RATING 4.5 out of 5 |
[Alert: Contain spoiler] In a nondescript part of France, a lakeshore becomes a playground for homosexual encounters. The lead, Franck, routinely heads to the area and hopes to find a long-term relationship among the various men participating in anonymous sex.
A mysterious man,
Michel, tall, dark and handsome (a very Castro Street circa '70s-look) catches Franck's attention and pursues him after befriending a new
regular, Henri, who in turn is a brooding, recently divorced man.
This dramatic
thriller is a commentary on a sliver of gay life. Scriptwriter and director
Alain Guiraudie exposes anonymous sex, which is popularly misconstrued as more
characteristic of gay lifestyle. The complex lifestyle is parlayed here in all
its gayest glory—how cruising and sexual encounters are transacted. However,
when nudity and sex scenes are repeatedly exercised on screen, the initial
shock disappears and the film succeeds in desensitizing the viewer while it
sucks you into a labyrinth of storytelling reminiscent of any Hitchcock
projects; at the same time, posing a question that concerns any one attracted,
obsessed, and in love.
In French with English subtitles. Directed by Alain Guiraudie.
Starring Pierre Deladonchamps,
Christophe Paou, Patrick
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Seemingly, the
mundane dialogues, the introduction of the inspector character, and the
exclusively lake location are deceptively simple. The shots and the blocking
are almost identical. Intelligently, director Guiraudie occasionally used the rustling
of leaves, the howling sounds of the wind, and the one incident of turbidity on
the perennially pristine emerald green water to hint on the impending conflict
and suspense, which the film slowly reveals, and by the end, the viewer is on
the edge of his seat.
Homosexual life has
always been fascinating to people who do not practice it. Worse, it is
appalling to those who are fundamentally judgmental. Therefore, when the auteur
employs a winsome serial killer to prove a point on how far true love can be
tested, the film deconstructs the myth of gay life using false stereotypes—that gay
people are inherently loony. Nevertheless, just like everybody else, we all
crave for intimacy; we all take chances and normalcy is all relative.
FYI
Alain Guiraudie won
the Best Director award in the “Un
Certain Regard” section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also
screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto
International Film Festival.
Roghadal Saint-Michel is our guest critic from Toronto, Canada. His name is suspiciously similar to our editor's name but Mr. Saint-Michel is a different person as proof of his TIFF ticket. |
The film also received
eight Cesar awards nominations (the French equivalent of the Oscars), which
include Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Newcomer,
Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound.
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