We admit we're confused. Naively, perhaps, we welcomed last November's political developments. You know, liberté, fraternité, and that third té we can never remember. But we had no idea "democracy fever" would affect us personally. Igor now refuses to dust or dress us, claiming he's too busy reading Das Kapital. Renfield walks upright now and demands "paté and petit-fours!" instead of his former protein-rich diet. Even the winged monkeys have betrayed us, staging impromptu orgies in the gardens — even flying off to pluck strapping villagers from their plows and dropping them dazed and naked into their vile fêtes. Where once the rafters rang daily with reassuring phrases like "yes sir" and "okay but my knees hurt," we now hear gibberish like "division of labor" and "bourgeois scum" and "it's the re-education camp for the fop!" I can't even get a decent amouse bouche anymore because "cooking is counter-revolutionary!"

Yet we soldier on. Fortified by several stiff belts of elderberry cordial and a recent re-reading of Ronald Firbank's The Artificial Princess, we hunkered down and pulled together (with no help from Igor, Renfield, or the monkeys, thank you) a new issue of Bright Lights.

Entering the features foyer, thankfully calm just now, we glimpse Andrew Grossman returning after a too-long absence to comprehensively examine movie titles. Now you'll know why you've always hated the term "Jesus is Lord." Nearby, newbie Mervyn Nicholson investigates the pesky problem of "male envy" in Hitchcock but particularly in Strangers on a Train.

Moving on to the mercifully quiet articles antechamber, Jerry Kutner posits a dream double-bill, previously unsuspected but incontestably right: Antonioni and Jack Arnold. Lesley Chow leads a tour of the unique comedy stylings of Andrew Bujalski, and elsewhere introduces readers to a fascinating lineup of recent Hong Kong actresses. Dave Saunders lays his finely polished lorgnette on Buñuel and a myriad of other subjects. Tanfer Emin-Tunc revisits Casablanca and finds it especially timely. BL stalwart Alan Vanneman continues his deep-sea dive into all things Chaplin with a look at four of the master's "lesser" works. Tom Sutpen joins Alan in the Land of Silents with the first of a six-part exegesis of Erich von Stroheim. Wrapping it up is Gordon Thomas' rediscovery of the pleasures and pitfalls of Henry King's The Sun Also Rises.

Gordon, who probably can still get a decent amuse bouche if he wants, also inaugurates an exciting ongoing feature this time: Bright Sights. This DVD roundup reviews some of the most intriguing "under the radar" releases from the best companies: Second Run, Facets, All Day, New Yorker, etc. Meanwhile, Matt Kennedy, whose book on Joan Blondell we eagerly await, profiles another DVD in the homo corner: the multiply queer A Very Special Favor.

Recent developments at the Castle have not, surprisingly, dimmed our appetite for recent cinema. As always, this time Vanneman takes the lion's share, walloping on Blood Diamond, Children of Men, Happy Feet, Casino Royale, and The Good Shepherd. Meanwhile, Deirdre Gilfredder returns this issue with a witty look at The Queen; and two newbies — Stephane Dunn and Jenna Ng — give pointed readings of, respectively, Hustle & Flow and Dopo Mezzanotte. Associate editor Megan Ratner pays tribute to the late Fabián Bielinsky with a fine analysis of his two features. Moving backward in time, Dan Callahan reminds us why we've always loved Ted Tetzlaff's noir creepfest The Window.

Our interviewers, perhaps because they still have a thoughtful staff to dress and feed them, were especially chatty this time. These expert interrogators took on a variety of notables. Damien Love spoke with Peter Bogdanovich and Joseph McBride at length about Welles' fascinating The Other Side of the Wind. Bert Cardullo engaged the ever-articulate Abbas Kiarostami. Damon Smith did double-duty, waylaying Barbara Kopple and the inimitable Quay Brothers. And new contributor Peter Rinaldi shot the breeze (unsettling metaphor!) with the irrepressible Caveh Zahedi.

Concluding BL #55 are newcomer Ben Cho's lively take on the Dragons & Tigers component of the 2006 Vancouver International Film Festival; and the return of yours truly's Little Stabs (disturbing phrase!), which this time consists exclusively of queer and queer-inflected material.

Please proceed to the new issue, while I take a look at that piece of paper someone — or perhaps something — just slipped under my door . . .

P.S. To help quell the rebellion (and keep our servers humming), we've installed a "DONATE" button for any flush, sympathetic souls out there who might wish to contribute some cash to Bright Lights to keep it functioning and ad-free. This month we had to abandon our previous (terrible) webhost in favor of a new one that can handle our high traffic (more than 300,000 visitors per month now) but costs almost four times the previous rate! If you enjoy Bright Lights and can spare the green, please consider clicking the button below. Do it for Igor. (We haven't given up hope.)