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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February 21, 2003

eveningsout

Where are my reading glasses?

Three true stories now on DVD make it a joy to read subtitles

by Anthony Glassman

Foreign films can be fun. Admittedly, it requires taking a more active role, especially viewing a subtitled film. The words at the bottom of the screen must be read quickly, in time to digest them before they disappear and fast enough to also see what is happening in the film.

This is a necessary evil since not all stories are told in English, as three current DVD releases based on true stories illustrate.

First, from TLA Releasing, is Rosa von Praunheim's The Einstein of Sex, a docudrama dealing with the career of famed sex pioneer and gay civil rights activist Magnus Hirschfeld.

Hirschfeld was a gay Jewish doctor in Berlin, and his career spanned the decades from the end of the 19th century to Hitler's rise to power. Hirschfeld established the Institute of Sexual Science, the first institution to study homosexuality as a simple condition of existence and not as a sickness, to treat social stigma more than trying to cure the "ailment" itself. He toured Europe and America, keeping his own sexual orientation more or less a secret, until the day the Nazis ransacked his institute and took it over while he was away on tour.

The movie was shot on video by Praunheim, the John Waters of Germany and a strident crusader for gay rights. Praunheim is perhaps the most prolific openly gay director in the world, having directed over 50 films and television shows since 1968. Kai Schuhmann and Friedel von Wangenheim as the younger and older Hirschfelds make for an interesting study in

the effects of time on a man. While the two bear little physical resemblance, it is easy to see the similarity of the souls inside.

The Einstein of Sex illustrates quite wonderfully an early chapter in the history of the gay rights movement, over seven decades before the "official" start with the riots around the Stonewall.

Next up is Plata Quemada (Burnt Money), Marcelo Piñeyro's tale of crime and passion set in the Argentina of 1965.

When a gangster hires help for a robbery, two of the men he picks are "the Twins," Angel and El Nene. Always together, the duo are willing to lay down their lives for each other. When things go wrong with the robbery, however, their relationship hits a rockier road than it might be capable of surviving.

They escape to Uruguay with their bosses and the getaway driver, but the police are hot on their trail, and Nene's exploration of heterosexuality doesn't help matters much in this film best described as the Argentinian Dog Day Afternoon.

Last is a film that could have been horrible, but is actually a delight. Iron Ladies is also based on a true story, proving once and for all that truth is stranger than fiction.

Jung and Mon want to play volleyball in their native Thailand, but they find that nobody wants them on their teams because they're not only gay, they're drag queens. When their district's team gets a new, lesbian head coach, she wants to start from scratch and gives them a chance. Unfortunately, the rest of the team quits, leaving the two queens, their coach and the team captain to fill the vacancies with Jung and Mon's motley crew

of friends. The Iron Ladies eventually win the national championships.

Not only is the story true, but the film is the most popular in the history of Thailand. It actually deserves the hackneyed title of "Feel Good Film of the Year."

It's a great movie, both fun and funny. It really is a feel-good smash hit. It's all that and a Lipton Cup-of-Soup. Even the closing shots of the real people the film is based upon are perfectly placed, making the reality of the unbelievable events sink in just that little bit more.

Plata Quemada

Of course, in the age of the DVD, with multiple audio tracks, one might simply switch the audio to English and watch the dubbed version of the film.

But the dubbed dialogue never has the right inflections and often has completely incongruous voices attached to people, like 15-year-old girls who sound like Kathleen Turner or hit men with voices reminiscent of Nathan Lane. Put forth the extra effort and watch the subtitled version. You just might learn something.

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Human Rights Campaign

Committed to Diversity

SAVE THIS DATE:

Saturday, May 17, 2003 at 6:00 p.m.

10th Annual HRC Cleveland Dinner and Dance "Building Equality, Building Family"

Honoring this Year's Equality Award Recipient: Bellefaire JCB

Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Grand Ballroom Adults... $165.00 $165.00 Full-time Students ... $75.00

Individual tickets available through www.boxofficetickets.com

or Captain a table by leaving a message on our hotline: 800 / 494-8497.