“John Waters and Andy Warhol were two of my biggest influences when I was starting out,” says Canadian filmmaker Bruce LaBruce. “At Warhol’s Factory there were a lot of drugs […]
FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW
Provincetown Lights Up the Big Screen, and Vice Versa
Celebrating diversity and cinema on the Outer Cape
As the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) counts down to its 2023 launch next Wednesday, it feels bittersweet to recognize the 25th anniversary of this local extravaganza of screenings and […]
THEATER
All Aboard for Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train
WHAT bares its stage for a meditation on violence, truth, and morality
The playwright and sometime actor Stephen Adly Guirgis (pronounced GEER-giss, with hard Gs) is a major theatrical talent who isn’t nearly as well known as David Mamet, although Guirgis’s rhythmic, […]
THEATER REVIEW
Checking In to Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina
Exploring a different sort of Catskills resort from the past
When Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina premiered on Broadway in April 2014 — only nine years ago — Obama was president, the Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage a Constitutional […]
INDIE SCREEN
When Sex Is Beside the Point
Two new films explore the pain of loss in male friendships
At the beginning of the revelatory Belgian film Close, young Leo, whose parents own a flower farm, can think of nothing more than spending all his summer days with Remi, […]
INDIE SCREEN
Two Films That Take Young Girls Seriously
Streaming the genius of Aftersun and Playground
Amid the hoopla of the Oscars and award season, a couple of moving, astonishing, and beautifully crafted features by first-time woman directors slid by without much fanfare. One reason for […]
INDIE SCREEN
A Fassbinder Classic Gets a Meta Gender Flip
François Ozon’s Peter von Kant is a pas de deux auteurs
French filmmaker François Ozon is a bit of a chameleon. He’s best known for the film Swimming Pool, with Charlotte Rampling as a British mystery writer vacationing in Provence. But […]
INDIE SCREEN
Oscar Contenders Fight the Good Fight
Three films take humanistic stances with uneven success
Canadian child actor turned writer-director Sarah Polley continues to prove she’s one of the great filmmaking talents of our time. Her four features — Away From Her (2006), starring Julie […]
INDIE SCREEN
When All That Glitters Is Not Gold
It’s Oscar season in the twilight of Hollywood
When the Covid lockdown happened back in March 2020, it accelerated shifts that were already in progress in the movie industry. Fewer people were seeing films in theaters, and streaming […]
INDIE SCREEN
Tales of Innocence and Experience
A gay fat man and a sweet donkey come undone
Director Darren Aronofsky — winner of the Provincetown International Film Festival’s 2011 Filmmaker on the Edge award — has never been known for subtlety. He wallows in garishly surreal psychological […]
INDIE SCREEN
Once Upon a Time in the Movies
Strange characters in three new films adapt to loss
The year is 1923. The Irish Civil War is nearing its end, leading to the creation of the Irish Free State despite the violent objections of the Irish Republican Army. […]
INDIE SCREEN
Coming of Age With the Help of Movies
Spielberg and del Toro look back with mixed feelings
There’s a scene near the end of The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama about his childhood and teenage years, where the budding filmmaker Sammy Fabelman is confronted by Logan, a […]
INDIE SCREEN
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What’s the Greatest Film of All?
A once-a-decade list of the best films in the history of cinema contains several surprises
The esteemed film magazine Sight and Sound, which is published monthly by the British Film Institute, released its once-a-decade list of the 100 greatest films of all time on Dec. […]
INDIE SCREEN
Thanks for the Memories
Two new films about gay men recall the real-life struggles of their authors
There’s something naggingly cheeky about the title of TV entertainment journalist Michael Ausiello’s memoir, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies — it’s the story of Ausiello’s 14-year relationship with photographer Kit […]
INDIE SCREEN
Reporters Are the Heroes in ‘She Said’
Unearthing the truth about sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood
In the movie industry, nearly everyone knew that Harvey Weinstein was a monster. More accurately, they knew that he was an exceptionally brutal monster — because among the men (and […]
