Writer-director Marian Hill’s feature debut, a transgendered, trans-racial, trans-cultural romantic drama, was shot in the south of France using mostly New Orleans talent with roots in music. The easy stereotype would be to call the results “bluesy,” though Spanish guitar, Dixieland jazz, klezmer, and a variety of other world rhythms color the low-key piece, peopled by unfamiliar actors hitting their roles (and notes) nicely.
When she lived and performed in New Orleans, vocalist Berthe (Idella Johnson) maintained an idyll of having two lovers of either sex in her music ensemble – Fred (Lucien Guignard) and Lane (Hannah Pepper). But Lane abruptly departed sans explanation, and Fred and Berthe shocked everyone by getting married and relocating to Fred’s family villa in the French countryside (a true Year in Provence sensation here, for armchair tourists).
There, trumpeter Fred’s band is in ascension, but Berthe is feeling lost and less motivated to sing. Fred sees no issues in bringing Lane for a surprise visit to lift Berthe’s spirits. The reunion is uncomfortable, however, when Lane – who also seems adrift in life – gravitates to another female in Fred’s ongoing circle of Boho types, sinewy Israeli soldier-turned-painter Noa (Sivan Noam Shimon).
It’s a shruggy women!-can’t-live-em-can’t-live-without-em feature, with the twist that lesbian relationships count for that aphorism too. Much as Fred (who seems to get ladies of all types to do anything he wants) seems to be the shallowest character, with selfish motivations at heart (and his marriage looks more like a convenient living arrangement), he's also the only person in the script who knows exactly what he wants. And in the end, according to Hill’s denouement, his decisions make the right choices for everyone.
If the plotting seems tres casual and the closure a bit facile, the item (with dialogue largely in English, for subtitle-phobes) offers a sunny escape and some off-the-beaten-path vibes in LGBT cinema. Buyers worried about the sex scenes should know that they take place mostly in darkness but leave no question about what is going on; the effect is sensual more than erotic (there is a difference). And yet, there is a soupcon of female nudity.
Major disc extra is an audio-description track for low-vision patrons, someone we do not find often enough. Recommended for LGBTQ film collections.