Screenings: 3/08 4:00 PM at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 3/10 9:30 PM at Camera 12, 3/11 11:30 AMat Camera 12.

The time: the eighties. The place: an international school somewhere in Europe. The star: young Chance Marque (Tad Hilgenbrinck), who is openly gay. Amid the legwarmers and shoulderpads that pass, he strides boldly into his first day at his fourth school in four years in a top hat and tails, twirling a cane, and immediately makes enemies of the thuggish jock clique. Chance uses his dry wit to avoid fights but the jocks really have it in for him, as does the terrifying vice principal. This has all the elements of a standard eighties high school movie, but with the added twist of a wonderful, sympathetic gay main character.
“The Curiousity of Chance” is not a perfect film, by any means. There are occasional overuses of slow motion and times when scenes don’t quite gel, but the overall story is charming, and Hilgenbrinck gives an excellent performance. This one is well worth seeing if the story appeals to you.