Category Archives: Independent

2020, Documentary, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Government Prosecutions, Homophobia, Independent, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Religious Theme

Circus of Books (2020)

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From IMDB:

In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. What was expected to be a brief sideline led to their becoming fully immersed in the LGBT community as they took over a local store, Circus of Books. A decade later, they had become the biggest distributors of gay porn in the US. The film focuses on the double life they led, trying to maintain the balance of being parents at a time when LGBT culture was not yet accepted. Their many challenges included facing jail time for a federal obscenity prosecution and enabling their store to be a place of refuge at the height of the AIDS crisis. Circus of Books offers a rare glimpse into an untold chapter of queer history, and it is told through the lense of the owners’ own daughter, Rachel Mason, an artist, filmmaker and musician.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 26 minute complete documentary.

IMDB’s summary tells most of the story. However, one of the most important themes of the plot is that one of the Mason’s sons during his college years came out to his parents as gay.  Karen needed time to absorb and accept this fact after which she and Barry became ardent supporters of the organization of parents of gay children.

In parts of the film you will see covers of gay DVDs and magazines which are quite explicit.

Watching this documentary is like watching a “happening.”   Still I cannot get my head around the contradictions: Karen, a devout practicing Jew, ran a gay porn shop and was at first shocked and dismayed that a son of hers could possible be gay.

Really?

 

2010, Acceptable for children, Could be boring, Horror, Independent, Suspense

Monsters (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Six years after aliens invaded Earth, a security force maintains tenuous control in the Infected Zone straddling the U.S.-Mexican border. Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a photographer, is documenting this war-torn area when he’s interrupted by an unexpected rescue mission. Samantha (Whitney Able), daughter of a media mogul who just happens to be his boss, needs an escort home, and Andrew reluctantly takes on the job.

Only superficially is this a horror film. Rather it is more an independent film that is somewhat like a travelogue showing an American man and woman trying to get out of Mexico’s monster-infected region and back safely into the United States. Underlying the trip are his problems with his illigitimate son and her problems with her parents and her fiancee. Kids would be bored to death and if you do not like slow-paced films then you too can be bored to death. Yes, you get to see a monster or two, but it really doesn’t matter.

Probably the most impressive site was the gigantic Hadrian’s wall that has been constructed on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. For details about the many mistakes and the effort involved see the Wikipedia article.

1000NYTimes, 1001BeforeDie, 1989, Drama, Independent, Mostly About Sex, Soderbergh, Unusual

sex, lies, and videotape (1989)

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From NetFlix:

Director Steven Soderbergh’s voyeuristic indie drama paints an intense, intimate portrait of discord among a frigid housewife (Andie MacDowell), her philandering husband (Peter Gallagher), her adulterous sibling (Laura San Giacomo) and an intriguing out-of-towner (James Spader). When Spader arrives with a trunk load of videotapes featuring women confessing their sexual secrets on camera, he gradually turns the quartet’s lives inside out.

This film is recommended in “NY Times Guide to Best Movies Ever” and “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”. It never would have occurred to me to watch this film until my brother-in-law Jack (a movie fan) recommended the TV series “Boston Legal”. One of the lead actors in “Boston Legal” is James Spader who is perfect for the part. In searching for James Spader in IMDB I spotted “sex, lies, and videotape” featuring a very young James Spader. In fact, although I am good with faces as they age and change, I never would have recognized James Spader (especially with really long hair).

Not for everyone, this is a thoughtful film is as much about sex versus love as it is about truth versus lying. Don’t expect explicit sex, it isn’t at all pornographic. But do expect a lot of heads talking about sex. Great plot twists. Very soft-spoken dialogs. I’d have to say this is an “important” film. From “1001”: “Written in just 8 days and filmed in 5 weeks on a budget of just $1.2 million, the movie (Soderbergh’s debut) is credited with transforming the independent movie industry.”

2008, Drama, Independent, Not Feel Good, Sci-Fi, Spanish, Violent

Sleep Dealer (2008)

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From NetFlix:

In a futuristic yet not unfamiliar world, the lives of three strangers connect in surprising ways amid a backdrop of militarization, closed borders and an all-encompassing global technological network. At the center of this potent sci-fi tale (nominated for a Best First Feature Independent Spirit Award) are Memo (Luis Fernando Peña), a peasant displaced after his village is attacked; Luz, a writer (Leonor Varela) who plugs her brain into the net; and Rudy (Jacob Vargas), an American security company worker.

NetFlix suggested this rare find: a science fiction film that is Latino, quiet, sadly possible, and promotes human values especially the love of family. Subtitles accompany the easy and slow Spanish speech. There is some violence which because it is not gore hits close to home. It took me a while to understand the purpose of the “nodes”, but once I understood I was jolted because I now saw science fiction that could easily solve the “Mexican problem”. Could this impersonal form of voluntary slavery really happen ? Is the situation of today’s Latino immigrants any better ?

2000, Book, Drama, Drugs, Independent, Love Story, Novel, Nudity, Redemption, Sexual Episodes, Unusual

Jesus’ Son (2000)

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From NetFlix:

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, director Alison MacLean’s reflective drama follows FH (Billy Crudup), a well-meaning drug addict who stumbles backward into redemption. When his longtime love (Samantha Morton) leaves, FH follows her but meets and falls for the older Mira (Holly Hunter) along the way. Amid his life’s wreckage, a near-fatal car crash and a chance to save a child’s life force FH to examine his existence and its meaning.

Believe it or not, this film (which has the feel of an independent film) won some awards. I first read the book because it was recommended in the NY Times as an older book which you might as well get at your local library. I can only guess that the book made a splash in an epoch in which it was a novelty to write about drug-addled losers. The book travels from episode to episode while the druggies do outrageous things. Maybe I am getting too old for such nonsense.

Following the book fairly closely, the film is also like some otherworld travelog. But I was never bored (“OK, now what ?”). Still, think twice before you start this trip.

2002, Drama, Feel Good For All, Independent, Spanish

Intimate Stories (2002)

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From NetFlix:

A charming and affecting tale charting the fortunes of three small town heroes pursuing their dreams, Carlos Sorin’s “Historias Minimas” offers further evidence of the current riches to be found in Argentine cinema. Awarded a special jury prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, it’s a deceptively simple yet delightful road movie concerned with three disparate characters heading for the Argentine city of San Julian.

Very much like an independent film. Quiet, unassuming, full of kind people being friendly to one another, the farthest thing from a car-chase film you could ever imagine. I could never live in so desolate a country where reaching the next important city could mean driving 200 miles. The highway (without Massachusetts potholes) stretches on forever in the midst of nothing. An elderly man makes that journey in the hopes of finding his former dog Badface. There is sadness associated with this search and I can say no more.

Soothing, but nothing special. It made me feel good that there are such nice, simple people (even if it just a movie). Subtitles in English are available.

2008, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Independent, Not Feel Good

Frozen River (2008)

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From NetFlix:

On a Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border, Ray (Melissa Leo, in an Oscar-nominated role) teams with widowed tribe member Lila (Misty Upham) to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Although the work provides the women with much-needed money, each trip puts them in danger. How long will their luck hold before the authorities close in? Charlie McDermott co-stars in this drama nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature.

Talk about gritty! Ray has two boys and an irresponsible Mohawk husband who disappears to gamble (with sources such as a mortgage payment). Hers is a life of barely getting by. In fact life on the reservation isn’t any better for anyone else. Ray is a gutsy lady fighting to keep her 15-year-old in school when he really wants to get a job. The opening slow pan onto her worn, depressed expression tells you we are in for tough sledding: the 15-year-old tries to invent a scam to steal enough to pay for their rented TV, the kidnapping business might be a tad dangerous, and there’s more! Think of this film as engaging reality TV. If nothing else comes of your watching, at least be grateful for what you have.

For another review see the New York Times review.