1998

Running time: N/A

I learned about sex the old-fashioned way: from kids in the schoolyard. Today, kids learn about sex from Eddie Murphy movies and Ricki Lake. It's a frightening thought that some kids' first look at a gay person will be on a Jerry Springer show talking about ''Lesbian Moms Who Wear Leather'' and ''Gay Men Who Dress Like Barbie.'' It's Elementary takes a close look at schools that are teaching students of all ages about gay lifestyles. Most films have taken the view from the parents' standpoint (''Should this be taught in schools?'').

Season:
1998
Director:
Debra Chasnoff
Producer:
Debra Chasnoff, Helen Cohen

Running time: N/A

A family's life changes after a tortilla reveals the face of Jesus.

Season:
1998
Director:
Lauren Ivy Chiong

Running time: N/A

Florencia is a television reporter in the near future in Santiago, Chile. Her assignment is to cover the ensuing mayhem that has taken over the country during the election campaign. Amidst the chaos, Florencia meets Pedro, a terrorist searching for democracy. Allowed to follow and film Pedro and his girlfriend as they take over a radio station to broadcast a political message, Florencia captures a murder on video. Faced with a growing affection for Pedro, Florencia finds herself torn between a breaking story and her conscience.

Season:
1998
Director:
Tatiana Gaviola
Cinematography:
Gaston Roca
Cast:
Claudia Di Girolamo, Will Semler, Liliana Garcia, Francisco Reyes
Producer:
Nury Gaviola
Language:
Spanish with English subtitles

Running time: N/A

Anais Nin and Henry Miller are not exactly household words, but for the aficionados, their writing remains among the landmarks of erotic literature. Not only was it impossible to imagine a movie being made from their books at the time they were written, but also the books themselves couldn't be sold in the United States. Philip Kaufman's personal vision brings this love affair to the screen and depicts Miller and Nin's romance in the Paris of the 1930s and their artistic and sexual relationships, not only with each other, but also with Miller's then-wife June.

Season:
1998
Director:
Philip Kaufman
Cinematography:
Philippe Rousselot
Cast:
Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant, Kevin Spacey
Producer:
Philip Kaufman

Running time: N/A

Regardless of how you feel about ''street people,'' Brent Sims' depiction about homeless teenagers and young adults in New Orleans will open your eyes to a world few of us have experienced and even fewer want to. Gutter Punks is a fascinating look at a social phenomenon that exists in every large American city (and even some smaller ones), one that troubles mainstream society and challenges its traditions and illusions. The reasons for their homelessness include the usual spectrum from abuse to drugs, mental illness and pervasive poverty.

Season:
1998
Director:
Brent Sims
Producer:
Ted Baldwin, Brent Sims

Running time: N/A

Hold your horses! We've been wrong about them all along. The Jesse James gang wasn't a band of desperados, but a conglomeration of dispossessed small farmers and natural-born populists. In fact, it wasn't their choice to be outlaws, but a tag hung on them by ''the establishment.'' Philip Kaufman's classic film tells the REAL story of the gang. In fact, it shows that Jesse James wasn't even the brains of the pack, but that Cole Younger made the decisions. James gained his reputation based on his short-temper and outbursts, which eventually led to the gang's downfall.

Season:
1998
Director:
Philip Kaufman
Cinematography:
Bruce Surtees
Cast:
Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall, Luke Askew, R.G. Armstrong
Producer:
Jennings Lang

Running time: N/A

A personal and moving story of a woman's relationship with her father and his acceptance of her sexual orientation.

Season:
1998
Director:
Kim McNabb

Running time: N/A

Back East, the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain decided that their ''obviously'' gay employees were ''failing to comply with normal heterosexual values'' and fired them. With no laws to protect gays and lesbians in the workplace, many businesses can, and do, the very same thing everyday. Out at Work shows the growing struggle amongst those who are out in both friendly and dangerously unfriendly work environments. Cheryl Summerville, a cook at an Atlanta Cracker Barrel, decides to educate the public and protests outside the restaurants.

Season:
1998
Director:
Kelly Anderson, Tami Gold
Cinematography:
Tami Gold
Producer:
Kelly Anderson, Tami Gold

Running time: N/A

David Morse, best known as one of the young doctors on the 1980s television medical drama St. Elsewhere and most recently seen playing Jodie Foster's father in Contact, takes on a very different role in George B. You decide if George, an odd -job man for hire, is blessed with saintly patience and an overly positive outlook on life, or cursed with a slowness from too many head blows. The subtleties of Morse's performance provide plenty of room for interpretation. In either case, George is a man on his way up.

Season:
1998
Director:
Eric Lea
Cinematography:
Wayne Kennan
Cast:
David Morse, Nina Siemaszko, Brad Gregg, John Franklin, Grace Zabriskie
Producer:
Wade Danielson, Gloria Pryor

Running time: N/A

If you're not sure what the word ''eviscerateO' means, you'll know what it feels like by the end of this shocking bit of celluloid. Boy, will you know! As the title suggests, Fudoh represents a new generation of nihilistic gangster mayhem. For the director, Takashi Miike, too much is never enough. Rivers of blood pour forth, bullets spew in torrents, heads part company from bodies and this is all before the opening credits. At the center of this revenge-driven madness is Ricki Fudoh and his ragtag bunch of schoolyard killers. Ricki is trying to wipe out organized crime's old guard.

Season:
1998
Director:
Takashi Miike
Cinematography:
Hideo Yamamoto
Cast:
Shosuke Tanihara, Kenji Takano, Marie Jinno, Tamaki Kenmochi, Miho Nomoto
Producer:
Yoshinori Chiba, Toshiki Kimura
Language:
Japanese w/ English subtitles
Subscribe to 1998