CONTAINS SPOILERS. Queer themed Italian cinema needs to grow up, this recent entry in the canon is all the further proof we need. Not nearly as god-awful as Ferzan Ozpetek's critically revered and homophobic HAMAM, DAVID'S BIRTHDAY is not immune to the sacrificial lamb syndrome. The "controversial" twist is all in on who will get butchered this time around, because we all know that homosexual desire is harbinger of doom. Slow paced and poorly written, often the case with publicly-funded Italian cinema, the film plays out as a cross pollinated low rent hybrid of Visconti's "Death in Venice" and Malle's "Damage". Such high influences are clearly stated over and over again, but high art - or even simple lyricism - are definitely out of reach for Marco Filiberti's fraudulent hands.
Review of David's Birthday
