Get Your Reps In: “Paris Is Burning” Brims With Character and Pathos

What to see at Portland’s repertory theaters.

Paris is Burning (IMDB)
By Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Paris Is Burning (1990)

“I don’t think the world has been fair to me…not yet anyway.” There’s longing in trans model Octavia St. Laurent’s voice when she stakes this claim in Paris Is Burning. But “longing” is just a painstricken word for ambition.

Hers are the dreams of ascendance, recognition and finery shared by many Harlem drag-ball performers who keep director Jennie Livingston’s documentary brimming with character and pathos. Filmed across six years, Paris Is Burning immortalizes the breadth, depth, peak and petering of this Black and Latinx queer performance scene with affection for stars and bit players alike.

From exploring surrogate families to voguing to the ever-expanding list of ballroom categories, the film delights in the artists’ devotional drive—to win, to be remembered, to graduate from this small pond. Yet in Paris Is Burning, there’s no greater task in the world than sewing one’s own costume before basking in scene stardom. Clinton, June 22.

ALSO PLAYING:

Cinema 21: His Girl Friday (1940), June 24. Eraserhead (1977), June 24 and 26. Cinemagic: Mandy (2018), June 22. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), June 23 (extended) and 26 (theatrical). The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), June 24 (extended) and 27 (theatrical). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), June 25 (extended) and 28 (theatrical). Clinton: Happy Together (1997), June 26. Dressed in Blue (1983), June 27. Hollywood: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), June 23-24. Nashville (1975), June 24-25. RRR (2022), June 26. Gates of Hell (1980), June 27.

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