I Watched Some Films
Apr. 15th, 2026 03:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
Following the DYK This Queer Film tumblr blog has got me watching some of them that sounded interesting.
Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso (Netflix) A biographical film of the life of Ney Matogrosso, an openly queer Brazilian singer who sprang to fame in the 70s and 80s. His performances were very blatantly sexual, with skimpy clothing, provocative dancing and distinctive make-up, and despite the prevailing homophobia of the times, he became the highest-grossing Brazilian artist. The film is fine - it's competently made and the lead actor is amazing. I would have preferred to see a documentary with footage of the actual performer not recreations, but there doesn't seem to be one available as far as googling gets me in any language I understand.
Coming Out Under Fire (Kanopy - I get free access through my local library) A documentary made in 1994 about gay people who served in the US military during the WWII. Some of them found other queer people and had relationships, some of them were desperately alone. Some were discovered and dishonourably discharged, others went on to stay in military jobs for years. Some of the former spent decades trying to get their dishonourable discharges revoked, and this movement is contrasted with the advent of the DADT policy that was supposed to be a compromise middle ground and so spectacularly failed. Lots of interesting stories in this one, I really enjoyed it.
The Queendom of Tonga (youtube) The Tongan language doesn't have a word for gay, but it does have a word for AMAB people who live their lives as women. This short 2017 documentary interviews several of them about their lives and attitudes towards them and their attitudes towards themselves. The documentary was made by an out gay man from San Francisco who was in Tonga working with the peace corps, who was told he would have to keep his sexuality a secret while working there. And surprise! He discovered that there are gay men in Tonga too whether they're recognised or not. I wished this documentary had been longer and then it could have gone into more detail with its subjects. As it is, we only get a short amount of time with each woman, and I feel it only barely scratches the surface.
And a couple of mainstream films I watched.
The Substance (HBO) Cronenberg-esque body horror in which an actress is cast out unwanted at age 50 and takes a mysterious chemical which splits her into two people - herself and a perfect younger version. The two must trade places every seven days, but the younger model is also selfish and short-sighted and things begin to go badly wrong very quickly. Demi Moore is great as the desperate Elizabeth, rejected by the industry that once adored her. A good commentary on the Hollywood standards of beauty and the pursuit of perfection, and the deeply misogynistic men running it all. Very explicitly gory, so avoid if you're not into that.
One Battle After Another (HBO) Absolutely bonkers crazy and I loved it. The best Paul Thomas Anderson film in years. An anti-capitalist anarchist leaves behind his property-exploding ways when he has a daughter. Sixteen years later, his identity leaks and he's on the run again and desperately trying to meet up with his daughter who was at school when he was blown. An idiosyncratic group of old friends and sympathisers help him along the way and meanwhile the daughter is learning a lot about her family history in a very short period of time. There's some gore in this one too.
Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso (Netflix) A biographical film of the life of Ney Matogrosso, an openly queer Brazilian singer who sprang to fame in the 70s and 80s. His performances were very blatantly sexual, with skimpy clothing, provocative dancing and distinctive make-up, and despite the prevailing homophobia of the times, he became the highest-grossing Brazilian artist. The film is fine - it's competently made and the lead actor is amazing. I would have preferred to see a documentary with footage of the actual performer not recreations, but there doesn't seem to be one available as far as googling gets me in any language I understand.
Coming Out Under Fire (Kanopy - I get free access through my local library) A documentary made in 1994 about gay people who served in the US military during the WWII. Some of them found other queer people and had relationships, some of them were desperately alone. Some were discovered and dishonourably discharged, others went on to stay in military jobs for years. Some of the former spent decades trying to get their dishonourable discharges revoked, and this movement is contrasted with the advent of the DADT policy that was supposed to be a compromise middle ground and so spectacularly failed. Lots of interesting stories in this one, I really enjoyed it.
The Queendom of Tonga (youtube) The Tongan language doesn't have a word for gay, but it does have a word for AMAB people who live their lives as women. This short 2017 documentary interviews several of them about their lives and attitudes towards them and their attitudes towards themselves. The documentary was made by an out gay man from San Francisco who was in Tonga working with the peace corps, who was told he would have to keep his sexuality a secret while working there. And surprise! He discovered that there are gay men in Tonga too whether they're recognised or not. I wished this documentary had been longer and then it could have gone into more detail with its subjects. As it is, we only get a short amount of time with each woman, and I feel it only barely scratches the surface.
And a couple of mainstream films I watched.
The Substance (HBO) Cronenberg-esque body horror in which an actress is cast out unwanted at age 50 and takes a mysterious chemical which splits her into two people - herself and a perfect younger version. The two must trade places every seven days, but the younger model is also selfish and short-sighted and things begin to go badly wrong very quickly. Demi Moore is great as the desperate Elizabeth, rejected by the industry that once adored her. A good commentary on the Hollywood standards of beauty and the pursuit of perfection, and the deeply misogynistic men running it all. Very explicitly gory, so avoid if you're not into that.
One Battle After Another (HBO) Absolutely bonkers crazy and I loved it. The best Paul Thomas Anderson film in years. An anti-capitalist anarchist leaves behind his property-exploding ways when he has a daughter. Sixteen years later, his identity leaks and he's on the run again and desperately trying to meet up with his daughter who was at school when he was blown. An idiosyncratic group of old friends and sympathisers help him along the way and meanwhile the daughter is learning a lot about her family history in a very short period of time. There's some gore in this one too.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 11:43 pm (UTC)The first three do sound interesting though