By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Cam Archer
Starring: Fairuza Balk | Kim Dickens | Max Paradise | Michael Stumpf | Patrick White | Tom Gilroy
Country: united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 88
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430576/
Chris says: “Gus Van Sant is listed as one of the executive producers, but throughout this positively odd but rarely boring first feature from director Cam Archer, I was expecting to see Todd Haynes’ name instead. As I watched this poetic, dreamlike film about Logan (Malcolm Stumpf), a 13-year-old boy gradually discovering his homosexuality and attraction to Rodeo (Patrick White), an older kid at school, I kept thinking of Haynes’ POISON, and maybe a little of Tom Kalin’s SWOON. Given the decade long degeneration of gay cinema into a fluffy rom-com wasteland, I was thrilled to see someone drawing inspiration from such New Queer Cinema stalwarts. Archer’s film is more than a bit messy; moments of pure, lyrical beauty haphazardly co-exist with head-scratching sequences that on occasion quickly wear out their welcome. I admit it’s been a month since I’ve seen this one, and my memory of much of it is a bit fuzzy (actually, ‘fuzzy’ is a good single word to describe it). I do remember thinking, ‘I need to see this one again to get a better handle on what’s happening.’ If that sounds like a recommendation to you, check out this bizarre, ambitious film if it ever receives distribution. 3.5 cats”