Acclaimed filmmaker Ira Sachs is one of our most illuminating portrayers of modern gay life, even if not all of his films deal with gay characters. He’s also one of the great indie directors of his time. He is usually a New York guy, but with his debut film, 1996’s The Delta, he showcases race, class, and sexuality in his hometown of Memphis.
Buy The Delta (Criterion Collection)In what seems to be a story of newfound love, a white, privileged Jewish teenager and a Black Vietnamese immigrant meet in a cruising area and take a nighttime journey down the Mississippi River. But as the time together wears on, they find that the differences between them become too impossible to ignore.
Despite the fact that I didn’t know that this film even existed, it sounds like an often-overlooked chapter in LGBTQ cinema that has more than sex on its mind. The cliches of many other films of the gay experience seems to be on the back burner, especially because of the film’s themes of disenchantment and betrayal, judging by the premise of course. Now that I know about it, I really want to see it. It could be a revelation for me and others who want to see where Sachs came from and reflect on his beautiful body of work.
Being available only on Blu-ray from Criterion, it has a new 2K restoration, supervised by Sachs, and includes commentary with Sachs from 2001; new interview with Sachs, conducted by film critic Keith Uhlich; and two short films by Sachs: Vaudeville (1991) and Lady (1993). There is a new essay by author/film curator Michael Koresky.
Other interesting releases of the week:
Peter Hular’s Day (Criterion Premieres): Another Sachs outing about the 1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hular (Ben Whislaw) and Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) that showcased the vibrance of New York’s downtown art world and the self-reflection of an artist’s life.
Bridesmaids (Universal): The raunchy “women can be funny” classic starring comedy icon Kristen Wiig as Annie, a messy single woman who learns that her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married. Serving as the complicated maid of honor, she leads Lillian and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, and Wendi McLendon-Covey) down the wild road to matrimony.
Twinless (Lionsgate): Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney play two grieving men who bond in a support group and form a complicated friendship in this acclaimed black comedy.
Scarlet Warning 666 (Grindhouse Releasing): A really bizarre and unclassifiable vanity project about twin brothers running amok on a country estate filled with Satanic worship, occult rituals, and “demonic assassination.”
