PETER HUJAR’S DAY Luminaries

In a sun-dappled apartment in New York’s West Village, legendary queer photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw) spends a quiet afternoon with longtime friend and non-fiction writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall). Ripping cigarettes, Hujar recounts the events of the day prior, no detail too small to share, no name too big to drop: a fraught photo session with Allen Ginsberg, the minutia of a Chinese carryout order, a phone call about an overdue invoice. Tiny moments are revealed to hold profound meaning. Recorded in December 1974 as part of an abandoned book project, the re-discovered transcript serves as the basis for Ira Sach’s luminous ode to a New York that no longer exists. Incredibly intimate and beautifully shot in grainy 16mm by Alex Ashe, Whishaw reunites with his PASSAGES director to turn in another hypnotic performance, his mid-century cadence and gravelly voice utterly transformative. Though set in the confines of a single location, Sachs (a longtime chronicler of queer New York) finds magic in a simple rooftop smoke break or a spellbinding dance to Tennessee Jim’s rollicking “Hold Me Tight.” Premiering to acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, PETER HUJAR’S DAY is at once a tender portrait of an artist and a breathless time machine to an uninhibited pre-AIDS New York. –Josh Gardner