Hustler White

According to Hustler White star and Madonna muse Tony Ward, "the only difference between porn and art is the lighting". Try explaining that to detractors of Canadian artist Bruce LaBruce. It's been ten years since his and Rick Castro's combination of hardcore sex, underground satire, non-linear narrative, agit-prop posturing and Sunset Boulevard first appeared. Since then, LaBruce the film-maker has produced work comparable to the early experiments of Kenneth Anger, Jean-Luc Godard, John Waters and Derek Jarman. With this film, his unsimulated exploration of sexual extremism (razor-blade fetishism, bondage, asphyxiation) is often mediated by political intent (see the "Black Power" gang-bang) or sincere romanticism (an amputee sodomy scene is laced with heartfelt sentiment). If many find this to be delusional, that's because they are blind to irony: folks, it's supposed to be funny! And it's this humour which gives his films genuine entertainment value, while his use of porn aesthetics is as crucial to his stylistic concerns as the world of advertising is to Sam Taylor-Wood. Hustler White may not have the urgency or discipline of Otto, or Up With Dead People (his critique of the increasingly bourgeois status of LGBT society), but its formal daring and sexual fearlessness remain exciting. Baise-Moi, 9 Songs, Shortbus ... the revolution began here! [Michael Gillespie]