Melanie Nathan, May 23, 2011
The creative team behind Skoonheid comprises of a collection of young talents who  has showcased to the world the wealth of new creative energy in South African cinema. 28 year old Jamie Ramsay, is only the second South African Director of Photography to have their work showcased in the Official Selection in Cannes. 33-year-old South African co -producer Dylan Voogt, 27-year-old film composer, Ben Ludik, and 25 year old, actor, Charlie Keegan all made their debut on the Croisette with Skoonheid; and guess what? They Won. Whoa South African Moffies and where were the Letties!?  ‘Skoonheid’ was awarded the Queer Palm at Cannes 64th Film  Festival!

Okay clearly I have yet to se ethe move – but can enjoy a queer boast of my birth place.   The word “Skoonheid” is Afrikaans for “Beauty” – and knowing my ou pals from SA I bet “dit was baie skoon”- hahah  (means in english -very clean!)

The  South African movie is about a married man who is attracted to other men. Okay meisie! nou wat nog?

A closeted married man is hotting it  for his yummy nephew, in what Hollywood reporter describes as ” a plodding South African drama that feels like a short film stretched into a feature, and fails to find its rhythm despite a decent lead turn from Deon Lotz.”

Basically a one-idea, one-plot-point movie that tries to provide grandeur via ineffective widescreen cinematography, writer-director Oliver Hermanus’ slim exploration of repressed desire and sexual angst will be of most interest to LGBT fests and distributors.

Hollywood reporter has it right – we the queers shall be as hot and as heavy for this one simply because of this win?  Nope! Because we lack bro we lack we lack and queer film is slack.  The key to the LGBTI audience is to allow the queer to be queer forever! Yes allow us Forever! Let us have a happy ending please – we strive for the “…and so they lived happliy ever after….” P LU EEZE!

“The title, which means “beauty” in Afrikaans (Skoonheid is the first film partially shot in that language to play Cannes’ Official Selection), is perhaps meant to sum up the way unhappily married timber supplier, Francois (Lotz), views other men, and especially his sometime model/actor nephew, Christian (Charlie Keegan). From the opening scene, in which Francois spends his daughter’s wedding staring hungrily across the room at Christian, there’s no doubt what’s on his mind, and his sexual preference is soon confirmed during a rather unattractive orgy sequence set in a grim country farmhouse.”  okay I am done… read more here and then google the rest of it okay? http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/skoonheid-cannes-2011-review-189060

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
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