Spicy!
Time to look at some more queer films set to screen at the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival which runs May 17 to June 10…and, now is the time to take a look examples from one of my favorite genres: Zexy South American Skin Flicks!
YAY!
And, to be fair, sometimes the “ZSASF” is dramatic, and sometimes funny, and sometimes just raunchy…occasionally they manage all THREE! This year, SIFF has a couple different entries in the latin zexflick sweepstakes. One is smoking lust triangle, and the other a ribald comedy/spoof.
The lusty triangle flick is “The Sex of the Angels” from Spanish director Xavier Villaverde and technically it’s a Spanish film, but it seems to have a connection to Brazil, so we’re counting it as a “ZSASF” since Spain colonized a good chunk of the South America. Here’s the synopsis via the SIFF website:
Struggling martial artist and dancer Bruno (Llorenc Gonzalez) loves his girlfriend Carla (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), but when he meets fellow dancer Rai (Alvaro Cervantes), serious sparks begin to fly, opening the couple up to new possibilities. A new generation navigates sexual fluidity, torn affections, and open relationships in this steamy love triangle. Xavier Villaverde’s latest film is all about bodies: in motion, entwined, heaving with laughter or sadness. His attractive young cast enacts an ever more socially acceptable post-millennial scenario—that of the ménage a trois. But as in real life, taking romantic risks in any type of partnership inevitably leads to growing pains. Once Bruno’s clandestine encounters with Rai are revealed, a confused and hurt Carla kicks him out. But she simply doesn’t want to give up on her love. Eventually she agrees that Bruno can date them both—as long as he keeps his life with Rai relatively separate.
OK, we haven’t seen this film, but judging by the trailer and the production photos and the MUY CALIENTE cast, we’re sort of sold on it for purely prurient reasons. Yes, we’re shallow when it comes to films about Spanish speaking “struggling martial artist/dancers” and their tendency to remove their clothing and have hot sex with other struggling martial artist/dancers. PLUS, there’s BREAK DANCING!!!
“The Sex of the Angels” has two SIFF screenings: Saturday, May 18th at 9:15pm at The Egyptian, and Tuesday, June 5th at 8:30pm at the Kirkland Performance Center. Get tickets HERE!
The other zexy South American film definitely has strong credentials: the Brazilian “Prime Time Soap” is a kitschy, spoofy, sex comedy/drama featuring plenty of nubile actors in a plot that deliberately apes a soapy telenovela.
With a lively pace and stylish nods to 1970s Brazilian telenovelas, writer-director Odilon Rocha’s feature debut offers a surprisingly charming look at a dark period in that nation’s history. In 1978, Brazil’s military dictatorship still has a stranglehold on the government, but the nation’s citizens are enthralled by the hot new telenovela Dancing Days. Amanda, a high-class call girl, struggles to schedule her appointments around the soap opera, occasionally enlisting the help of her maid, Dora, to ensure she catches each episode. But when a politically connected client unexpectedly dies in their apartment, the two are forced to go on the lam and hide out in Rio de Janeiro. Amanda’s thrilled by the chance to go to the real Dancing Days discotheque, but returning to Rio will force Dora to come to terms with the secret life that she had left behind. With a spirited cast led by Claudia Ohana’s moving portrayal of Dora, Rocha manages to balance kitsch comedy, police corruption, and a sweet coming-of-age story to create a charming tale about how our lives must go on, even during the most troubling times.
It sounds deliciously Almodovarian with a disco slant! (But, have to admit, it doesn’t look like it’s super gay…we’re guessing that the queer content is a subplot.) Check out the trailer and judge for yourself:
“Prime Time Soap” has two screenings, both at Harvard Exit…Monday, June 4th at 6:30pm and Tuesday, June 5th at 4pm which seems rather early for a zexy spoof…maybe it’s not that zexy? Get your tickets HERE!
