Gay Greek Aussies! by MATTHEW HAYS The Cinema du Parc, which recently brought us the theatrical runs of both Better Than Chocolate and Edge of 17, is now opening another in this year's spate of queer coming-of-age movies. And the latest, Head On, comes highly recommended. The film, a striking directorial effort by Ana Kokkinos, recounts 24 hours in the life of Ari, a confused young second-generation Greek immigrant living in Australia. Compounding the rather complex social pressures facing Ari is the fact that he's gay. The film deals openly and honestly--but never exploitively--with Ari's various dilemmas: his repression, parents, drug use and love interests. Bolstering an intelligent, never-sentimental script is Alex Dimitriades as Ari, who delivers what is undoubtedly one of the most moving performances of the year. Head On opens Friday, November 26 at the Parc. See repertory listings for showtimes. The latest film from demigod director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm) is an American Civil War epic titled Ride With the Devil (opens this Friday, Nov. 26). Featuring the acting talents of Skeet Ulrich, Jewel and Tobey Maguire, it focuses on the plight of the Bushwackers, a group of renegade pro-South guerillas. I caught this film at the Toronto International Film Festival, where I did what I think critics really shouldn't do: I walked out. Sad as I am to report it, the otherwise talented Lee has created a dreary, monotonous and lifeless film here. The second annual Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montreal has its second annual run this December 1-5. Held at the NFB Cinema downtown and the Cinematheque quebecoise, the festival/meeting of minds is at once a showcase for global documentaries and a think tank for practicing documentarians. Standout films in the series include Magnus Isacsson's Un Syndicat avec ca?, Lulu Keating's The Moody Brood and Jean-Francois Monette's Where Lies the Homo? Info: 499-1992. A special avant-premiere for Rencontres will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at the Just for Laughs Museum at 7:30 p.m. The event includes the world premiere of the bilingual film Pressure Point: Inside the Montreal Blockade, a doc profiling four activists who worked towards the defeat of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Info: 861-9030. Last week's film listings featured some rather glaring errors. The Falling opened, but did not appear on Cineplex's list of new films. It continues this week. Finally, professional homosexual Quentin Crisp passed away earlier this week at 90. Those who haven't seen the biopic based on his life story, The Naked Civil Servant (starring John Hurt), should do so promptly. Though I didn't always agree with everything Crisp said--in particular his endorsing the concept of eradicating homosexuality through eugenics--I admired his chutzpah as an uppity queen and had the honour of interviewing him in '93. Busy promoting the film Orlando, in which he played Queen Elizabeth I, he gave great quote: "Never keep up with the Joneses," he told me, bone-dry tone perfectly intact. "Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper." You rest in peace, girlfriend. : COMMENTS: matt_hays@babylon.montreal.qc.ca