Out of the Past (1998)
In 1995, Kelli Peterson started a gay and straight club at her Salt Lake City high school. The story of her ensuing battle with school authorities in interspersed with looks back at the diary of Michael Wigglesworth, a 17th-century Puritan cleric, at the 30-year love affair of Sarah Orne Jewett and Annie Adams Fields, at Henry Gerber's attempt after World War I to establish a gay-rights organization, at Bayard Rustin's role in the civil rights movement, and at Barbara Gittings' taking on of the American Psychiatric Association's position that homosexuality is illness. One person comments, "To create a place for ourselves in the present, we have to find ourselves in the past."
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Absolutely brilliant
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Within the short span of an hour and five minutes, this documentary focuses on a revisionary consideration of American history. The quest for human rights is a natural instinct within us all, as this film demonstrates.What a liberating thought that, after centuries of ignorance, fear, superstition and intolerance, some of the last vestiges of discrimination are neutralizing.The phenomenon is the result of "accelerating acceleration"--a momentum that speeds itself up as it accumulates more energy. In this case, the force comes from the people, as more and more hands join to unite in harmony."Out of the Past" is a touching mini-documentary on a significant topic which involves us all. Well conceived and executed, it makes its statement in an intelligent and moving manner. ###
A top-notch documentary which beautifully weaves the story of Kelli Peterson, who tried to start a gay-straight alliance at a Salt Lake City high school, with tales of real gay heroes of the past. The wonderful Barbara Giddings is featured in a tremendously moving moment in which Kelli and Barbara meet, and it is clear that if only Kelli - and other students like her - had simply been told the facts about gay people in school she would never have wanted to commit suicide. This film is an excellent testament and memorial to those who died having lived miserable lives totally in the closet.
This movie takes a very non-bias view into the lives of some Utah (where I am from and lived through this) citizens who stood in the face of bigotry and yelled in their ears. The movie was wonderfully put together with some amazing historical facts thrown in. Even with a reporters non-biased viewpoint this movie takes, you can't help but hate the SLC council members as well as many of the citizens of this state for their close mindedness, hatred, blindness, and narrowness. With the theme of the issue and the point of this whole fight, you can't help but see the idiocies of the anti-gay supporters.
A documentary covering two things. One gay and lesbian role models of the past. And two, a young lesbian in Utah who attemts to form a gay-straight alliance in her high school and runs into much resistance. Although the intent is honorable, and makes sense, the two elements never combine well.We are jerked into the past to stories of obscure figures with quotes that often seem like stretches of the imagination. Then thrust into into the quick-paced present day story. Not much detail is shed on either.Ultimately, the film is uplifting and reaffirming. A very good start.