MQFF REVIEW: Valencia: The Movie/s (2013, Various Directors)

Taking chapter length snatches from her punk-dyke memoir, "Valencia", Michelle Tea, together with producer/director Hillary Goldberg, farmed out the book to twenty of so of their closest film making friends to work their magic on. The result is Valencia: The Movie/S, a feature length collection of short films with a single narrative through-line, just with twenty or so different actors, actresses and objects playing Michelle, and a decidedly queer-punk aesthetic.

Valencia follows the string of Michelles through their hapless love lives, hookups, breakups and getting back togethers, through prostitution, porn, mushrooms and San Francisco gay pride. It's everything you'd expect from a radical, queer feminist manifesto made film. It's raw, irreverent and absolutely addictive.

It's patchy of course. You'd expect that of a film made by shitloads of different film makers (for the record: Peter Anthony, Sharon Barnes, Aubree Bernier-Clarke, Cary Cronenwett, Bug Davidson, Cheryl Dunye, Lares Feliciano, Dia Felix, Hilary Goldberg, Silas Howard, Alexa Inkeles, Jerry Lee, Olivia Parriott, Jill Soloway, Samuel Topiary, Courtney Trouble, Michelle Lawler, Sara St. Martin Lynne, Chris Vargas and Greg Youmans). Stylistically there are ups and downs. Actually there are way ups and way downs, but the chapters are brief so when there's a dog things don't take too long to pick up.

Aubree Bernier-Clarke's black and white opening chapter, which sees Michelle testing herself in the call-girl world, is a highlight and sets up the character's anarchic, slightly self-depricating approach to life. Other high points include Goldberg's animated 'shrooms trip and a late showing by Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder.

Valencia: The Movie/S does well to capture the essence of the time without feeling out of date. There's a fire to it that I'm sure many young queers will still connect with and connect with fiercely. It's fringe stuff but that's always been the way. Give it a spin.

★★★☆

Trailer:

Valencia: The Movie/s screened as part of the 2014 Melbourne Queer Film Festival.