Customer Reviews

Urbania [VHS]

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I really dont care that 'You can count on me' was voted the Best Picture at Sundance in 2000. That honor, to me at least, was most deserved by Jon Shear's 'Urbania', and though it never won, it at least whipped up an audience and stirred commentary from various quarters, and any film that can do that is truly revolutionary.

To say that 'Urbania' is gay-friendly would be naive. While this is predominantly a movie that deals with homophobia and the universal issue of acceptance and lack of, it becomes some sort of poster-boy for the neccessity of tolerance in our lives. It also goes on to show us that the greatest films are the ones least talked about. After I saw this movie, I was amazed at just how little attention it had received. Perhaps people aren't ready for such in-your-face storytelling. But I was, and have benefitted immensely in my personal life, from the lessons this film teaches us. 'Urbania' is one long lesson in enlightenment.

The story is fairly simple. It starts off with our hero, as a sad wandering twenty-something searching for his special someone on the streets of New York, the city of the Urban Legend. Jon Shear goes on to show us that NYC really is the home of the tragic folk tale come true, and then proceeds to introduce us to the fact that the hero is gay. This comes not so much as a surprise as a casual unfolding of the story and fits in very nicely. However, the object of his obsession at the moment appears to be a straight man that most people would keep away from. Why the main character follows this man forms the rest of the tale, and I can't really give away more without revealing the ending and the mysteries between.

Lets just say that this is a film with a shock at every turn. And not just for effect either. It has heart, and Charlie Futterman as our hero is anything but. I haven't seen such a powerful performance in ages. But the real star of the film is the director and his message. Jon Shear has the most interesting film-making style. I could compare him to Lars Von Trier, but Shear is more choppy and unrestrained in the use of the camera. He does have a lot of heart, though, and this shows, both in the intelligent script and in the amazing performances he extracts from his lead cast, including a spellbinding one from Matthew Keeslar.

I have no idea where 'Urbania' will figure in the history of gay and lesbian cinema. But I can say that there has been no other film that has dealt with homophobia and bashing in such intelligent tones. This is not an easy work of cinema, but it must be seen. Its a pity that many audiences missed out on it when it was first released in theatres around the United States. I would therefore highly recommend the purchase of this item on DVD.

And spread the word.

My first encounter with this movie was on the Independent Film Channel at 12 in the morning. I had no idea what it was about, who was in it -- nothing. 2 hours later, I was curled up in a ball crying my eyes out with feelings of intense sadness for the character(s) in Urbania. This movie has proved to me that film has the capability of changing one's perception of life.

Without going into further detail about why I was crying (that would ruin the movie, yes?) , I will say that this film revolves around the gay main character Charlie (Dan Futterman, in a wonderfully believable performance) and his search for inner peace after a horrific experience leaves him lonely and traumatized. The key to begin healing, Charlie believes, is finding the man "that will make it all better". This man, Dean, played by Samuel Ball, is a rugged, handsome, heterosexual male. Dean has a snake/heart tattoo and smokes his cigarettes with seductive ease.

The big question is:

"What would Charlie, a depressed young gay male, want with a character like Dean?"

That question gets answered in the final minutes of the movie, when everything is out in the open and HARSH reality sets in.

This movie is set in the dark shadows of New York City -- entirely at night, which gives the movie a creepier feel than it would have had it been set in complete daylight.

There are scenes in which urban legends are present -- in fact, this movie is encircled by a web of them -- the one night stand with AIDS, the woman who microwaved her dog in an effort to dry it.. they're all here. Their presence really has no point to the movie whatsoever, other than to show that sometimes even the most horrific urban legends are not nearly as terrible as real life can be.

Matt Keeslar plays a beautiful role as Charlie's boyfriend, who is only seen in the movie through Charlie's flashbacks. I can honestly say that I feel Chris is a sweet soul, and his relationship with Charlie is one of the kindest and most loving I have ever seen on film, rivaling even the greatest and most convincing heterosexual relationships.

Another actor in the movie worth mentioning is, the one and only Alan Cumming, who delivers a great performace once again (I can't tell you how much I love this guy -- ehh, but that's beside the point) Alan Cumming plays Charlie's AIDS stricken-friend Brett whom Charlie visits during his evening escapades.

The plot of the movie is not dependent on the sexuality of its caracters completely -- this film, in fact, DESTROYS all myths that gay men are all about casual sex, drugs, and clubs (as seen in Party Monster and Queer as Folk). It also DESTROYS all myths that gay men are superficial, blatantly feminine, and stupid (as seen in The Birdcage). URBANIA focuses on true love between two people, and the loss that comes with it, and the overwhelming feeling to have revenge -- feelings that are universal and not dependent on sexuality.

Urbania made my blood boil at the end. I was confronted with feelings of surprise, hate, sadness, anger, and awe. I would like to state up front that this movie HAS SCENES OF GRAPHIC, REAL, HATE-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE that, after viewing flashbacks and getting to know the characters, some may not be able to tolerate. I have watched this movie twice, and, upon the second viewing, I had to leave the room when the ending approached. Granted, Kill Bill is a very violent movie, but it also did not have the harsh reality that Urbania has.

If you are someone who is offended by gay men or homosexuality in general, then I'm sorry, although I wish you would give this movie a chance -- maybe it would change your perceptions a bit?

This movie is disturbing, but REAL (with the exceptions of the urban legends that crop up every now and then). The love is REAL, the pain is REAL, the emotion is REAL. And the saddest part is that all these feelings, all these actions are a part of every day life, and that some people have to live in Charlie's shoes.

I STRONGLY recommend this movie because it is well done, simply put. It is well done, and a beautiful, sad, story. I must warn you, though, that the situations in this movie are very, VERY deep and hard to take. They're tough pills to swallow, to say the least. If you're very sensitive like I am, you may have a problem with a few scenes. Even still, I urge everyone and anyone to watch it for its depth of reality. (And do not get frustrated if during your first viewing you do not understand everything -- like Fight Club, Memento, and Donnie Darko, the movie Urbania may have to be watched more than once)

Urbania is a powerful film that leaves an impact you won't forget. Check it out.

Urbania is one of the best, and most affecting movies I have seen in the past several years. Director Jon Shear takes chances with how to use the medium, and how to tell a story, and the risks pay off. I look forward to his next work, and to future films with Dan Futterman, who delivers an Oscar-worthy perfomance.

One of the things that makes this film unique is its intimate and realistic portrait of love (not just sex, not just puppy love) between two of the male characters. This has made the film very popular with gay audiences and no doubt prevented it from achieving wider success when it was released in late 2000.Too bad... in a year where the best indpendent movies were either exquisitely polished masterpieces (Crouching Tiger), or else flashy and memorable variations on formulas that have now been used a million times (Amor Es Porras), this disturbing and hopeful movie charted completely new territory -- bringing to film the immediacy and impact of the stage. It deserves a wider audience.

This movie affected me more than any other movie this year, though the last half hour of Dancer in the Dark was pretty awesome as well. Urbania (neat title that) is funny, scary, and moving. While it's sometimes difficult to know exactly what's going on, it ultimately fills in its secrets in a whoosh that made me want to cry and go "Wow" all at the same time. It's like the ending of Usual Suspects crossed with the emotional undertow of Sixth Sense, while always occupying an unsettling zone all its own. The unsettledness seems to be the point. We're in the mind of a man who's lost his anchor, his love, and with him, we're trying to get our bearings. The movie seemed to present the varied ways we can respond to a catastrophe: despair, revenge, redemption. I've read in the other reviews a tussle over whether this is an agenda movie. I think it's not, because with an agenda movie if you remove it's message, there's nothing left. Here, if you take out the homophobia and gay desire of the film, it's still a compelling ride into the mind of a character who's been victimized and wants to get back in the driver's seat. So, how can it be an agenda film? It's a multi-layered, visionary film about someone who's different from me, and I appreciated that. Though it made me a little uncomfortable at times, that didn't make me feel it wasn't made for me. It felt like it was testing my ability to see the world through someone else's eyes. I look forward to watching it again and how often can you say that?

What makes Urbania such an important film is not just the fact that a strong gay component is present in the story, and that the film is accessible to all adult audiences with the ability to invest a little intellectual response to a film, but also the fact that director Shear has found new and fascinating ways to use film, as Welles did in his first venture into the medium. Is Urbania another Citizen Kane? Well, almost, especially in its evident enthusiasm for film as a means of artist expression. Often a young director will throw his camera, and story, around with such carelessness in an effort to be "new," that the viewer is confused and frustrated. Pi exhibits some of this exaggerated, imposed expression. Or, someone like Spielberg will so obviously move his camera like his idol Hitchcock (his idol technique-wise, he has confessed) that innovation is hardly a term one could use for a director who is merely a technologically glitzier -- and even more juvenile -- de Mille.

Shear has taken care to use film to express a state of mind, and a gay man's life, in such a way as to actually innovate. Viewing the documentary on the DVD one can SEE how enthused Shear and his collaborators are about the film and its genesis. They enjoyed the creation, the polishing, the cultivation of their film. Urbania uses technology to enhance its story telling, not to draw narcissistic attention. It breaks ground the way Kane did, only with new tools such as digital editing and color correction, titling...all to make the film visually interesting while relating a story of deep human feeling.

For years I have waited for a talent similar to Welles, a film maker who knows there is more to movies than just technique. I mean, learning mere technique in a film school simply because some egocentric fool thinks he or she can be a great director is no different than painting a picture by the numbers. Both will turn out "art" that looks okay, superficially, but it is devoid of soul and heart.

Urbania is an expression of the artist, not only the technician, who is Jon Shear. It is his soul and heart. I hope and pray he will do more films, and if he should wander into mainstream temptation, I hope he will not avoid the gay thematics he so wonderfully incorporated into this fine and unique film. I can enjoy a bowl of popcorn with a Spielberg adventure, and laugh at yet another camp gay comedy clothed in outrageous garments so that the straight world might come and laugh (at us?) too. And I can always retreat to a library of noir, silent and foreign classics to satisfy my film buff cravings. But now, for the first time, I can sink my teeth into a picture unashamedly revolving around the character of a gay man who is abnormal ONLY for the fact that he has been terribly wronged. As he seeks to right that wrong, we learn a bit more about ourselves, whether we are gay or straight.

Thank you Jon Shear, Dan Futterman (I love you!), cast and crew of Urbania for giving us the FIRST profound expression in the genre of gay cinema.

From the Daily Herald: "Futterman's 'Urbania' twists time and truth into great storytelling

"Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that defies conventions and finds new ways to combine old forms. The grainy shots and deliberative jump cuts in Jon Shear's "Urbania" make it look like an 8 mm. experimental work. Shot on Super 16 mm. film stock, the movie's deep, saturated colors give it an eerie nocturnal glow, like an animated version of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." The splintered narrative pulls out all the stops. Flashbacks merge with memories, all motion comes to a fluttering halt at the contact of lips, some scenes could be real, but others simply imagined. This movie plays with time, truth and temperament, yet possesses a thread of conventional story structure to hang everything on."

Shear Interview: http://popmatters.com/film/interviews/shear-jon.html

http://www.urbaniamovie.com http://www.filethirteen.com/reviews/urbania/urbania.htm

I loved this film. It combines effective editing, intriguing indie-type cinematography and slick nonlinear storytelling with a very touching, melancholy script to create a well-formed movie about intolerance, love, loss and revenge. Urbania reaches moments of real tension (not just shock appeal) during its two hours, and everything works toward an ending that, while not as shocking as say "The Sixth Sense," works its own sort of magic on the viewer.

Dan Futterman gives a powerful performance as Charlie, a man stalking the streets of New York, yearning for a love he has lost. A special treat is Alan Cumming, who makes a brief but powerful performance as his ailing friend Brett.

In short, the movie creates an urban world of melancholy, intolerance and revenge without slipping into depressing or gory territory. There are moments of humor, but a lot of what happens deals with darker parts of humanity, so the movie isn't for everyone.

The DVD itself is a little short on extras, but what's there is interesting. Plus, it's priced to own; it was worth every penny!

This film took my breath away. Rarely have I been able to laugh and cry while watching a film. This film is a complete original! Although it's ostensibly the story of a gay man trying to come to terms with a traumatic experience, it is ultimately the story of redemption and love that will touch everybody. I also admired the film for its bravery. It doesn't shy away from showing us things that are less than nice. I must say that Dan Futterman's performance is superb. I only know him from his TV show Judging Amy and while he does a great job there, her gets a chance to really shine here. If more people had seen this movie he would have been an Oscar nominee!I missed this film in the theaters but got to see the DVD version which has great extras on it like a feature with Jan Brunvand (the urban legends expert) and a great audio commentary with the directors and the actors. If you missed this, I urge you to get a copy today!

One of the most overlooked gems I have ever seen, this movie and the acting deserve all the awards for excellence. Futterman is wonderful in his lead role. I could not tear myself away from this sexy, engrossing, highly stylized window into the life and imaginings of a very attractive young man, tormented with responsibility, longing, lust, and revenge...

These three words sum up my impression of URBANIA. I had read several articles about the film in magazines and thought it would be worth a look. It's not a film I'd watch a second time.

To be fair it has its good points, namely Dan Futterman's deeply affecting performance which was missed by 95% of the moviegoing public last year. Because of its gay storyline, it got very little mainstream press coverage. It's nice to see gay characters who have lives and emotions that go beyond just sex. Too often the mainstream film and media industries focus on sex and nothing else. URBANIA goes much further in showing how the consequences of life affect all of us, gay and straight.

Alan Cumming's performance as always is compelling and haunting. I haven't see him in a film where he didn't completely embody the character's motives and psyche. I think Dan Futterman will be recognized as being of the same caliber as Alan Cumming. The entire cast is excellent.

However in the end, the film left me with a great feeling of unease, which I'm sure was the director's intention. Shear maximizes the "darkness" of the storyline through the film's lighting and editing.

A haunting film and not one I'd revisit anytime. Recommended nonetheless.

This movie is for everyone who likes a movie to take them somewhere they've never been and brings them back a different person. The director lets us into the mind of a distinctive character brought to unforgettable life by Dan Futterman. The reviews I've read on this site have by and large been perceptive, but I have to respond to a few of the negative notes which site the film's "agenda" and "depravity." The film seems so curious about all kinds of people and the way in which they express their character through their sexuality. I found this so complex, layered, and opposite to the reductiveness and cynicism implied in such criticism. I find it interesting that the positive reviews are richly detailed in their response to the film, while the negative reviews are by and large knee-jerk and summarily dismissive. The movie demands to be grappled with. The one detailed pan gets so many details wrong, it made me feel that some viewers put the movie in a mislabelled box in order to more easily dismiss it. The review says its a film in which the characters talk about "us, what we had." No such scene is included in this edgy, adventurous film. The reviewer sites a scene where the lead and his pick-up are in bed and the lead says "I'm afraid if I stay in your space you'll be in my dreams." The viewer gets the line and character wrong. The scene is a mythic flashback where the lead idealizes his former relationship and says, by sleeping on his love's side of the bed, "I hope if I sleep in your space you'll be in my dreams." Overtly romantic yes, and in the context of a hard-edged flick, most welcome, but if one doesn't like it, at least get the situation right. The fact that the viewer gets the line and situation complete wrong makes me feel that the person wasn't watching too closely, so I hope others aren't dissauded from watching this darkly funny, heart-wrenching, sexy, and stunningly made and acted work of art. Perhaps it isn't for everyone but I recommend it to people interested in one of the only films I've ever seen which is as much a mind twister as a heart warmer. Bravo to those who made it -- Dan Futterman in particular -- and those who are open to experiencing it.