Circus of Books
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Circus of Books |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2019 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rachel Mason |
| script | Rachel Mason |
| production | Adam Baran, Cynthia Childs, Camilla Hall, Kathryn Robson |
| music | Ian M Colletti |
| camera | Gretchen Warthen |
| cut | Kathryn Robson |
| occupation | |
| |
Circus of Books is a documentary by Rachel Mason that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2019 and was included on Netflix in the United States on April 22, 2020 .
content
When the parents of today's musician and artist Rachel Mason got into financial distress in the mid-1970s and were looking for a way to support their small family, they came across an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times . Larry Flynt was looking for salespeople for the recently published men's magazine Hustler . So in 1976 Karen and Barry Mason started selling the magazine. Soon they took over the bookstore "Circus of Books" in the Silverlake district in Los Angeles and came into more and more contact with the LGBT community.
Ten years later, “Circus of Books” has not only become the largest seller of gay porn in the US, but is also an essential haven for gay men. The straight bourgeois couple has become an integral part of the city's LGBT community, which is not spared from AIDS. Nevertheless, in this environment they have to look after their three children. They are also faced with one or the other challenge professionally. They are threatened with imprisonment for spreading pornography.
Ultimately, Karen and Barry ran “Circus of Books” for over 35 years and were an integral part of the life and culture of the LGBT community in Los Angeles. Ultimately, however, they have to close the business in August 2016 because it is no longer profitable, which is attributed to the accessibility of pornography on the Internet by those involved.
It also talks about how one of her sons to be gay outed has what Karen first because of their religion, Judaism , responded negatively. The gay world was part of her business, not her own private sphere. She learned to change her mind, including participating in PFLAG , a group for homosexual parents, with which she can be seen at a 2016 gay demonstration in Los Angeles.
background
The store later run as the "Circus of Books" at 8230 Santa Monica Boulevard and La Jolla Avenue in West Hollywood was originally opened in 1960 under the name "Book Circus". When the owner had financial problems in 1982, Karen and Barry Mason took over the shop and renamed it "Circus of Books". Both had previously sold men's magazines for publisher Larry Flynts. Barry previously worked as an engineer of dialysis equipment and developer of special effects and had among other things, for the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick worked, his wife worked as a journalist. In the “Circus of Books” they sold paperbacks and novels by LGBTQ authors as well as science fiction books, Bibles and foreign newspapers. In addition, “Circus of Books” had a larger “back room” that customers could enter through two swing doors. Here gay porn and sex toys were offered.
In 2020, the business was taken over by Channel 1 Releasing , a company that already operates a Chi Chi LaRues sex shop in West Hollywood. When redesigning the premises, according to the store's website, "they said goodbye to the shabby style of yesterday's porn store."
production
Directed by Rachel Mason . The New York Times' Teo Bugbee notes that her documentary debut not only provides insight into the double lives her parents led, but also shows that the least likely to know were her children, because the family business was home not spoken for years. In addition to Flynt magazines and distributed films with titles such as Confessions of a Two Dick Slut and Don't Drop the Soap , the Masons soon began producing hardcore films themselves, together with director Matt Sterling and gay porn star Jeff Stryker . "We have never seen one of these films before," says Karen ilm Film, averting her eyes when she is confronted with a wall full of dildos. Rachel Mason grew up believing that her parents simply ran a small bookstore in Los Angeles. On the rare occasion that the Mason children accompanied their parents into their store, they were told to "look at the floor" as they walked through certain areas of the store.
The film was first shown on April 26, 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival . A year later, on April 22, 2020, the film was included in Netflix 's offer .
reception
Reviews
The film has so far convinced 98 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and received an average rating of 7.6 out of a possible 10 points.
Teo Bugbee of the New York Times writes that the film thrives especially when it focuses on interviews with employees, long-time customers, and the stars of the porn industry the store has funded. These members of the community reflected a bygone era with wit and warmth. Her memories would be supported by the glowing gold archive footage from the area from the 1980s. The film also shows the importance of the store in political terms, but also the AIDS crisis. These memories are at the heart of the film when it is not about family secrets but about the pride of a community.
Peter Debruge of Variety says of the spouses Mason, the hardcore films had produced once, Barry will see this as a grandfather as a happier, smiling version of swinging with pitchforks farmers in Grant Wood's " American Gothic ", while Karen, their children raised the Jewish faith, could be one of the women holding up "Burn in Hell" signs at a Pride parade.
Awards
Camden International Film Festival 2019
- Best Documentary Awarded the Harrell Award ( Rachel Mason )
Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association Awards 2020
- Nomination as LGBTQ Documentary of the Year for the Dorian Award
Sidewalk Film Festival 2019
- Award for Best Documentary the Audience Award (Rachel Mason)
Web links
- Circus of Books in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Circus of Books in the program of the Tribeca Film Festival (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Matt Fagerholm: Circus of Books. In: rogerebert.com, April 22, 2020.
- ^ A b Circus of Books: History. In: circusofbooks.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ André Hereford: Circus of Books' explores how a nice, straight Jewish couple erected a mecca of gay porn. In: metroweekly.com, April 16, 2020.
- ^ A b Peter Bradshaw: Circus of Books review - tender doc about family life and gay porn. In: The Guardian, April 17, 2020.
- ^ A b c Peter Debruge: Film Review: 'Circus of Books'. In: Variety, July 23, 2019.
- ↑ a b Teo Bugbee: 'Circus of Books' Review: A Community Takes Pride in Its Porn Store. In: The New York Times, April 22, 2020.
- ↑ Glenn Whipp: Review: What was a nice Jewish couple doing in a business like this? In: Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2020.
- ^ Circus of Books. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ Circus of Books. In: ciff19.eventive.org. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ↑ 2019/20 Dorians. In: galeca.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Award Winners from Sidewalk 2019. In: sidewalkfest.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.