CAPSULE REVIEWS

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STRAND RELEASING

Before I Forget

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The following capsule reviews were written by Miami Herald movie critic Rene Rodriguez.

BEFORE I FORGET (AVANT QUE J'OUBLIE) (Unrated) ***

''I like being miserable,'' says Pierre (Jacques Nolot), the protagonist of Before I Forget (Avant que j'oublie), a 60-year-old, HIV-positive ex-gigolo living in Paris. Pierre's body is starting to crumble on him, but his vanity -- and his sex drive -- remain intact.

He regularly hangs out with other men his age to complain about getting old, he hires male prostitutes (when he can afford them) for sexual release and he constantly looks back on his past with a nostalgic, mournful eye.

It may sound downbeat and depressing, but Before I Forget is often subtly, quietly funny. Nolot, who also wrote and directed, takes a compassionate but sardonic approach to the lonely, fascinating Pierre, whose persona is largely defined by his depression and constant complaining, but who can also find the humor in the bleakest of situations. Before I Forget may be nothing more than a small, intimate character study, but what a character.

Cast: Jacques Nolot, Jean-Paul Dubois, Marc Rioufol. Writer-director: Jacques Nolot. Producer: Pauline Duhault. A Strand release. Running time: 108 minutes. Vulgar language, adult themes. In French with English subtitles. Plays at 5 p.m. Saturday at Regal South Beach.

BI THE WAY (Unrated) ** ½

Is bisexuality an actual sexual orientation or just a trendy attitude? In Bi the Way, co-directors Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker do their best to find out, interviewing a variety of people on the nature of bisexuality. The women are much more convincing than the men, who often come off as gay men reluctant to come out of the closet completely. There is also the curious inclusion of Josh, a 10-year-old boy adopted by filmmaker Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation), whose presence here is a little distracting, considering his age.

Directors: Brittany Blockman, Josephine Decker. Running time: 85 minutes. Vulgar language. Plays at 8 p.m. Saturday at Regal South Beach.

OTTO; OR, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE (Unrated) **

In Otto; or, Up With Dead People, provocateur Bruce La Bruce (Hustler White, Raspberry Reich) brings his brand of raunchy, political gay filmmaking to the zombie genre. The titular hero -- the lonely, undead, gay Otto (Jey Crisfer) -- wanders the streets of Berlin, trying to remember his life before he became a member of the flesh-eating crowd.

After he gets a role playing a zombie in a low-budget horror film, Otto starts piecing his former life together. La Bruce, as usual, doesn't skimp on the graphic sex or the outrageous situations: One scene here outdoes David Cronenberg's Crash in terms of unorthodox intercourse. But the use of zombiehood as a metaphor for alienation is more effective than you might suspect, and the film's no-budget, crummy veneer ends up growing on you. Otto won't elevate La Bruce past his fringe cult status or win him any new fans, but it won't disappoint his faithful, either.

Cast: Jey Crisfer, Katharina Klewinghaus. Writer-director: Bruce La Bruce. Producers: Jennifer Jonas, Jurgen Bruning. A Strand release. Running time: 105 minutes. Vulgar language, violence, gore, nudity, sexual situations, adult themes. Plays at 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Regal South Beach.

WHEN I KNEW (Unrated) ***

When do people conclusively know they are gay? In When I Knew, directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) share answers culled from 150 interviews of gay and lesbian Americans. No two stories are alike, and every one is fascinating.

Consisting of straightforward ''talking head'' interviews interspersed with home movies and old photographs, When I Knew finds the common thread between people who discovered, at a certain and defining point in their lives, that there was something ''different'' about them.

Some of the anecdotes are humorous (like the man who remembers being a little too fond of TV's Grizzly Adams as a boy); others are more painful. But When I Knew also gradually reveals an unspoken commonality among practically all of the interviewees: Every person interviewed in the film can recall the exact moment they realized they were gay -- whether they were 3 or 30 -- with precise and eloquent clarity. ''When you have that moment of discovery, it's like time stands still,'' says one woman. `You feel so good, and then you get so scared.''

Directors: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato. Based on the book by Robert Trachtenberg. Vulgar language. 70 minutes. Plays at 7:15 p.m. Sunday at Regal South Beach.