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Hurricane Bianca (2016)
Timely, hilarious, Picturesque
Hurricane Bianca is a timely, well written and directed comedy production that both explores and envisions the world in which society and our leading character is 'trans'forming in the modern era. Without delving too much into the plot (the narrative follows the traditional hero's journey of our protagonist teacher Richard who is looking to find his place in romance, work and sense of self), everything in this production was well executed - from the script, to the direction, the acting, editing, music, costume design and cinematography.
The jokes were precisely on point, and what every audience member has been waiting for -witty without being crass, tasteful and topical. But more than anything, it is the themes and the outcome of the film which make this production a 10/10. Depicting the plight many members of the LGBTQI community feel and experience has and is complicated to represent to superficially. Usually LGBTQI films are geared towards one of two target markets - the gay or the straight - each having their own set of media conventions in which the narrative is able to be told. But Hurricane Bianca moves beyond the narrow conventions of one sort or the other, catering beyond the constricted, in a beautifully feminine production, without being obnoxiously or expectedly feminist.
Hurricane Bianca doesn't stop there. The film both employs and transcends the clichés of your typical American comedy flick in a way that captivates your attention - despite any prethought you may have had about this generally shallow genre. However using stereotypes was at an advantage to this universal flick, which both holds and is a mirror of life in the 21st century outside of this viewing space. At an 84 minute runtime, hero's arc narrative, its collection of disposable and stereotypical characters, the film uses conventions of the familiar to comfort the audience who is about to confront topics which have been all too easy to brush under the carpet. In a world where same sex marriage divides our social structure based on tradition, definition, morals and values this film gives us all a friendly reminder that hey, slow down, these are issues are actually faced by our communities today, and look what happens when we a)forget prejudice, b) take a chance and trust people in society, c) allow ourselves to be who we really want and ought to be and d)for just a moment or 84, live in a world where this is not the ideal, but the norm.
Hurricane Bianca is a masterful, well crafted and beautifully presented depiction of the human struggle of self and sexual acceptance that all audience members are able to relate to, and reflect upon. With an all star cast of Drag royalty, this film lifts the bar in professionalism, witticism and exposition of the struggle that is very, very real.
Free State of Jones (2016)
a beautiful recollection of a inherently concluded past that still has currency in the way we see fit to find the middle ground in the world today
Having studied the U.S Civil War whilst being born and living outside of the U.S it is almost as if I have embodied Knight himself when it comes to viewing this film. On the one hand I admire the research, thought, direction and production that has been carefully crafted in the telling of this biographical story of a still- contentious yet unsung hero - depending who you talk to. I am grateful that through the magic of film, that this story and now legacy was able to be shared,constructed, debated and brought to life some centuries after Knight died, as it illuminates an admirable quality within the human nature of a true and honest leader.
This quality - brave and bold heralds the ideal within the bigger, unclear picture, which is that despite popular group theories and the application and harnessing of zombie-esque states - amongst us who walk up on this earth, there are people out there whom boldly actively engage with their instinctual and moral demeanor, defying all that is status quo, who fight (or to not fight in this instance) for what they believe in and that is that is we can live in a world where we see people for who they are beyond the color of their skin, or which class we are born into.
On the other hand, I likewise feel somewhat impervious to the emotional state many critics do have with this film, and that is my lack of historical, geographical, genealogical and sociological psyche inherited within the Black histories of others. More of a sheep in wolf's clothing rather than vice versa. Not trying to hide that which is different from my own, I feel a great empathy for the situation, and the people involved, a perception endowed by my own struggles of living with Eurasian multiethicities. I have grappled with the authority in which I write this review, and have comfortably concluded that I sit delicately within the walls of educated objectivity. Thus I continue.
I have always found the U.S civil war very interesting to read and have struggled to accept that its documented history has always been, forgive me, with lack of a better phrase, so black and white in facts, people, dates and outcomes. Finally, in Matthew McConaghey's finest performance, this film is worth every second of its 139 indulgent minutes, although in 2016 this is new standard for a finely tuned piece of art at the flicks. From the script to the score, the direction to the depiction, Free State of Jones County is a beautiful recollection of a inherently concluded past, that still has currency in the way we see the world today.
9/10 Stars