Girls Camp Anyone?
If you happen to find that you have a spare forty minutes free during your day, I highly recommend that you spend it watching the latest short production from Recluse films.
‘Camp Belvidere’ written, produced and co-directed by Astrid Ovalles is a little gem of a film set at a Girls’ Camp in the 1950’s.
The story follows Rose (Molly Way), a young and vibrant leader at Camp Belvidere who strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older woman.
Gin,the camp nurse is a composed and closeted woman who finds herself full of internal conflict when the youthful and beautiful Rose turns her attentions upon her.
In battling her attraction to Rose and struggling with the implications of being a lesbian in an era in which homosexuality is in large part shunned, Gin finds it increasingly difficult to not only be true to herself but to do what she feels is right by Rose. Each actor seems to have invested a real emotional depth and conviction to their character, but it is the stunning Astrid Ovalles that deserves special mention.
Ovalles turns in a remarkable performance as the restrained and sexually stifled Gin. Her ability to convey the character’s conflicting emotional state through subtle facial gestures and a natural ease in the delivery of Gin’s dialogue (think Jennifer Beals as the stoic Bette Porter in The L Word ) is nothing short of wonderful.
As with most shorts the story is a little compacted, such that the characters feel slightly underdeveloped and the first sex-scene comes in rather abruptly – within the first 5 minutes – before any real character development has occurred.
That said however, there is still a wonderful poetry to the film and combined with Ovalles talent for acting (and umm did I mention her intense physical beauty?) Camp Belvidere is definitely worth a watch.
In addition, there is some really lovely cinematography happening and the creators appear to have committed to an honest representation of the 1950’s, utilising props and costumes that appear true of the era.
Overall, Recluse film have created a wonderfully sensual short film and Camp Belvidere makes for a great addition to any LGBT film collection.
I’ll certainly be adding it to mine and hope to see many more film come from this talented team of filmmakers.
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