DON'T FENCE ME IN: QUEER COUNTRY

FeatureIN-CINEMA

Labrador - Autopsy of Silence is a gripping crime thriller that slowly dissects power dynamics during a murder trial. With dialogue in French, English, and Inuktitut, the story centers on the perspective of Alupa (played by Christopher Angatookalook), a gentle, Inuk mechanic on a cargo ship and friend of the murder victim. It’s close quarters on the Basse-Côte-Nord, particularly for three cargo ship crew members who become emotionally entangled. It might be a love triangle, but one can’t be too sure as new details and discoveries constantly emerge, changing the plot in a craftful manipulation of time and circumstance. When an abuse of power comes into play, things go too far, and in the aftermath, the truth is sought. Much like Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2, but with a flip of the switch on identity politics, ethics and fear team up to silence Alupa, a man torn between a system of (in)justice, and a life of peaceful self-denial. Beautiful visuals along the chilling Arctic complement masterful storytelling and nuanced subtext to make for a slow-burning and captivating film that isn’t to be missed.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

Superstar director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, I+N24) adapts Colm Tóibín’s beloved, 1950s-set novella about a savage snowstorm that strikes a dead-end mountain town, a troubled mother who goes missing, and a son dedicated to her retrieval. This seemingly unchangeable saviour fathoming that not even tragedy can stop one’s evolving desires. When the investigation cools on the disappearance of his mother (Caitríona Balfe), Mike (The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger) must supersede his aggrieved father (Marvel stalwart Ebon Moss-Bachrach in a heartrending performance). Can her departure be chalked up to alcoholic cravings? A death wish? An escape? And has she somehow withstood the ravages of winter or, come spring, will she emerge from beneath the snow? A blizzard of questions consumes Mike until the arrival of an industrious stranger (Reservation Dogs’ D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) cuts through the white noise. The talented leads are joined by a stacked cast that includes Heartstopper’s Kit Connor and The Hobbit himself Martin Freeman. Shot in the Canadian Rockies, the film has the sublime, towering splendour of Albert Bierstadt’s Romantic landscapes. The grandeur humanized by Haigh’s ability to wring subtleties from every gesture in this ever-shifting character study.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

A stunning film set in the Canadian wilderness by award-winning director Gloria Mercer. Thrill-seeking in every sense, and especially bold in its critique of patriarchy out in the wild, A Safe Distance examines the idea of what survival can mean, putting a refreshingly feminist twist on a lovers-on-the-run tale. Yellowjackets fans, get ready, this one’s for you. There is no place for fragility in this film-viewing since gore and guile mark the characters’ journey as they stray far from their comfort zones, sometimes intentionally, and other times, by chance. When a marriage proposal goes awry, an abandoned woman named Alex finds herself in the company of two intriguing strangers whose rejection of societal norms draw her in and away from the mundane reality of her own life. One psychedelically-induced night of mayhem later, Alex has uprooted her entire system of values, and on levels that she never imagined possible. Fluid and kinetic, with the use of long-lens photography and zoom lenses, A Safe Distance is a rare cinematic sight to behold.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

Christine, Alexander, and Stéphane are a polyamorous, bisexual throuple who live in downtown Toronto. Before long, their unconventional relationship with its ever-shifting dynamics, is threatened by the heteronormative foils of marriage and pregnancy. Can the three of them stand stronger than two would be able to? Glenn Wood presents a film that looks at alternative relationships in a novel way. I Come Home is tender and fearless in its portrayal of the fragility of human relationships, with support, loyalty, and communication—all required three-fold for this queer polyamorous couple—working hard to outweigh the judgementalness of conventional society. An invitation to Christine’s sister’s wedding, in her small hometown nearby, then puts the three to the ultimate test as they navigate an environment that (barely) tolerates their lifestyle. Questions of parenthood and accountability also come into play alongside the cold shoulder treatment that eventually erupts into outbursts of long-held resentments. In the aftermath, and all throughout the film, bird’s-eye view angles capture quiet moments of ‘coming home’ to oneself, and to one another in the enduring acts of choosing, trusting, and showing up.

FeatureIN-CINEMA

Lunar Sway is a queer, coming of age, dark comedy that is equally as funny as it is unsettling. Bizarre and atmospheric, Nick Butler’s film follows Cliff, a lonely and eccentric neon-sign maker as he navigates the confusing and corrupt world around him, in a search for meaning, identity, and purpose. In this meandering misadventure, the routine of Cliff’s small, desert town life is disrupted one day when a woman approaches him and reveals that she is his estranged birth mother. One thing leads to another and he’s brought to question the validity of her claim, but the possibility of truth remains too sweet to question things. Ultimately, Cliff has to decide if he will hang onto his moral compass while treading unknown territory despite the temptation to let go and lighten the load among the revolving door of deceptive company among which he continues to find himself. Quirky, offbeat, and cinematically stunning, with wide desert frame shots, Lunar Sway is sure to pull you into its orbit and convince you to stick around.