GO FISH

US, 1994, 87 minutes, Colour.
Guinevere Turner.
Directed by Rose Troche.

Go Fish was an international success at festivals and in art house cinemas. It is a (very) small-budget Chicago film directed by Rose Troche and with the collaboration of her star Guinevere Turner.

The film is a lesbian film, focusing on a group of women, their relationships, their feelings, their perspectives on life. It also is a strong feminist lesbian film - where, generally, men are seen as the enemy.

The film dramatises rituals of friendship, seduction, women's groups and their discussions. It uses some experimental styles in its cinematography and editing.

The film is a good-natured look at the lesbian world in the United States, rather militant in its pro-women stance.

1. The quality of the film? Small budget, black and white photography, musical score, editing? Its favourable reception at festivals and on the art-house circuit?

2. The impact for lesbian audiences and their identification with characters and issues? For the gay audience? For a straight audience? Americans? Universal impact? A film of comedy rather than preaching (except, perhaps, against men)? Points of view and perspectives given via comedy and drama rather than by a documentary or explicit moralising?