THis is a not at all dull documentary about a fascinating subject. Jenna Marvin is a daring 21-year-old queer artist in Russia who takes the moniket "Drag Queen" to a whole new level. Using found objects, layers of makeup and tape, and a jaw-dropping amount of creativity, she manifests otherworldly outfits and strange creatures that seem to have fallen out of a sci-fi TV show and onto the streets of Moscow. The costumes alone are worth watching this movie--I have never seen anything like it, and her impossibly tall and thin physique accentuates a lot of her style. Some of her outfits are fun and fanciful, others are directly political, drawing attention to the causes that matter most to Jenna. Her public drag performances earn the curiosity of the public; others scorn her, and the police are only too happy to keep her away from others. Jenna and her friends sometimes film these harsh encounters to capture the homophobic anger her silent presence in public spaces provokes in strangers. But after attending a protest taped in the colors of the Russian flag, Jenna is expelled from beauty school and returns home to Magadan, where her grandparents live and where she must decide for herself how to survive.
A world away from Moscow, Magadan is a desolate place, a former Soviet-era gulag that lived on past that chapter in the country’s history--Jenna's grandparents do not get her either--they encourage her to join the military and head to Ukraine, not realizing she would be killed by her fellow soldiers. Yet Jenna is in danger whether she’s in a major city or a rural town because Russia has penalized its queer citizens, not protected them. Jenna is strikingly bold in her performance and courage, taking her creations to the streets, the faces of the people who might reject her, and this documentary.
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