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KSanders writesHighlights From the 60th Annual Chicago International Film Festival
by Kyle Sanders
As the 60th Chicago International Film Festival settles to its conclusion, I find myself feeling a tad overwhelmed. I've just spent a week visiting family in my home state of Kentucky and returned with a nasty sinus infection.
Those circumstances certainly affected my festival-covering abilities, but that shouldn't suggest I wasn't able to watch some really great international films while away from the Windy City!
KSanders writesKyle Sanders Goes to the 60th Annual Chicago International Film Festival
by Kyle Sanders
I've seen a lot of films, but up until now, I don't think I've ever heard of The Lollipop Cover. This 1965 drama is about an ex-boxer who hitchhikes from San Francisco to Los Angeles trying to track down a junkie who is not only responsible for his sister's suicide, but owes him money.
Coming along for the journey is a motherless nine-year-old girl abandoned by her father. This film with an icky synopsis is one part John Cassavetes feature, one part Afterschool Special, but perhaps it is most notable for being the very first Golden Hugo winner of the Chicago International Film Festival--sixty years ago!
KSanders writesThe Southern-Fried Queer Horror of “Ganymede”
by Kyle Sanders
A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet one of my idols, writer Fran Lebowitz. After signing my copy of The Fran Lebowitz Reader, I complimented the pair of cowboy boots she was wearing, and pointed to my own (I happened to be dressed in similar attire as she was: sport coat, pressed button-down shirt, and cuffed denim jeans--not that she seemed to notice), which I had purchased in Nashville, Tennessee a decade prior.
"You should buy a pair the next time you do a speaking engagement in Nashville," I insisted. She seemed unconvinced, stating that she'd never been to Nashville because she's rarely invited to speak in the conservative parts of the country.
"Oh," I responded. "You should give Nashville a chance though--they've become slightly more progressive these days."
"Yeah," Fran quipped back. "But it's still the South."
Less than a year after that fateful encounter, the Volunteer State signed into law the Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act, which prevents "adult cabaret performance" in public or in front of children.
The details are pretty vague, until you come across the section that defines such performances as "male or female impersonators who provide entertainment appealing to prurient interest." In other words, this law was primarily meant to ban drag performances.
Fran was right, no matter how liberal a red state city can appear, the South is still gonna "South."
Why exactly is that? Why is it that progress is slowed (or more accurately, forced backward) thanks to the conservative-minded hive of Bible-beating, family-valuing climate deniers? More importantly, why a ban on drag? How does a law so trivial in the grand scheme of things take precedence over actual legislation that benefits communities instead of divides them?
What is it about drag--and to a greater extent, the LGBTQ community--that conservatives are so afraid of? These nagging questions kept bubbling up to the surface as I watched the latest queer horror release, Ganymede.
KSanders writesThe 2024 Chicago Critics Film Festival, Part 2: A Sundry Second Half of Seniors, Singers, and Scorsese (Oh my!)
by Kyle Sanders
And the 11th Annual Chicago Critics Film Fest continues! Here are the films I was able to catch during the latter half:
Technically, Thelma screened last Saturday afternoon, but due to scheduling conflicts I managed to check out a screener from the convenience of my home. I'm glad I did, because this film about a 93-year-old telephone scam victim who sets out to reclaim the money taken from her was worth it!
June Squibb, the Oscar-nominated character actress who's taken over Betty White's reign of feisty senior citizen roles, leads this quirky comedy with aplomb. An elderly widow unwilling to bend to the concerns of her domineering family, Squibb takes a page out of Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise (including doing her own stunt work!) and provides plenty of action-packed moments, "geriatric style": racing down nursing home hallways in a slicked-out scooter, bravely climbing the perilous steps of a two-story home, and navigating the treacherous paths of antique stores, just to get back what's hers.
With a heist-themed score reminiscent of anything composed by Isaac Hayes (coincidentally, this film co-stars Richard Roundtree--the original Shaft--in his final performance), Thelma reminds us that our tenacity for thrill-seeking never gets old. (Release Date: June 21st)
KSanders writesThe 2024 Chicago Critics Film Festival, Part 1: A Horror-Heavy First Half, with Some Touching Titles in Between
by Kyle Sanders
In its eleventh year, the Chicago Critics Film Festival continues to outdo itself. Last year gave us the critically-acclaimed Oscar contender Past Lives (not to mention our first glimpse of Lily Gladstone, before becoming an Oscar-nominated household name), so my expectations were high. So far, the festival has managed to fulfill them with a slot of fun horror flicks making big splashes while the more dramatic fare wades in between.
To kick off the festivities, CCFF smartly chose Sing Sing, a crowd-pleasing drama set in the infamous prison, where prisoners find purpose through performance.
Fresh off his Oscar-nominated turn in Rustin, Colman Domingo stars as Divine G, one of the founding members of RTA (Rehabilitation Through the Arts). It's time to put on a new staged production, and Divine G and company decide to shake things up with a comedic original, where each prisoner auditions for roles, rehearses lines, and develops the truths of their character while confronting the truths of their incriminating pasts.
More than just "Shakespeare with shanks," Sing Sing is a triumph thanks to its charming ensemble--mostly made up of formerly incarcerated actors (Release Date: TBD).
