By “Call Me By Your Name” and “Challengers” director Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film “Queer” is set to be something a little unexpected – a great big tribute to masterful British filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The film is based on William S. Burroughs’ controversial novel which was written in the early 1950s but not published until 1985 and is said to be based on Burroughs’ own experience.
Daniel Craig stars as Lee, a self-conscious, insecure man living it up in 1940s Mexico City surviving on GI Bill benefits and part-time jobs among expat American college students. He becomes infatuated with Allerton (Drew Starkey), a recently discharged young U.S. Navy serviceman and drug user from Florida.
The film is widely expected to have its world premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival, and at last report will clock in at three hours. Speaking with Cinecitta (via World of Reel), Guadagnino was asked about his film where he made the link and also promises some salaciousness:
“‘Queer’ will be my most personal film. It’s an homage to Powell and Pressburger. I’ve seen The Red Shoes at least 50 times and I think they’d appreciate the sex scenes of ‘Queer,’ which are numerous and quite scandalous.”
Powell and Pressburger were pioneers of Technicolor cinematography and made a series of highly influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. To this day the collaborations with “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” “A Matter of Life and Death,” “A Canterbury Tale” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” are held up as being among the greatest movies ever made.
Though he’s had “Challengers” out this Spring and “Queer” likely coming in the Fall, Guadagnino isn’t slowing down – the director will star production on his next film “After the Hunt” on July 8th. Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri star.
He also has a Bernardo Bertolucci documentary, a film titled “Separate Rooms,” and a new version of “Lord of the Flies” on the way.
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