Desire

I guess if you can make it past the first 20 minutes then it might be interesting to watch.

Wow, other reviewers see this as pornography. Take another look. It's about connection and disconnection in French society, in which sex and discussions about sex are used as a central vehicle for showing relations between men and women in French society (or at least younger ones). Note that the director never shows anything above the waist of the nude women in the shower chattering away about sex and men. Note that all the characters are missing each other needs and hence at odds and frustrated. Note the scene in the plaza where everyone is self-absorbed. Note that the author starts the movie with a message that he still believes love is possible.

Where the movie fails most is not in its failure to do more than vaguely allude to the background situation - unemployment and a shipyard strike. Why those are even there is never clarified. Rather, it was the director's inability to bring the story to completion without implanting an implausibly happy ending that left me wondering what was the point of it all. If French social relations are pretty much the same as they were 25 years ago, then the director's gotten quite a bit right. Unfortunately, he didn't know where to go with it. That's why, in spite of the good acting (for the most part), I gave it only six stars.

Once again, with the everlasting stigma of being misnamed porn, "Q (Desire)" is in fact a raw and unfiltered exploration of sexuality, desire, and the search for connection. The two protagonists are key players in this intricate emotional tapestry, erratic and poorly written, certainly, but whose psychologies reveal the depths of the human experience. The bravery of actresses Déborah Révy and Hélène Zimmer in a disgustingly hypocritical world, where reactionary social conventions label the most explicit exposure of the human body as pornography or indecency, is something we should all reflect on, rather than ostracizing them in shame (we have barely been able to see either of them in future projects due to a fundamentally sexist and even misogynistic pigeonholing).

"Q (Desire)" is an erotic drama that intertwines the lives of several people in a social context marked by the economic crisis. The film centers on Cécile, a 20-year-old woman who, after the death of her father, finds herself helpless and seeking solace in her friendships and a series of sexual experiences that confront her own fantasies and desires. Cécile explores complex relationships and the search for pleasure and connection with different characters. Among them, the insecure Alice, misunderstood by her rigid and overprotective mother, yearns for a great romance, although her relationship with Matt doesn't offer the security she seeks. Through encounters and disagreements, the story delves into human desire and how it can disrupt people's lives, with Cécile serving as a catalyst that connects everyone and turns the lives of those she meets upside down.

The recurrent use of sex in the form of fellatio, masturbation, or the act of love itself, in various explicit but very natural and elegant sequences (the sequence of the two protagonists in the ferry bathroom offers one of the most intensely erotic moments I've ever witnessed in a film) serves to weave empowerment, but also victimization. Cécile uses her sexuality as an autonomous tool, always choosing with whom, when, and how, which gives her a powerful sense of control in her life. Her willingness to expose herself can be interpreted as a desire to be observed, desired, and validated. There is an underlying need to feel attractive and significant, to confirm her own existence through the gaze and desire of others.

Alice is Cécile's emotional counterpart, a young woman on the threshold of coming of age, exploring her sexuality and identity with a mixture of curiosity and naiveté. Her initial relationship with Matt is her first foray into sexual intimacy. This dynamic represents the conventional adolescent paradigm of romance and sex. However, there is a subtle dissatisfaction in Alice, a restlessness that suggests this "normalcy" isn't enough to satisfy her deepest desires or her growing "secret" curiosity. Alice is a more contemplative and sensitive character. Although she doesn't directly participate in Cécile's activities, she is a keen observer of the complexities and emotional consequences of these interactions.

I love this film! It is honest and beautiful, and I actually liked how all the sexy scenes never stopped surprising you. Very sincere and I also love the storyline. There is nothing about this movie that feels fake, and yes, maybe it was not what I expected but it was... fascinating. It also contains some great acting.

More films out there should be this honest and real! And also, I like Cecile's and Chance's relationship, it is just so interesting... You can really see from the beginning how they care for each other, and yet they do not make any promises or expect anything from each other.

The shooting and conversations in the movie is what I feel makes it so honest. Absolutely wonderful.

I would totally watch it again. And again.

I viewed the Strand Releasing version, which was stated to have toned down the sex scenes. Their version is still a pretty strong R film with plenty of nudity. There are intermittent B&W nude scenes set in a shower where they are frankly discussing men and their desires. The film is about young people in France, during a time of strikes and unemployment, so they are mainly jobless and aimless, at times destructive and obsessed with lust. The men talk primarily about getting "it", and the women want more then a simple coupling, and also seem to understand the power they have over the men when they withhold themselves. The passionate scenes between them seemed to have feelings that simple porn movies never have. I really liked the one scene where the mother was concerned about what her daughter might be doing with her boyfriend, and the father then assures his daughter that he and her mother also played around. There is an error with one of the women, when she says she needs her glasses to see, and then for the rest of the film is not wearing glasses (she was told she looked better without glasses.) Movie with subtitles.