''Claire'' is a 2001 film directed by Milford Thomas. The story itself is loosely based on

Kaguyahime is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story detail ...

, on an old Japanese

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

about an elderly childless couple that finds a child from the moon in a stalk of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and raises her as their own. Thomas’ version tells a tale of an elderly male couple on a farm in the rural 1920s

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

who find the moon princess in an ear of corn. Thomas took the prize for

Best First Feature Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

(Special Mention) with this little number at the

San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

in 2002. ''Claire'' is an homage to early cinema. Accompanied by its silent-era camera, all set-design and special effects were achieved the old-fashioned way. Canvas backgrounds are present, alongside semi-hidden wires, multiple exposures and was filmed with a hand-cranked 35mm camera.

Plot

When the curtains open, viewers find themselves caught within a nightmare that strongly contrasts the dreaminess of sequences to come: a young girl's birthday party is cruelly interrupted by Josh's (Mish P. DeLight) loss of custody over her. He wakes in a fright and squeezes the hand of his husband (James Ferguson) for comfort. Early on, a theme in ''Claire'' is identified here: the transcendence of love beyond social norms. The audience is briefly walked through the pair's daily routine. One exception emerges after the couple has lain down the following night: the appearance of Claire; their unexpected miracles, just a tiny thing inside an iridescent ear of corn. As the story progresses and Claire grows into the shape of a young woman, she enchants onlookers with her beauty and readings of fantastic poetry in various languages. Richard (Allen Jeffrey Rein) is particularly entranced; and gives her his copy of Shelley's work as a token. It is in him that Claire discovers her miraculous healing powers proceeding his dive from a cliff in an attempt to win her affection. While exemplifying the nontraditional family---two men lovingly raising a child of the moon---the film celebrates the diversity of family and also addresses the grief of losing a loved one.

Cast

*Toniet Gallego as Claire, on whom this story revolves *Mish P. DeLight as Josh, one of the men that find Claire in a cornstalk whom adopts her as his own *James Ferguson as Walt, husband to Josh; Claire's second father *Allen Jeffrey Rein as Richard, Claire's (almost) romantic interest *Pat Bell as the antagonist of the story *Anna May Hirsch as Miss Earwood *Katherine Moore as Kat

Soundtrack

The film is accompanied solely by

Orchestra De Lune An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

conducted by Anne Richardson. It was performed live when the film was originally shown at the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claire (Film) 2001 films American avant-garde and experimental films American LGBT-related films American black-and-white films Films based on fairy tales American independent films Gay-related films 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2001 directorial debut films 2000s American films