It is easy, perhaps, to reduce ’90s indie rockers Pavement to a stereotype; with their flannel shirts, fuzzy guitars and cryptic lyrics, they more or less fit the remembered image of the “alternative” decade to a T. Yet Pavement were far weirder than just about any of their contemporaries in the alt-rock canon – especially in the early days, when their drummer was a flamboyant hippie burnout more than two decades older then his bandmates. That drummer, Gary Young, is the subject of the new documentary “Louder Than You Think,” which makes its local premiere this weekend at The Brattle Theatre. Young (who died shortly after the film’s completion) was a true eccentric, known for handing out vegetables to fans waiting in line for shows and doing onstage handstands when he probably should have been drumming. “Louder” features some priceless early Pavement footage, as well as new interviews with bandleaders Stephen Malkmus and Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg and several scenes dramatized by marionettes. But the heart of the film is Young himself, expounding on his brief flirtation with rock stardom from his home studio/lair. It’s a funny, occasionally harrowing portrait of a rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, and it’s guaranteed to get Young’s solo novelty single stuck in your head for weeks.
This week, the Camberville cinema scene sees a bounty of queer treasures. Throughout the month of November, the Harvard Film Archive welcomes back Jenni Olson – filmmaker, archivist and queer film historian – to present treasures from her own collection (itself housed within the HFA) as well as some of her own work. On Friday, Olson will present two archival programs: “We’re Here, We’re Queer,” containing treasures ranging from the rarely screened 1967 trans documentary “Queens at Heart” to footage of antigay activist Anita Bryant receiving a pie to the face in the middle of a press conference, while “Flaming Youth” collects vintage documentary and educational films portraying a wide range of perspectives on LGBTQ youth. Saturday brings a pair of underseen queer features: Paul Schneider’s “Something Special, AKA Willy Milly” (1986), a teen comedy in which a young Pamela Adlon spontaneously changes sex overnight, and Ann Turner’s “Dallas Doll” (1994), starring the great Sandra Bernhard. On Sunday and Monday, Olson will be on hand to discuss two of her own films, “The Joy of Life” (2005) and “The Royal Road” (2015), as well as “Afro Promo” a collection of clips compiled with Karl Knapper documenting the history of African American cinema. In an age of algorithmically generated “recommendations,” the work of human curators has never been more important, and Olson is one of the best.
Of course, discussion of local queer cinema would not be complete without the beloved Wicked Queer festival, which returns this weekend with a sidebar program dedicated exclusively to documentaries. In addition to selections screening across the river at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art (see the website for full details), the festival will touch down at The Brattle from Saturday through Monday with half a dozen features (plus a program of shorts, “Queer in This Together,” which screens Sunday). Highlights include profiles of two very different musicians, “Teaches of Peaches,” about the eponymous cult 2000s-era electroclash artist, and “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” about the legendary ’70s folk-rocker. Other features tell of queer lives the world over, from the legendary gay stronghold of Fire Island (“A House Is Not a Disco”) to the ’90s L.A. punk scene (“The Life of Sean DeLear”). There’s even an archival screening of “Pumping Iron II: The Women” (1985), which pairs perfectly with this year’s instant classic “Love Lies Bleeding.” For full schedule and ticket info, visit The Brattle’s website.
Not to be outdone, the Somerville Theatre will showcase an intriguing new release that shines a light on Boston’s own queer history. Screening on Monday and Tuesday, Georden West’s “Playland” (2023) takes place across what is described as “a time-bending night” at the Playland Cafe, one of Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bars. Playland was a very real place – it operated on Essex Street in the Combat Zone from 1937 to 1998 – but “Playland” promises to be no straightforward history, blending narrative scenes, archival documentary footage, musical numbers, performance art and more. It also features its share of luminaries, including Danielle Cooper (from TV’s “Pose”) and legendary drag queen Lady Bunny. No two articles I’ve read seem to fully agree on what “Playland,” as a film, is exactly – which leads me to believe it is not to be missed.
Though perhaps not as loudly heralded as its equivalents in, say, France or Japan, the Czech New Wave movement of the 1960s remains beloved by cinephiles for its anarchic, often humorous sensibility. As usual, focus on this scene is placed generally upon the directors (perhaps most famously future Oscar winner Miloš Forman), but the films themselves were often the result of close collaboration, and some important names are occasionally overlooked. The Brattle hopes to rectify this next week with the short series “Ester Krumbachová: Secret Weapon of the Czech New Wave.” The polymathic Krumbachová was known primarily as a costume designer, but was also a screenwriter, production designer and more. The centerpiece of the program is a new 4k restoration of Krumbachová’s sole feature as a director, “Murdering the Devil” (1970), an off-kilter comedy in which a 40-something bachelorette goes on a date with a childhood friend who, she suspects, may actually be Satan himself. It screens all three nights. The series serves as something of a crash course in the Czech New Wave’s greatest hits; Krumbachová also wrote and worked behind the scenes on Věra Chytilová’s feminist slapstick classic “Daisies” (1966), which screens Tuesday and Wednesday, and Jaromil Jireš’ magical realist coming-of-age fantasy “Valerie and Her Week of Wonders” (1970), which screens Wednesday and Thursday. Rounding out the series is Jan Němec’s “A Report on the Party and the Guests” (1966), screening Tuesday and Thursday, a blisteringly satirical fable that was banned in its home country immediately upon its release. It’s an ideal introduction to one of film history’s most vital moments, and a long-overdue tribute to a truly remarkable talent.
Oscar Goff is a writer and film critic based in Somerville. He is film editor and senior critic for the Boston Hassle and his work has appeared in the monthly Boston Compass newspaper and publications such as WBUR’s The ARTery and iHeartNoise. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.