A Queer Review of the Austin Film Festival (2023)
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.

An Argentinean born Spaniard, writer and journalist, whose parents were tortured and murdered during the Military Coup, returns to finish a novel about them, with the ambiguous determination to get even with their murderer, a former Sheriff who lives nearby in Patagonia. He and the Sheriff's daughter fall in love. He takes DNA samples of the Girl's family and realizes the truth; she is not their daughter, which means she might have been abducted from her murdered parents. He indirectly feeds her mistrust. The girl travels to Buenos Aires to investigate. She finds out the truth and faces her father, who avows never agreeing on saving those children. On her question, "Who am I?" he says she is a mistake and that she is alive thanks to his decision. It is her who ultimately solves the Writer's conflict in a tragical showdown with the Sheriff.
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
A Homosexual Cowboy is Still a Cowboy - At the center of 'Power of the Dog' is an intense bond between a cowboy and his young protege. Read more about Gay cowboys here!
A pampered dog who gets lost and has to learn to live on his own while being flexible with surroundings.
The height of subversive horror cinema is Jennifer’s Body. No, I will never budge on that. Yes, Cabin in The Woods is funny, Scream is very well made, and the Scary Movie franchise is …. there. But nothing is quite as satisfying as watching the teenage succubus that is Jennifer Check rip apart boys. In the post #metoo era where the industry is far from changed, watching revenge flicks like these is probably one of the most cathartic experiences due to the slow-moving progress being made.
Mean Girls not only centers around what goes on in high school, but also shows viewers and fans the diversity among people, especially teenagers, within today's society.
As this critic continues to look back at some of this Summer's films I have taken in, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of the most overall unsettling trends in Hollywood over the last several years.....sequels, reboots, and remakes. Look, I am all for seeing more than one film for certain originals that made a splash, ie: "Jurassic Park", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Transformers", etc.