Utne Reader Film Reviews: September-October 2008

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You Think You Really Know Me: The Gary Wilson Story
(Plexifilm; on DVD)
In 1977, Gary Wilson, a freakishly gifted lounge lizard with a penchant for horror flicks and John Cage, recorded You Think You Really Know Me in his parents’ basement. The New Yorker pressed 600 copies, disappeared to L.A., and became a fixation among record collectors and a faceless muse for genre-busters like Beck. Two indie-label idealists stumbled on the platter in 2001 and set out to find Wilson, which involved a private dick, a San Diego porn shop, and the weirdest home movies since Capturing the Friedmans. Director Michael Wolk revels in the freak show and then heads east with his subject for a whacked-out homecoming. Like the original recording (packaged with the DVD), it’s a trip that’s both hard to wrap your head around and impossible to shake. —David Schimke

The Exiles
(Milestone; in theaters)
Originally released in 1961, The Exiles follows a group of American Indians from dusk till dawn as they drink, drive, gamble, and fight their way through Los Angeles. Using interviews with people who play themselves in the film, director and producer Kent Mackenzie set out to depict the true stories of Indians in L.A., restless and unsatisfied, living in the decrepit Bunker Hill neighborhood. Mixing documentary and narrative, the low-budget production and its amateur actors—including some who were recruited on-scene during filming—lend the story a rough yet authentic quality. Rereleased with the help of author Sherman Alexie and filmmaker Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, 1977), the film provides a rare glimpse into the lives of 1950s urban Indians, exiled in their own country. —Bennett Gordon

XXY
(Film Movement; in theaters)
“You just jacked off,” 16-year-old Alex chides her friend, a slight smile flickering across her face. “I can tell.” XXY’s heroine, played by Inés Efron, is prone to such pronouncements, followed by an impish grin or a silent, searing look. And while her volatility would seem typical in other adolescents, from the moment she appears on the screen—wiry body hinting at the intersex condition her parents refused to “correct” at birth—you can’t look away. As Alex matures and struggles with desire, that always messy tangle of sex, gender, and sexuality becomes a minefield. There are no easy answers or Hollywood endings here, save for the quiet heroism exhibited by Alex’s father, who embodies the unconditional love and loyalty that every child deserves. —Lisa Gulya

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