Pop does indeed matter

Gagnrýni frá SXSW hátíðinni í Texas þar sem Queen Raquela var frumsýnd í USA. Kom fram á síðunni PoPmatters, síða sem apperently er skoðuð af meira en 1.200.000 manns mánaðarlega og um 100.000 manns heimsækja á dag og við erum á forsíðunni hjá þeim. Ljúft.

SXSW 2008 March 18, 2008
By Kevin John The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela
Directed by Olaf de Fleur Johannesson
The last thing filmdom needs is an exposé on a transsexual, especially since we’re still waiting for that feature-length investigation into heterosexuality. So it’s just as well that we never learn any amazing truth about Raquela in Olaf de Fleur Johannesson’s fantastic The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela: the “truth” would only cheapen a subject that usually devolves into movie-of-the-week topicality. Instead, Johannesson immerses us in the texture of an everyday existence.
Essentially playing herself, Raquela (Raquela Rios) pines for a life beyond her native Philippines, where transsexuals face a bleak future. She’s fed up with the prostitute life and has moved successfully into the world of internet porn. With some money saved, she gets a temporary visa to Iceland, bringing her closer to the city of her dreams, Paris.
Given the hand-held camera and frequent interviews with characters, it’s easy to forget that this film is based on true events rather than an attempt to document those events. But Johannesson’s not after any documentary vs. fiction mind games. He’s more interested in exploring the various environments surrounding Raquela. His at times indifferent framing, whether from a peculiar distance or from around a corner, picks up a sign that reads “All gays are absolutely free” outside a club where Raquela hangs with her friends. Or it cannily catches the recently showered butt cheeks of Johnny, the photographer who shoots Raquela for the porn site where she makes safer money. Despite the fact that the film was constructed from a series of emails Raquela sent to Johannesson, everything is observed rather offhandedly, even a hit-and-run which leaves Raquela with a limp.
The result is a story that saunters with a matter-of-fact, dazed rhythm. It’s difficult to determine, for instance, when exactly Michael (a brilliant performance by Stefan C. Schaefer), the New York owner of the porn site, moves to the center of the film. A cranky go-getter, he makes Raquela’s wish come true by taking her to Paris. But he damn near ruins the experience with his constant bitching about a universe that doesn’t move to his exacting specifications. With her visa expired and Michael off to find a more supplicant geisha, Raquela winds up back in the Philippines at the end of the film, future unknown.
But The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela is far from a pity piece. Its sounds and images insinuate rather than inform. Rather than offering factoids you can brush off into the file cabinet of your mind, the film quickly starts to feel like a dream you had last night. Let it stew for a few hours and you can’t help revisiting seemingly inconsequential moments. In this way, Raquela’s story lives with us and not for us. A remarkable achievement.

heimild: PoPmatters.com 

 

Athugasemdir

[Ómar Ingi, 19.3.2008 kl. 00:47]

Stay Cool , but not in the fridge