Queendom (2024)
dir. Agniia Galdanova
Rated: N/A
image: ©2024 Dogwoof Releasing
Thirty minutes into the documentary Queendom, we see the film’s subject, Gena Marvin, writhing in a large performance space in nothing but thong underwear. A cut reveals a host of characters covered head-to-toe in shiny, latex-like material who are standing menacingly in front of Gena. Each of these suits – which, because they cover every inch of the performers’ bodies, are reminiscent of BDSM gear – is one of three solid colors. The colors consist of the three represented on the Russian Federation flag. Those colors happen to be red, white, and blue.
The next shot shows Gena staring above her directly into the camera. She is now surrounded by these patriotic figures, who encircle her in rings of the red, blue, and white suits. They jostle and envelop Gena, slowly pushing her down, swallowing her up from view of the camera. If you’re looking for a central metaphor for Queendom, you can’t do much better than this moment.
Shot between 2019 and early 2023, director Agniia Galdanova’s Queendom is an intoxicating mix of performance art and fly-on-the-wall documentary that captures the work of a gifted artist and her determination to challenge her homeland’s repressive government and bigoted culture.
The 21-year-old Gena originally hails from Magadan, a small city in northeastern Russia, but she fled to Moscow (eight time zones away) to attend university and because she feels happier in the relatively more cosmopolitan world capital. Gena’s grandparents, who took her in and raised her when she became an orphan, do not approve, to put it mildly, of Gena’s art or the way she lives her life.
Gena is non-binary and queer, and she uses her provocative creature drag costumes and performances to confront the prejudices of those around her. The stunned and often reactionary responses that Gena gets from her unsuspecting audiences, whether on a subway car or on the streets of Moscow, are part of the performance.
She might feel slightly more safe and able to live her life authentically in Moscow, but Gena doesn’t mince words about the overall state of her homeland. The whole country is a prison according to her, and as the film unfolds, Russia’s dictator – excuse me, president – Vladimir Putin criminalizes speech and protest against his unlawful invasion of Ukraine. It’s hard to disagree with Gena’s assessment.
Disaster strikes for the young artist when she is expelled for the second time from university, this time because one of her art pieces broke a law against using the Russian Federation national flag and Russian state symbols for subversive purposes. At least part of the reason Gena, who was assigned male at birth, is expelled for this blasphemous performance is due to her wearing “women’s red high heel boots.”
After the second expulsion, free tuition is now unavailable – I’ll note that, unlike the US, the authoritarian, repressive Russian government can at least see the benefit in providing a free education to its subjects (excuse me, citizens) – and Gena faces conscription in the Russian military. That is almost certainly a death sentence for her.
During a trip home after being expelled, Grandpa becomes infuriated with Gena when she dresses in shorts for their trip to the military recruiting office. The shorts show off Gena’s tattoos, making her look, according to Grandpa, “like a fag.” It’s a desperate situation, but, as seen in an earlier scene, Gena does have a support group of friends to talk it out with, even in small-minded Magadan.
While there’s a lot of heartache and turmoil contained in Queendom’s 98 minutes, there are also a few moments of sheer exhilaration for Gena. Back in Moscow, we see her audition for and book a runway modeling spot for a fashion show. The exuberant reaction from the show’s designer at seeing Gena demonstrate her runway walk is a joyous occasion. That’s matched by the radiant smile on Gena’s face at her victory.
In this brief moment, we get to see this artist achieving her goals and being enthusiastically accepted for being her most authentic self. A birthday party thrown by friends in Moscow is another small, quiet moment of triumph for the young artist, even as her troubles are weighing her down.
The sequences that director Galdanova dedicates to Gena’s performance art are transcendent. The outlandish, mesmerizing costumes in Gena’s repertoire are provocative and stunning in equal measure. One is a traditional drag lip-syncing performance, on a stage with the words “Men in Heels” emblazoned on the wall behind it. Gena’s costume is outrageous. It’s all white, topped with a bombastic gold crown, and includes platform shoes, kabuki-like face makeup, and skinny, three-foot long finger extensions. Moments before the lip-synching performance, we see Gena making her way to the venue in full costume, stopping down crowds on the subway when she crawls along the floor of the car.
One of these sequences involves no costume at all. It’s simply Gena naked, save underwear, crawling through thick black mud, a representation of the filth and degradation her society heaps on her and those like her. Later, there are a few moments of palpable anxiety and distress when Russian military members harass Gena for being dressed provocatively on Russia’s Paratrooper Day, a solemn celebration of the nation’s military might.
A still from Queendom.
Then comes Gena’s arrest. After the invasion of Ukraine – which is followed by a law in Russia threatening 15 years in prison for any citizen who so much as publicly expresses negative attitudes about the “military exercise” – Gena carefully (and painfully) suits up to draw attention to the unjust, unlawful war. The costume is a rig made to look like barbed wire. Gena pointedly makes sure to get several of these loops of uncomfortable metal wrapped in front of her mouth. She then walks the streets of Moscow; she is defiance to the war personified. A police truck eventually comes along to scoop her up.
With a trial looming, and facing the further oppression of a new Russian law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda,” which effectively makes being queer in Russia illegal, Gena makes a frantic play to get out of the country and seek refugee status abroad.
The final image of Queendom is a haunting one. It’s another performance art piece. Gena is walking the streets of an unknown city, clad only in that familiar thong underwear and platform heels. She has black contact lenses over her eyes, and is drenched in what looks like blood. She walks the streets with a pained expression on her face, stopping in one moment to hold onto a lamppost, doubling over as she feigns stomach cramps.
It is a powerful image that is powerful art; Gena is the walking embodiment of the millions who have suffered at the hands of bigotry, hatred, and war. Seconds before the film cuts to the end credits, the camera tracks in front of Gena’s face. Her look of pain and anguish slowly dissolves and we get the barest hint of a smile. It feels like this is Gena’s way of saying to us that she is doing exactly what she’s supposed to be doing, and that she won’t stop until the oppression, hatred, and violence also stops.
Why it got 4 stars:
- Queendom is a fascinating and often heartbreaking look at an artist using her creativity to push boundaries, even at the expense of her own health and safety.
Things I forgot to mention in my review, because, well, I'm the Forgetful Film Critic:
- The first four letters of Gena’s hometown, where people like her aren’t welcome, didn’t go unnoticed by me.
- There is a devastating passage in the film where Grandma tells Gena that it’s not surprising that people in Magadan aren’t willing to stand up to injustice. Because this place and these people are on the edge of the former Siberian Soviet gulags, she tells Gena, “fear and subservience are in our DNA.”
- During an anti-Putin demonstration, in which the participants are shouting slogans like “Russia without Putin!” and “Russia will be free!”, Gena stands like a statue in her provocative costume, simply standing witness to what is happening.
- There is a moment when Gena is helping Grandpa with his fishing duties, and she scatters fish guts on the shore. A dozen or more seagulls swoop in to feast, which feels like a juxtaposition to what we see happen to Gena over the course of the film.
Close encounters with people in movie theaters:
- I saw Queendom via a screening link for review consideration. It will be available in select theaters and on VOD platforms beginning June fourteenth.
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The FFC’s political soapbox
After departing in 2015, Jon Stewart returned to the desk at The Daily Show a few months ago, but his absolute evisceration of Republican — and more specifically MAGA, although it’s getting harder by the day to tell the difference between the two — hypocrisy and cravenness when it comes to “cancel culture” during his latest monolog is the return to form for which I’ve been waiting. Every accusation is an admission of guilt with these MAGA fascists. Please take 15 minutes of your day to watch Stewart at the top of his game.