With
Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin making it onto DVD, I've been revisiting the filmmaker that was dubbed a leading voice in '90's New Queer Cinema.
My first Araki experience was sitting all by my lonesome at the
Quad Cinemas watching
Totally Fucked Up - a movie I was seeing just because
James Duval was totally hot. Needless to say I was a fan from shot one and after his 1997 film
Nowhere I became a rabid Araki fanatic. Beyond his ability to create fantastic worlds on shoestring budgets, the polymorphous sexuality of his characters, his subversion of traditional mores/genres/expectations, and casting magic that should put Big Hollywood starfuckers to shame, his films consistently kick ass!
As I've been re-experiencing his work, though, I have to say: it really puts the current crop of queer filmmakers to shame. Araki's knowledge of film history and the ambition he shows in his work (in terms of both subject matter and technique) far surpass any directors producing narrative queer cinema. What kind of kick in the pants do these people need?
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