Stolen Moments

Narrated by actress Kate Nelligan (Eye of the Needle), this beautifully filmed National Film Board of Canada production travels back in time to offer informative verbal and visual snapshots of "stolen moments" in lesbian life: from the surviving fragments of the Greek lesbian poet Sappho's work to the stories of women who "passed" for men in 18th century Europe, from the freedom of Paris in the '20s (also chronicled in Paris Was a Woman, see Video Librarian Online, "1998 Reviews") and pre-Nazi Berlin, to contemporary recollections of the often vicious bar raids of the '50s and '60s (interviewee Joan Nestle admits "I never trust policemen...and I never will.") Director Margaret Wescott's sweeping historical testament--filmed in Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands, France and Germany--took nearly a decade to complete and includes period dramatic recreations, luminous stories, and compelling interviews with Leslie Feinberg, Nicole Brossard, Judy Grahn the late Audre Lorde, and others. For reasons known only to the filmmaker, towards the end of Stolen Moments we hear, among others, the late Audre Lorde eloquently speaking about the importance of self-knowledge and...bam...a minute later we're watching an oral sex scene between two lovers on a boat ride to Fire Island. Not so much objectionable for its content as its pointlessness, the clip is totally out of tone with the rest of the film. Still, aside from one wrongheaded choice, Stolen Moments is well worth the watch. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)