film

Condemned by all the right people (namely fire-and-brimstone proto culture warriors such as Senator Jesse Helms and Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association) on its release in January 1991, Todd Haynes' provocative triptych is a searing exploration of human desire, alienation, and societal repression, and a seminal work of the New Queer Cinema movement.

The three stories intertwine throughout the film and are only named at the end. "Hero" is presented as a faux-documentary/news report about a young boy who murders his abusive father; "Horror" is a black-and-white homage to 1950s B-movies, and "Homo" explores the forbidden love between two prisoners. The whole thing is inspired by the novels of Jean Genet, and throbs with the French master's signature eroticism and rebellion.