YANI is almost here!
Submitted by YANI Team on 2003-02-26 17:50:52, Wednesday
|
Hi everyone As the opening day nears we present another teaser, this time from the Childhood Cinema column, featuring reviews of films with a child-love theme. The first issue's review is of the film The Last Butterfly, written by John Wesley. "During World War Two, the Germans kidnap "the world’s greatest mime," Antoine Moreau, forcing him into "a limited performance for the children of the city of the Jews." Only later does he discover that his performance is a whitewash to show visiting Red Cross officials that everything is fine in the ghetto. "With a few dumplings and a bar of soap, we’ll show the world the triumph of German kindness" to the Jews, says Carl Rheinberg, piano player for the mime’s performance. With the help of 10-year-old Stella, her friends, and mother-figure, Vera, Antoine plots a plan to "show" the Red Cross what really happens to the Jews who are put on the transports out of the ghetto. Along the way, the mime and his new friends develop beautiful relationships, bonded together by the fear of imminent death and the horror of the current situation. Director Karel Kachyna shows that children prefer to control how they share their nakedness with others when Stella later walks out of the bathroom nude, giving Antoine a pleasant, but mildly startling, surprise. The scene raises an interesting question. Did Stella trust Antoine because she truly loved him, or because she hoped he could rescue her from the transports because she bit a soldier’s hand while escaping? The other children immediately start rumors concerning Vera and Antoine sleeping together, but Stella refuses to believe it. With a bit of doubt, she asks Antoine, "You like Vera, don’t you?" The actor truthfully responds, "You little monkey. Not half as much as I like you." The games end soon enough, however, as the soldiers capture Stella, taking her to the trains. Antoine comes running at the last moment to attempt a rescue, arguing with the Commandant that Stella is vital to the success of his show. The German officer, wanting the play to go well, offers Antoine a horribly evil choice. The mime must choose either Stella or a 3-year-old boy to be sent on the transport train to certain death. Either way, his conscience will haunt him forever." For the rest of the review and to find out whether Antoine and Stella ever find happiness visit www.yani.info on the 1st March. Another important feature you can expect to see on YANI is the library: a collection of links that we hope will offer information, insights and advice to those who seek it on a wide variety of topics namely: Arts Books & Reviews Humanities Legal Media Miscellaneous Research Sexuality Technology Youth We hope the contents will stimulate discussion on the YANI forum between those seeking more information on age-disparate relationships and those affected by them and that discussion will lead to a greater understanding of child lovers amongst the general public. We look forward to seeing you in 4 days time and we hope even more that some of you might want to contribute articles to future issues. YANI aims to be a platform for both BLers and GLers to stand together and make a difference, for the improvement of the lives of youth attracted individuals and those they love. Without your input, your stories will go untold! Foreverman YANI Staff |
Follow ups: