it was time for another movie review, non?

Watched an amazing film last night. Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell. Supposedly "the most sexually graphic American narrative feature made outside of the porn industry" - as proclaimed by the trailer. And it certainly looked like it.:P But that's not what I loved about it. In fact, that's the only aspect of the movie I wasn't too crazy about - some of the scenes were indeed graphic enough to sorta gross me out. What I did love about it was that it wasn't actually about sex at all - it was about all the different things that sex represents to different people. The things that people are really looking for when they think they are just looking for sex. Intimacy being one of them, obviously. But the film goes even deeper than that. It's incredibly raw and honest, heartbreakingly sad and startlingly funny all at the same time. In other words, it's exactly the kind of movie that "hits the spot" for me.;) The characters represent a pretty wide range of sexual predilections - and they also deal with a variety of psychological issues. Btw, the cast is comprised mostly of first-time actors, who "play themselves". Basically the director sent out a call for audition tapes from people who were ready to "bare it all" (both physically and emotionally) on camera - and then developed the story and the characters over the next few years, in cooperation with a group of the most promising candidates. The result is fascinating. ( Read more... )