Word Is Out

A documentary by the San Francisco-based Mariposa Film Group, comprising interviews with 26 gay American men and women of varied classes and ethnic origins. It is neither militant (although it does contain some footage of civil rights demos) nor analytic (although the careful selection of interviewees bespeaks one level of analysis), and is an important film for those very reasons. It doesn't intimidate or alienate any potential viewer, but uses techniques of simple reasoning, and elements of mild surprise, to catch attention and hold it. If two hours of talking heads sounds like a long time, then it's a measure of the film-makers' success that the result is as gripping and persuasive as the most accomplished fiction.