The Wounded Man

You've got to think along the lines of Last Tango in Paris for this one because the mood and emotion runs along the same lines and maintains the same heights - the difference being that in this exceptional, intense and torrid depiction of love among the ruins of a Dostoyevskyian dispossessed the setting is a gay-subcultural milieu - perhaps even one that is set to vanish in time, and not the equally arresting but heterosexual context of Bertolucci's own film.

The last third of this film depicts a passionate love never seen in gay cinema. To talk of pornography or gay self-effacement misses the point and intelligence of this work. This film, though on first impression appears to take us into the familiar & often depicted underworld of gay street-life, then precedes to subvert the rules of this genre by exaggerating it to a super-real degree. The result is a hyper-charged emotional heightening - an exceptional strategy that elevates the drama to one of big universal themes and giant gestures.

This film snatches the high ground because of the brilliant performances by it's actors, notably a young Jean Hugues Anglade and the directing. A tour- De -force of cinema. Outstanding in ambition and it's unceasing plummet into the depths of human emotion. As a contribution to gay cinema, this film conquers this difficult ground and makes it it's own triumph.

This movie is very interesting . I was very intrigued the passion and attraction between these 2 guys but also kind of catastrophic passion that emerged in a city so full of crime and dispersion! Even made in 1982, I give a great credit for the story and the way this Director brought this film and gave to the audition one strong idea about real life in those times so well done!

A fine performance by Vittorio Mezzogiorno and a masterful one by Jean-Hugues Anglade adorn this stange tale of lust, desire and alienation in France. The work of the two lead performers is striking--subtle, intense and passionate. Alas, the script is deliberately turgid and sordid, and the overall effect leaves one with a downcast spirit. Still, those who can appreciate fine quality acting will be able to savor the courageous work of the leads in this often difficult film journey of Gallic low life.

Before "Betty Blue", the male star of that film - JH Anglade - made this even darker romance about the love of a naive, desperately lonely young man for an older male hustler. Its a beautiful film with relaxed nudity and highly erotic sex scenes between the excellent male leads.

But its also a very dark and sinister movie. Its a film of extreme passions with a raw, violent finale which is poignant as well as disturbing. Its a film which contemplates the collision of impassioned, yearning-for-love youth with the jaded, cynical ruthlessness of youth lost in the figure of the older hustler. Its not a pleasant film but its nonetheless one of the most highly charged erotic gay films ever made with an intelligent script and a powerful narrative force as the two men seek to find their own way to survive. Anglade's heartfelt performance as the intense, brooding and determined young man is soulful.

L'Homme Blesse is not for an impatient, adventure-seeking audience. There are no explosions nor is the drama straightforward. Like the films of Lynne Ramsey, the director is working more deeply with mood than with storytelling in a manner that is effective and incredibly moving. Because it does not rely on gratuitous nudity, or superficial pop-cult. story lines, this is quite frankly one of the best gay foreign film I have seen (also, see Francois Ozon, Pedro Almodovar). Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now" gets a lot of bad press because it is sold as a horror film. That film, like L'Homme, is more than what the box might lead you to believe. If you are in the mood to sit back and be absorbed by the subtle, transformed powers of cinema, you'll love this movie.