Looking for Langston

Langston Hughes was one of the most respected poets in the annals of 20th-century American literature, though you'd never know it from Isaac Julien's pretentious and monotonous hodgepodge that mixes old movie footage and homoerotic posing. Hughes' homosexuality (which was not the key element of his writing) is the obsession here, with a Hughes-inspired figure (a man in a tuxedo who bears no physical resemblance to the poet) ogling hunky men in an atmospheric setting paralleling a 1920s Harlem speakeasy with a 1980s nightclub (the tuxedo-clad man is also seen walking on a beach, where he discovers a nude man and the pair later retire to a bedroom for horizontal activities). Vintage film clips of Harlem and scenes from all-black movies periodically interrupt the action (and Hughes himself turns up for a few seconds in a blurry kinescope of a 1950s TV appearance in which he reads a poem accompanied by a jazz band). In addition, a few snippets of Hughes' poetry are heard, but most of the writing recited on the soundtrack hails from James Baldwin, Essex Hemphill, Bruce Nugent, and Hilton Als (although none of these men are identified as the authors). DVD extras include an audio commentary by the director and cinematographer Nina Kellgren, and Julien's short film “The Attendant.” Fans of avant-garde, gay-themed fluff may be amused, but anyone seriously looking for Langston won't find him here. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)