Eastern Boys

Pretty weird flick... Olivier Rabourdin is "Daniel", who thinks he has picked up a hustler at the train station; instead, things go from weird to weirder. The person who shows up at his door is NOT the person he thinks he hired, and when a whole group of eastern block people show up, things go south quickly. Daniil Vorobyov is "Boss", the chiseled, muscle-y leader of the pack, who runs the show. Then Daniel sees Marek, the guy who lured him into this whole mess (Kirill Emelyanov), and they strike up an odd relationship. The last two thirds of the film is mostly about their relationship, which has its ups and downs.

Written and directed by Robin Campillo, whose other works are related to gangs or different social classes and the issues that come with that. Not much info on any of these actors in IMDb. While this film is a bit off-beat, it's certainly entertaining, and one of the few films where I was not able to guess what comes next. English subtitle translation du français.

I had no expectations going into this film. And the first few minutes made me doubt my choice. But as the slow narrative starts to develop, it sucked me in and kept me captivated until the very end.

A very realistic, raw image of illegal immigrants and a very sensitive story of deception, love and protection.

I won't spoil the story, but if you are not homophobic and if you like movies such as Stephen Frears's "Dirty Pretty Things", this is a great cinematic experience. Hopefully this movie will get a wide enough audience and recognition.

Go watch it with an open mind.

EASTERN BOYS is the story of a middle-aged man developing a love interest with an Ukrainian rent boy. The boy's still caught up in gang life and his troubled condition as an immigrant in France complicate the relationship. EASTERN BOYS is part drama, part romance, a story told with relatively little words and carried by superb performances.

All of the characters appear to be very real, and even the movie's "villain", the gang leader, is relatable and not one-sided. The relationship between the two main protagonists is similarly multi-faceted and interesting.

Overall, the movie did keep me interested... but at times it just prodded along, bugged down by pacing issues. Especially the middle part of the movie had far too many short scenes with short musical interludes, which made everything seem blur together. Cinematographically, EASTERN BOYS looks decent but it also has a lot of generic shots and cuts... and a pretty bad overlaid images shot in a dance scene.

All in all, a decent gay-themed romance drama that will keep you entertained, but it won't blow your mind.

This film is not for the faint hearted - it's fairly full on - powerful and moving. The language bar is very low. Shot in French, English and Russian - you don't really need to know much of the other languages to understand it. It's tense and moody - especially the first half.

Strong performances from the leads and from main supporting actors.

Recommended

Around the Gare du Norde railway station groups of East European lads gather and seek opportunistic chances for an easy buck. Daniel Muller (Olivier Rabourdin 'Of Gods and Men') is a gay man who is attracted to one of them - he is not sure if they are for rent but approaches Marek and a date is arranged at Muller's apartment. Only when he answers the door he is not prepared for the visitor he gets.

That is the start and what develops goes way beyond what I was expecting. We have quite a few issues being explored here from migrant integration, crime, pay for sex and affairs of the heart. I was at times feeling uncomfortable, angry, concerned and even happy. The main thing is that it is always engaging.

Great performances from all the cast but Olivier Rabourdin was totally convincing and Krill Emelyanov as Marek as the confused yet caring Ukrainian was brilliant. This is for those who enjoy an intelligent gay themed film, but a lot of the issues here are very universal and as such I can highly recommend.