Waiting for the Moon

Beautiful and Special

I have a VHS tape of this film. It's worn from playing it so much over the past 20(?) years. So many people I've come in contact with have never seen it ... so it's been loaned out a lot, too. I never thought to look until now and what a treat to discover that it's now on DVD. The characterizations, beautiful settings, adventures and historical liberties taken never steal focus, but further enhance, the deep love these two people (Toklas and Stein) had for each other. Some reviewer noted that the film moves slowly. To me this is a plus because it allows the viewer time to savor everything that is going on. My knowledge of Gertrude Stein was quite limited. Gladly, this film inspired me to want to know more and more. March 29, 2007

A Miracle of a Movie

"WAITING FOR THE MOON"
A miracle of a movie about
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

I remember watching "Waiting for the Moon" several years ago and loving it. I just discovered it has finally transferred to DVD and it is still as amazing as it was. Stein and Toklas were early out gay women who moved to Paris where they could live freely and without discrimination. A fictional account of their lives there is presented in this movie which is so tender and so beautiful that it can be watched over and over. The best word to describe this film is lovely---lovely in all of its aspects--cast, photography, acting, etc.
Literary maven Gertrude Stein was a forerunner of both the modernist movement in literature and gay rights. The director of the film, Jill Godmilow, took impressions from Stein's writings and with the screenwriter Mark Magill has woven a story of incredible beauty. The movie spans the year 1936 when Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas hosted many literary giants at their home. This film is the unique story of friendship and "evokes the ambiance of a fascinating moment in literary history". It is love affirming and life affirming in that it is gorgeously filmed, excellently acted and beautifully written.
The respect that these two women commanded as an openly lesbian couple was something America was not ready for but Paris welcomed them. They became friends of some of the greats in the arts including Picasso and Hemingway. Their art collection was world famous as were their literary salons. Linda Hunt is nothing short of perfect in her portrayal of Alice and Linda Bassett is amazing as Gertrude. As they live the gay life in gay Paree, the who's who of the world of literature, music, and art come in and out of their lives. To be invited to their salon was one way of anouncing to the world that one has arrived. This beautiful love story is imbued with wit and the love of the director is felt throughout the movie. We just don't have these kinds of movie anymore. As I sat there and watched it again I thought that I was really lucky to have a chance to do so. It is a small film that leaves a big impression and it is one to add to the list of films I want to own. I think many of you will feel the same.
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January 2, 2007

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in France before the War

Gertrude Stein died at the age of 72 in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1946. Sufferng from stomach cancer, Stein had surgery performed. The story told by Alcie B. Toklas, Stein's life-long companion, is that as Stein was being wheeled into surgery she asked Toklas, "What is the answer?" When Tolkas did not respond, Stein then said, "In that case, what is the question?" That exchange matters, because it clearly inspires the final sceen of Mark Magill's script for "Waiting for the Moon."

Stein and Toklas are remembered as one of the celebrated couples in modern letters. The two American mets in Paris in 1907, and together hosted a salon that was visited by the expatriate American writers who made up what Stein labeled "The Lost Generation." Writers from Thornton Wilder to Ernest Hemingway and avant-garde paitners like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso made their way to be nutured by Stein. However, this 1987 movie, which tied for the Grand Jury prize at the 1987 Sundance Film Festival along with "The Trouble with Dick," is not about the salon, but rather about the relationship between Gertrude (Linda Bassett) and Alice (Linda Bassett). To be sure, Hemingway (Bruce McGill) stops by, but the French poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire (Jacques Boudet) is around more often, looking for mushrooms. When they run into somebody on the road, it is not anybody famous, but Harry Hooper (Andrew McCarthy), an American lad going off to fight the good fight in Spain.

Consequently, "Waiting for the Moon" is not about the giddy glory days when the famous rubbed elbows. It is about Stein and Toklas living together and making things work. Their discussion of the precise variation on a word that belongs in a sentence Stein is writing represents the good times. A cutting remark that Stein throws Toklas' way would be the time when things are not going so well, and even if it is Stein's house Tolkas has no compuction about telling Gertrude to go away. How these two fit together is revealed over the course of the film, as well as where the tensions between the two can be found. Stein drives and Toklas plays the navigator, which would be easier if they had a map, and that is pretty much the master metaphor for their relationship. The problem is that all we are impressions of these women and their compliated relationship. There is much more to be said about these two than Jill Godmilow's film chooses to say. The more you know about Stein and Tolkas, the more you will get out of "Waiting for the Moon" because you will be able to read between the lines. However, if you know little, then the little taste you will get here will not be sufficient. May 5, 2006

one of my all time favorites

I have been waiting seemingly forever for this to come out on DVD. I taped it from public television years ago and the tape is well-worn to the point of disintegrating.

The settings are lushly beautiful and I can't wait to see them on DVD instead of a grainy tape. Linda Basset and Linda Hunt are captivating and you actually feel as if you have met Gertrude and Alice. It inspired me to visit their gravesite in Pere Lachaise in Paris.

Yes it is slow. Slow and luxuriant, like the summer evenings it portrays. Enjoy! April 24, 2006

Waiting for the DVD

At last! For years I've been checking regularly to see whether "Waiting for the Moon" would show up on DVD. I'm so pleased that it's finally available. This is such a wonderful film. I remember setting my VCR to tape it when it was shown on TV one late evening ages ago. I'm glad that I have it on tape, because I've watched it countless times since then. I wanted to see this film because of Linda Hunt, but I love it because of Linda Bassett. Forget about the historical inaccuracies. The filmmakers are playing with the facts and having a great time doing it. Look at it as Getrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas living in an alternate universe, where they adopt a baby and have a car named "Priscilla".
It's all about the relationship between these two clever and eloquent women who cannot find a way to talk about the fact that Getrude is ill and might be dying, and how they finally come to terms with their differences. The look on Linda Bassett's face before she says "I'm sorry, that's the way I am" at the film's climax touched med more than a thousand tearful outbursts in "bigger" films.
I love this film to bits. I hope many more will discover it and take it to their hearts. March 8, 2006

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