By Roger Costa
TOM OF FINLAND
Finland’s 2018 Oscar submission is a comprehensive and expansive biopic on the iconic and controversial Finnish artist, the creator of the “leather” gay man life style. Award-winning Director Dome Karukoski develops the story with sensibility and accuracy on the polemic issues depicted such as homophobia, prejudice and violence against gays, and later the early years of the HIV contagion. After serving in the war, where he maintained secret meetings with other men, Touko returns home dealing with personal traumas and insecurities. His sister insists he should go out and have fun, and he finds more than that as he starts an all-male motorcycle club, gathering men of all ages in private parties. He’s a very talented artist whose erotic and explicit drawings of men become notorious among the selective community and overseas, gaining success and a respected reputation in America where his works are commercialized. When a young, ambiguous dancer arrives as his sister’s guest, Touko, aka Tom, finds himself taken by the boy’s angelical looks. Beautifully crafted and complex, as well as vigorously erotic, Karukoski conceived a coherent, affectionate tale of lust and love with marvelous performances from the entire cast, though the show belongs completely to Pekka Strang as Tom, whose strength, persistence and scandalous practices build up a memorable character. Karukoski firmly examines Tom’s relationships with his sister, his lover, an old friend he met at war, and the conflicts with authorities and business deals, proving to be a progressive filmmaker. Within less than 2 hours he’s able to manage details of Tom’s life and creative process, expanding different times and the reactions around him. The splendid cinematography is also another big contributor to the film’s success with breathtaking natural landscape images, as well as hot, effervescent shots of hunky men. (A Kino Lorber Release. Opens Friday, October 13th at Quad Cinema, NYC.)
PARADISE
Through a mysterious questioning session taking place in an unknown circumstance, three people open up their feelings of love, hate and fear in this ultimate portrait of the Holocaust. The enigma is revealed in a singular final shot when the pieces are put together of a love triangle involving a beautiful Russian lady who’s a Resistance member caught up hiding Jewish children, a French-Nazi collaborator who investigates her case, and a German officer who is madly in love with the Russian prisoner. Shot in sublime B&W the film goes back and forth in time, balancing between the first meetings, the investigation, and the brutal depiction of the horrors in the concentration camp. Embodied with perfection by its three main actors and Winner of the Silver Lion Award for Best Director at Venice Film Festival, Andrey Konchalovskiy’s elegant and intense war drama is a visually arresting, heartfelt and humanitarian canvas of one of history’s most horrific archives. (A Film Movement Release. Now Playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, NYC. Opens Friday October 13th at Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington, NY, followed by other cities.)
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