Day three and five movies later...

The 21st annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival is now into its third day and we've already taken in five movies. By the end of the ten days we plan to see a total of 16 films. As with previous years our eyes can be larger than our stomachs but with so many great movies we will do our best.

Be sure to check out our complete guide to this year's Vancouver Queer Film Festival online and watch for more of our movie impressions in coming days.

Since we're not doing full-blown reviews this year of the movies we see, we thought we would take some of blog space to talk about some of the films in a more informal way.

I Can't Think Straight

A lesbian love story between Tala, a Jordanian "runaway bride" and Leyla the good Indian girl, there were few surprises in this second film from novelist Shamim Sarif (last seen at the Vancouver Queer Film Fest last year with her film The World Unseen). But despite the not unforseen conclusion, the central cross-cultural theme was fascinating to watch as we had a glimpse of the racist and homophobic attitudes from a part of the world we usually don't get to see. 3 out 5.

Soundless Wind Chime

There is very little dialogue here in this China/Switzerland co-production as Pascal and Ricky hook up in Hong Kong but this lack of dialogue does underscore this doomed relationship; afterall, without being able to communicate can two people really make a go of it? The flashback sequences were a bit confusing although overall it was beautifully shot. 2.5 out of 5.

Ciao

Mark meets Andrea online and plans to visit him from Italy, but before he is scheduled to visit, Mark dies. Mark's best friend Jeff comes across the email correspondence between the two and invites Andrea to come anyway. Think of this as what it must be like to be on the most boring date you can imagine. Now multiply it by ten. This one was slow, uninteresting and even when Jeff and Andrea finally get it on, it just felt empty. We did like Jeff's step-sister though! 2 out of 5.

Strachey: On the Other Hand, Death

The first of the "double dick movie night" these Strachey films are simple escapism with a queer bent. You gotta love Margot Kidder (!!!) as the lesbian school counsellor and local actor Nelson Wong is quite funny as Strachey's (Chad Allen) side-kick. Much like an Agatha Christie novel the tying of all the loose ends felt a little forced but for pure fun (with a queer sensibility) Strachey is just the thing. Besides, what's not to like about a movie that has Margot Kidder's character say "35 years playing lesbian softball finally paid off" as she whacks the bad guy with a bat. 4 out of 5.

Strachey Returns: Ice Blues

Interestingly director Ron Oliver (who was in attendance with others from the cast and crew of the two movies) liked this Strachey movie the best. My money is actually on the first of the two although I will admit the production was a little slicker and I didn't see the two others in the series (yes, there are four of these movies). Nelson Wong was back again and we see a great future ahead for him! 3 out of 5.