FORT BUCHANAN is the feature debut of American-born, Paris-based writer-director Benjamin Crotty and marks the arrival of something rare in contemporary cinema: a wholly original sensibility. Expanding his 2012 short of the same name, Crotty chronicles the tragicomic plight of frail, lonely Roger, stranded at a remote military post in the woods while his husband carries out a mission in Djibouti. Over four seasons, Roger (Andy Gillet, the androgynous star of Eric Rohmer’s The Romance of Astrea and Celadon) seeks comfort and companionship from the army wives in the leisurely yet sexually frustrated community, while trying to keep a lid on his volatile adopted daughter, Roxy. Drawing inspiration from his upbringing near an American military base, Crotty crafts an absurdist melodrama that features a breakout performance by Mati Diop (army wife Justine)—a recipient of the just-announced 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Shot in richly textured 16mm, Crotty’s queer soap opera playfully estranges and deranges any number of narrative conventions, finding surprising wells of emotion amid the carnal comedy. 2014 | 65m | Color | 1.78:1
“Fort Buchanan” will run from February 5-11 at Lincoln Center.