Août

Now here's a strange provocation of the senses and although I liked the film for what it tried to present I can totally understand its low rating here. I guess we all go for the prospect of having two attractive strangers having a deeper bonding or some connection, we got instead something else of which we couldn't put our finger on it.

Writer/director leading man Louis Thines makes a curious film of a not so interesting case. He reveals a lot about life, truth as it is rather than making a Hollywood thing where fantasy overcomes the reality. But hear me out.

Louis goes to visit his best friend Roxane at the countryside where they gather all her friends into a great party. Lots of fun and dance through the night until Louis exchange glances with a mysterious blonde guy (Jeremy Papallardo) and it all feels great at the moment since it looks like they're both attracted to each other. I can't use the exact term of what they do when they are looking at each other but it's all very hot and deep. Comes the next morning, Jeremy, the blonde guy, invites Louis to spend some relaxing time with him at his house, of which he accepts. They spend the day relaxing by the pool sunbathing and not communicating at all. Cut to a moment later, Jeremy tries a closer contact but he's turned away and that's the movie.

Oh wait...what? Yep, that's it. Basically what Thines makes here is to show a strange variation of life that I believe it happens but not in that awkward way. So you have this situation where the intention of one doesn't connect with the intent of another and conflict may arise. It's all more worrying since they barely look at each other so the non-verbal agreement we can totally understand, the body language and the connection they make during the party; but what's left unexplained is why they can't talk to each other and see what they want from each other if it's only the pleasure of one's company or a more intimate relation. So in the end it all turns out that the Louis character just wanted to tease Jeremy, see how far he could he go and he did it only to get turned down after a more deeper request. Poor Jeremy got it all wrong or was simply provoked so that the other guy could play with his fire power because he knows he's pretty and can get what he wants. Hate to be simplistic and shallow but that's how some folks go deep down inside.

I've been there. All I could get from here was a young man seducing the other just to see how good he can be as a master of seduction. Ridiculous but it happens.

It's quite obvious that I wanted them to get together and do stuff, whatever but that's the turn the movie never made and I kinda liked it since I could see some things of life in a different perspective. Those things happen but not in that embarassing way, sometimes it all ends in worse manners. Best case scenario or should I say lessons learned is that the power of communication is vital for us human beings since eye to eye communication can have countless deeper meanings but once we express things with our voices is that we can get somewhere. Even just one enthusiastic "Hi, nice to meet you. How you're doing?" is enough. Those guys barely had that and they couldn't go to the final frontier. Shame. And as for Jeremy's advance, though many will consider inappropriate, I would never turn him down. Just saying. 6/10.