FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE "Farewell, My Concubine" is a movie with two parallel, intertwined stories. It is the story of two performers in the Peking Opera, stage brothers, and the woman who comes between them. At the same time, it attempts to do no less than squeeze the entire political history of China in the twentieth century into a three-hour time-frame FIRE
In New Delhi Sita, a beautiful and intelligent young woman embarks on an arranged, loveless marriage to a faithless husband, Jatin. The extended family, owners of a video store, live together according to custom. Family tensions escalate. Radha, Sita's sister-in-law, is unable to conceive; her disappointed husband Ashok (Sita's husband's brother) has taken a vow of celibacy, acquired a swami and is often gone. Eventually Jita and Radha develop a physical relationship which is far more emotionally sustaining than they have found with their husbands FOXFIRE The story of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond after beating up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. They build a solid friendship but their wild ways begin to get out of control. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES Evelyn Couch is having trouble in her marriage, and no one seems to take her seriously. While in a nursing home visiting relatives, she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an outgoing old woman, who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode, a young woman in 1920's Alabama. Through Idgie's inspiring life, Evelyn learns to be more assertive and builds a lasting friendship of her own with Ninny GO FISH Max is a trendy, pretty, young Lesbian, who is having trouble finding love. A friend sets her up with Ely, whom Max likes, but Ely is frumpy, homely, and older. Nor do they have much in common. Can Max learn to look past the packaging? GIRL (THE) A painter ('the artist') and a lounge-room singer ('the girl') continue a passionate lesbian love affair. 'The girl' is actually a high-class prostitute whose pimp ('the man') is putting the pressure on both women to end the relationship. Words like 'prostitute' and 'pimp' seem too harsh for the sexy-smooth atmosphere of this fascinating look at obsessive love GIA ((great film, very moving, 8/10)) Fact-based story of supermodel Gia Marie Carangi follows her life from a rebel working in her father's diner at age 17 to her death in 1986 at age 26 from AIDS, one of the first women in America whose death was attributed to the disease. In between, she followed a downward spiral of drug abuse and failed relationships GAUDI AFTERNOON Cassandra, a solitary writer in Barcelona (a US ex-pat) gets a call for help from a stranger - a stylish woman named Frankie - who wants Cassandra to find her husband, so he can sign some important papers. Nothing Frankie says is true: the husband turns out to be a woman, the issue isn't legal papers but a child's custody, and even Frankie's most obvious identity, in red cape and red pumps, is a false front. But Cassandra keeps at it, at first to earn her promised fee, and then to help Frankie, then Frankie's ex, then the child. Along the way, this solitary and somewhat disconnected and bewildered writer frees herself to finish a novel and re-establish a broken relationship HEAVELY CREATURES Based on the true story of Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two close friends who share a love of fantasy and literature, who conspire to kill Pauline's mother when she tries to end the girls' intense and obsessive relationship IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2 ((3 very entertaining short lesbian films, 9/10)) The three stories of If These Walls Could Talk 2 . Far and away the most powerful and moving story is the first, taking place in 1961, starring Vanessa Redgrave as a woman "widowed" when her partner of 50 years suddenly dies. Redgrave is phenomenal, and her piece alone makes this sequel worth watching. The 1972 portion stars Michelle Williams, who finds dealing with the sexual politics of the gay community increasingly more complex when she falls in love with a boyish woman (played by Chloë Sevigny). The most modern piece, taking place in 2000, portrays a contemporary lesbian couple (Sharon Stone and Ellen DeGeneres) determined to have a baby. The light nature of the story detracts from the more serious issues of the earlier segments. HBO once again proves itself on the cutting edge of moviemaking, with this rather daring film that will both provoke and entertain ITS IN THE WATER In the small southern town of Azalea Springs, the country club set still rules. Here, being a member of "The League" is a must, big hair is still favored by the ladies who lunch, and only hair-dressers and interior designers are supposed to be gay. The addition of an AIDS facility in Azalea Springs has The League unsettled. And the announcement that their charity work will include contact with "those people" leaves them stunned. But the real frenzy begins with a drunken comment regarding the local drinking water. Rumor has it that the water is contaminated with something that actually "turns" people gay. Mix in Brother Daniel's "Homo-No-Mo" meetings, the local newspaper, and a group of rabid homophobic picketers, and you've got a recipe for panic. Heads reel. Women weep. Mothers, hide your children! In the midst of it all, we find Alex Stratton, a young woman dealing with a distant husband, an overbearing mother, and the tedium of meaningless society chatter and endless shoe critics. Going against her husband's and her mother's wishes, Alex accepts a job at the Hospice where she is reacquainted with Grace Miller, her best friend from high school who has returned to Azalea Springs after a nasty divorce. It is here that Alex falls out of 'grace' with society when the two are caught kissing in the Hospice supply room. Mark Anderson works at the local newspaper his father owns and regularly attends Brother Daniel's Turn-or-Burn meetings. As the rumor about the water and the protesters get plenty of front page coverage, Mark finds himself becoming involved with Tomas, a Latin house painter who mistakes the ex-gay meeting for an A.A. meeting. The events that unravel as a result of these two love affairs bear witness to what happens when hysteria and homophobia take control of their lives KISSING JESSICA STIEN ((i have this film, and it is quite good, funny, i'd rate it 7/10)) Blessed by casual charm and sophisticated wit, Kissing Jessica Stein does for same-sex romance what Annie Hall did for straight neurotics. The influence of Woody Allen is keenly felt on this resourceful New York comedy (expanded from an off-Broadway play), especially when cowriter and costar Jennifer Westfeldt channels Diane Keaton's "la-di-da" nervousness as Jessica Stein, a romantically frustrated heterosexual copyeditor who impulsively answers a personal ad from a bisexual woman. Helen (cowriter Heather Juergensen) is as relaxed about lesbian love as Jessica is anxious, but they click as lovers, and so does the movie's delightful exploration of their budding relationship, which is further complicated by Jessica's yenta-like mother (Tovah Feldshuh) and a former boyfriend (Scott Cohen) who's now Jessica's boss. While acknowledging the serious repercussions of Jessica's bisexual flirtation, Kissing Jessica Stein takes its characters on a smart, compassionate journey of self-discovery that's as truthfully observant as it is gently entertaining LOST AND DELIRIOUS Lost and Delirious is the story of three adolescent girls' first love, their discovery of sexual passion, and their search for identities. Set in a posh, private boarding school surrounded by luxuriant, green forest, Lost and Delirious moves swiftly from academic routine, homesickness, and girlish silliness to the darker region of lover's intrigue THERESA AND ISABELL A older woman visits the boarding school of her youth after a 20 year absense. While strolling about the deserted grounds and classrooms she remembers her highly emotional experiences there, and well-executed flashbacks occur to her youth. At 17 she is abandoned by her loving mother because of remarriage and left at a European boarding school, disenchanted and lonely. Immediately she meets Isabell, an older, confident, rebellious girl. The two develop a friendship quickly without much conversation or bonding, but have the always temporary chemistry necessary for their friendship to progress into a sexual relationship. The sex scenes are slow and sensual -as they should be for two young girls experiencing lesbianism for the first time. Despite their undying love confessions to each other, Theresa wakes up one morning to find Isabell has left the school, her room and desk replaced with another student. She never see's Isabell again WATERMELON WOMAN ((THE)) Cheryl is young, Black, and lesbian, working in Philadelphia with her best friend Tamara and consumed by a film project: to make a video about her search for a Black actress from Philly who appeared in films in the 30s and was known as the Watermelon Woman. Following various leads, Cheryl discovers the Watermelon Woman's stage name and real name and surmises that the actress had a long affair with Martha Page, a White woman and one of Hollywood's few female directors. As she's discovering these things, Cheryl becomes involved with Diana, who's also White. The affair strains Cheryl's friendship with Tamara. More discoveries bring Cheryl (and us, her audience) to new realizations
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