Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Paris Is Burning is a landmark documentary that captures an almost entirely undocumented subculture with extraordinary intimacy and empathy. Its subjects — Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Venus Xtravaganza — are so compelling and articulate that the film functions almost like a character study, earning a high Acting score for the raw authenticity of its participants. Novelty is exceptional: no film before or since has documented ball culture with this depth, and it introduced voguing, reading, and shade to mainstream consciousness. The cinematography is competent and immersive but constrained by the guerrilla, low-budget nature of the production. The narrative structure is loose and episodic rather than tightly plotted, and the ending, while sobering with its postscripts on several subjects, arrives somewhat abruptly rather than feeling fully resolved.