Gabriel Baur directs the documentary Venus Boyz, an intimate look at drag king culture and female masculinity in various parts of the world. Starting out on Drag King Night in New York City, the film introduces the lives of several women who discuss their fascination with dressing up like men. Mildred Gerestant is a data processor who performs in the evenings as a male rapper named Dred. Dressed as businessman Danny King, Diane Torr runs workshops to show other women the fine art of drag
king-dom. Other subjects include Bridge Markland from Germany, Del LaGrace Volcano from London, and several others. After opening to festival acclaim throughout Europe, Venus Boyz won an honorable mention at the New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Although Ms. Baur's meandering style betrays her inexperience as a documentary filmmaker, she nonetheless treats her subjects with compassion and dignity and avoids exploiting or vilifying her subjects.
It's not uninteresting, but so much footage is given over to earnest discussion of sexual politics that the overall effect is like sitting through a semester's worth of transgender studies.
[Baur] has clearly earned the trust and respect of her subjects, the first qualification for any responsible documentarist, and they have repaid her with an intimate glimpse into their singular lives.
Though it sometimes errs on the side of artiness, the film offers considerable illumination on the lives of those who live and thrive along sexuality's margins.
Filmmaker Gabriel Baur's doc is only about sex to the extent that you can't have sex without identifying yourself as something -- and how you identify yourself has a lot to do with how others treat you.
Experiencing this form of gender exploration is like discovering a new color in the rainbow. And it adds a whole new meaning to the phrase 'You go, girl!'
Fascinating discussions... but there is so much repetition that it starts to get boring and people sharing their innermost secrets shouldn't be boring.
Venus Boyz is not a pro/con documentary in which each 'side' states its case; it's something more intimate, a succession of interior explorations by each performer.
great docu about drag-kings. yes, girls who perform shows dressed as men. most are very convincing even tho they are also beautiful women in daily life.
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