Eden
Whatever your entertainment needs, we’ve got you back (and hopefully your mind) with Queerty’s weekly “Culture Club” column featuring some of the highlights from new releases, streaming shows, classics to. review and what to drink while you watch.
The surrealist: summer
We fell in love with this dreamlike ode to youth, poetry and Los Angeles at Sundance 2020. Now, after almost two years on the festival circuit, we can share it with you, dear reader. Summer time doesn’t play like any other movie we’ve ever seen. Director Carlos López Estrada follows a stream of consciousness style as his camera moves from character to character, each a young poet living in Los Angeles. The dialogue consists almost entirely of poetry written by the actors, with each interlude expressing the joys, fears, frustrations and aspirations of its character. This includes a number of queer artists sharing their thoughts on identity, love, and rage. In that sense, the movie feels more like a musical and is reminiscent of Robert Altman’s massive, curvy, character-driven storytelling at its best.
The lush tongue of Summer time would make it a treasure on the page alone. Fortunately, Estrada allows her young artists to appear on camera, photographed in lush color by cinematographer John Schmidt. The strange format of the poetry-narrative which Summer time The bragging, paired with Schmidt’s vivid hues, gives the film a dreamlike quality: everything makes sense on its own, but never feels totally real, either. It’s a once in a lifetime movie experience, and one that heralds a roster of talented new queer artists to watch.
In theaters July 9.
The pot: Eden
Spectrum Cable brings this soapy saga to screen this week, a teenage mystery set in a tropical paradise. When the beautiful Scout (Sophie Wilde) returns from Julliard to her idyllic Australian town, tensions erupt between her and her longtime friend Hedwig (BeBe Bettencourt). Something dark has changed Hedwig in Scout’s absence, and before Scout can figure out the problem, Hedwig disappears. Thus begins a mystery that unveils the secrets of the small town going back several generations.
The plot of Eden recalls both the recent Easttown mare and Twin peaks with its mystery of a small town buried-truth. This show, however, adopts the unusual vanity of showing more or less the same events from the perspective of different characters. This includes Cam, a mysterious friend of Hedwig, played by the ever convincing Keiynan Lonsdale. Eden does not quite reach the heights of either Easttown or Peaks, although it has more than its share of fun twists and turns in store. We recommend it for the appealing cast, the beautiful views, and for a premise that leaves audiences guessing.
Aired on Spectrum Cable July 12.
ICYMI: Subletting
By now we’ve had enough raving about Sublet, the formidable drama of Israeli director Eytan Fox. To recap: On a trip to Tel Aviv, depressed writer Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) rents an apartment from Tomer (Niv Nissim), a handsome gay party animal in his twenties. Tomer guides Michael around town and the two become intrigued by each other. A strange fascination and bond develop between the two men as they come to recognize the other’s pain.
Although a novel, Sublet is not exactly a traditional love story. Nissim and Hickey both give wonderful performances as two men in desperate need of love and unable to express it. On the other hand, the film did romances our hearts through his exploration of the gay generational divide and how men cope with their pain. Give her a watch and try not to fall in love.
Available on demand July 9.
The crash course: sex and the sitcom
Anyone else addicted to CNN’s Decade Magazine series (The 70s, the 80s) as we are? Note: CNN continues its series of docuseries with History of the sitcom, another nostalgic take on pop culture over the years, embodied by television. This week’s entry, Sex and the sitcom, examines the evolution of sexuality on television over the years – how the world has gone from ‘on hold’ to I love lucy to the sexual frankness of Sex and the city and Girlfriends. The episode also dives heavily into the portrayal of LGBTQ people in the Uncle Arthur series coded on Nice to meet you to married dads Mitch & Phil on Modern family, and how television reflected the struggle for gay rights, and vice versa. It’s an intriguing crash course in the history of television performance, and entertaining to boot.
Airing on CNN from July 11.
The Yearning: Stranger by the Shore
Anime goes gay this week with a tender love story about two young boys who feel an undying attraction to each other. We first meet Mio and Shun as pre-teens, as Shun tries to comfort Mio after her mother dies. Years later, at the age of 20, the two reconnect and old ailments ignite. The plot of Stranger on the shore remind a little Moonlight, as both films explore the nature and appeal of masculinity as well as the intuitive way young queer men often explore sexuality together. contrary to Moonlight, however, gay sex is fully on display here, right down to lube, douching, sex role, and kink scenes. It’s a candid and tender exploration of gay coming of age, with magnificent animation and passion to spare.
Streams on Funimation July 9. Available with subtitles or dubbed in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Jam: “People IF * ck” by Jaym O’Esso
A reader’s email informed us of the latest single from Canadian pansexual singer Jaym O’Esso, a sexy R&B jam about romantic judgment rejection. O’Esso channels Janet Jackson and George Michael in the video, itself a throwback to the heyday of early ’90s MTV glam. We also live for her rhinestone studded hairstyle which adds glamor to her cheeky demeanor and his flirtation. It’s a charming and loving pop song, worth hearing and celebrating.
Feed on YouTube.
The sip: Japanese orange breeze
via Flickr
Thanks to our enchantment with Stranger by the Shore, this week’s cocktail mixes a bit of Japanese culture and art for a refreshing blend of citrus and sparkle.
- 1½ parts of sake
- 2 parts orange juice
- 2½ parts sparkling water
Toss the ingredients over ice and serve.
