MEDITERRANEA EXPLAINS WHAT AFRICANS MUST ENDURE TO CROSS TO ITALY
Directed by Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea begins in Burkina Faso. Several men have decided to go to Europe for economic reasons. The focus is on Ayiva (played by Koudous Seihon) and his son Abas (Alassane Sy), who have paid for passage but do not know what curve balls will be thrown at them. First they must get a ride to Algeria, endure a heist midway on the trip to Libya (though the actual filming is in Morocco). When they reach the shore, a motorboat is provided but without a driver. A storm hits, capsizing the boat, and they are rescued by an Italian coast guard vessel. They look up Ayiva’s uncle Ousman (Ousman Yabre) in Rosarno, Italy, who shows them temporary shelter, and they have to look for a job to survive. They are soon picking oranges, and Ayiva unloads them into a packing machine. Their employer, Rocco (Davide Schipilliti), has much sympathy for their plight because his grandfather related a similar experience in migrating to America. When the crop is fully picked, townspeople want them out, so they are evicted from their shelter, and two are even killed. The Africans riot, and they end up in jail awhile. By this time Ayiva is homesick, but that is not the end of the story. Only entertainment cheers up the Africans. The film is based on a true story, including the riots of 2010 when about a thousand were evacuated from the town, located in the boot of Italy, so the Political Film Society has nominated Mediterranea as best film exposé of 2015. MH
THE DANISH GIRL FEATURES THE T IN GLBT
Based on a true story, The Danish Girl traces the experience of Einar Wegener (played by Eddie Redmayne), who is portrayed at the beginning of the film as the husband of Gerde Wegener (Alicia Vikander), both artists in Copenhagen during 1926. While he is obviously not a top notch artist, she is a portrait painter with extraordinary talent. She explains that she fell in love with Einar at art school because he seemed so shy and cuddly. After five years of childless marriage, she is beginning to score big in the art world. He is fascinated not only with her artistic ability but also with her beauty. Once upon a time in the past, a boy kissed him while he wore an apron in the kitchen, but now he is posing as a woman for her, putting on women’s clothes for excitement. One day as a joke, Gerde helps Einar dress as Lili to attend a party together. While there, two men are fascinated with Lili, who in turn is embarrassed by and puts off their advances but secretly wants to have an affairs with one of them. In the next part of the film, Einar increasingly becomes Lili, and both are emotionally drained. Gerde summons Hans Axgil (Matthias Schoenaerts), the one who kissed Einar as a boy, but he is understanding more than helpful. The idea of seeing a physician emerges, but the first one applies radiation to male sexual organs to no avail, believing Einar to be mentally ill. When Lili has an opportunity to exhibit and sell her artwork in Paris, they move but still have to deal with the fact that Einar now believes that his gender is female inside if male outside. On one occasion, two local toughs beat up Einar because he appears to be an effeminate gay. Encouraged to see more physicians, Einar on one occasion sneaks away as a straightjacket is coming down the hall for him. Finally, a physician is found who can remove the male sex organs in one operation and construct a vagina in a second operation. After the first operation, Lili keeps a dairy which becomes the book Man into Women (1933), though the film is based on the novel The Danish Girl (2000) by David Ebershoff. Directed by Tom Hooper, the film ends shortly after the second operation. The Political Film Society has nominated The Danish Girl as best film exposé for showing how the transition proceeded and best film on human rights for depicting how mistaken views plague the transgendered. MH