“Wildness” is a powerful documentary directed by Wu Tsang which tosses a sizzling-hot spotlight an intriguing mix of avante-garde artists, gate-crashers, lookie loo’s, Mexican immigrants and flamboyant transgender ladies of-the-night – who once frequented “The Silver Platter” – a notorious nightclub situated in a seedy part of McCarthur Park in Los Angeles.
“Wildness” – a Tuesday night celebration launched to fill a void at the club mid-week when business crawled along at a snail’s pace – was the brain child of director Wu Tsang (a performance artist) and two high-profile DJ’s by the names of NGUZUNGUZU and Total Freedom with the specific aim of providing a dynamic venue for the likes of celebrated artists like Flawless Mother Sabrina, Dynasty Handbag, Ariel Prodigy, and Ron Avery (to name a few).
The film opens dramatically with a cruise along the mean streets of downtown Los Angeles and is bootstrapped up by a “chilling' voice over that sends chills up-and-down the spine.
The hypnotic beat of the original soundtrack heightens the tension as the fascinating tale of “The Silver Platter” – and its thobbing underbelly – splashes onto the screen in all its no-holds barred glory.
During the course of the film (a first feature, by the way) Tsang deftly puts his finger on the undercurrents – and in the process – fathoms up the raw emotions of his subjects with a rare distinctive style all his own.
With a keen eye, the fashion-savvy director explores a myriad of timely issues related to immigration, gentrification, identification, community, the transsexual dilemma (for starters).
Tsang's artistic sensibilities are simply astounding!
When I chatted with Tsang at the DGA screening the other evening, I found the artist to be humble, down-to-earth, and gracious.
The next day, Tsang was honored with an award for his documentary by a local film festival (which she took in her stride).
The acceptance speech may be viewed once I get the video uploaded at my YouTube site.
http://www.YouTube.com/ijulian9
Congrats, Wu!
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