FILM SHOWCASE

Opening February 18 -24, 2011 at NY's Quad Cinema

In retrospective "Unrated: A Week Of Sex in the Cinema, Philippe Diaz and distributor Cinema Libre Studio have curated a retrospective of six notable films that explore the edgier side of relationships.  Designed to foster a broader dialogue with filmgoers, the showcase allows New York audiences the chance to revisit six popular and controversial films that push buttons and boundaries for their frank and explicit portrayals of sex in cinema.  

The list of selections to be showcased are; 9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom), AntiChrist (Lars von Trier), Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix), The Price of Pleasure (Chyng & Miguel Picker), This Film Is Not Yet Rated  (Kirby Dick), Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell), and premiering Now & Later (Philippe Diaz).

Now & Later

Directed by: Philippe Diaz

Running time: 99 min.

Genre: Drama, Crime, Politics, and Romance

Distributor: Cinema Libre Studio

MPAA Rating: Unrated: Explicit sexuality

Incorporating sensuality into a film doesn't have to be rose pedals and  bubble baths.  Neither does it have to be a variety of sexual acts with different degrees of explicitness.

Now & Later, focuses on sex, politics and American culture mixed into a combustible combination of all the above.  Shari Solanis shines in her powerful performance as Angela, a beautiful free spirited Latina immigrant women.  She has a keen sense of political justice and a belief in the pursuit of immediate pleasure as an essential human right.  However, the protagonist of the film is Bill (James Wortham), a disgraced banker who has jumped bail.  Bill, a former golden boy of the banking industry has been charge with the crimes of fraud in the buying and selling of millions of dollars concerning the debt of emerging countries.  Now, a fugitive from a prison term and on the verge of suicide, he's shelter by the free spirited Angela.  Over the course of their few days together, their soul searching conversations lead to a passionate relationship as Angela tears down Bill's starchy persona and rebuilds the foundations of his life.

The film was conceived by the director Diaz in reaction to America's penchant for violence in our culture and our puritanical censoring of anything involving sex.  Familiar with philosopher Wilhelm Reich's notion that a sexually repressed society turns into a violent one, Diaz makes an unabashedly sexual yet cerebral film that challenges the perception that sex in media is harmful.

I found this film fascinating, especially with the question of what makes a film seem erotic rather than sexy.  For contrary to what people claim about men, it is not simply the sight of an attractive naked female that is particularly arousing.  And generally, women seem not to be aroused just by the sight of a naked male.  Just capturing images of people in various sex acts or positions is not to create works that are either artistic or erotic.

This movie is important, as well as, creative and entertaining in the form of erotic cinema.  Visually, it reflects three different intentions:  causing sexual arousal; portraying and capturing an element of sexuality and sensuousness; and expresses the art of seduction. 

Now & Later's plot and character development is stimulating and riverting ranging from the sublime to more blatent sexuality.  Everything is tastefully performed by the two main characters, who are well chosen, in this natural setting with a backdrop of politics as the controversial foundation of the story.  I highly recommend this as a must see film for mature audiences.

FILM RATING (B+)