The film set winds
up haunted by the same ghost that's in the movie they're filming. Is it the same
hour-long movie twice or one horror movie with a pointlessly gimmicky midfilm twist?
Either way, Monthon Arayangkoon's film is never as clever as it thinks it is,
squandering a potentially rich theme--using real-life tragedies for cheap horror--in favor
of shallow meta-tricks and derivative shocks. C
(M.P.) Sun., July 22, 9:15pm. Prince Music Theater.