kbraidi
Joined Jan 2015
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kbraidi's rating
The curators of this collection of six French short films had the opportunity of showing us a range of France's creative best, but apparently this is the best that they could come up with, sad to say.
Admittedly, I have a preference for either forthright narratives or, if we are to take a flight of fancy, at least a tale with a discernable point to make. Of the six films presented here, only two have a straightforward A-to-B-to-C plot structure.
"En Retour" - "In Return" - gives us a short tale of what might transpire between a more "mature" john and his adult rent-boy.
The far-and-away best selection of the bunch, "Herculaneum," presents a series of three encounters between two men who meet through a hook-up app. (I would highly recommend viewing this one, even if you skip all of the others.) The whimsical "Apollo" is somewhat of a fantasy detailing the titular teenage boy's obsession with his body, particularly the size of his penis.
"Ruptures" is a hard-to-follow mash-up of various 20-somethings describing their past break-ups. It jumps back and forth between snippets of a series of interviews conducted by a friend, as best I can figure. But, to what end?
Each of the remaining two shorts has a different pair of boys at its core. The first half of "Juliet Electrique" presents two adolescents, one being the alpha-male leader; and the other, his accomplice, who will face whatever fears he has to meet his pal's dares. An unexpected kiss between them throws them -- and the film! - off track, into an obscure future, dragging the viewer along to an unresolved confusing neverland.
And lastly, it is anyone's guess what "The Body of Angels" is supposed to be about. It seems to want to be allegorical; but in any event, we can safely say that it is "for the birds."
Admittedly, I have a preference for either forthright narratives or, if we are to take a flight of fancy, at least a tale with a discernable point to make. Of the six films presented here, only two have a straightforward A-to-B-to-C plot structure.
"En Retour" - "In Return" - gives us a short tale of what might transpire between a more "mature" john and his adult rent-boy.
The far-and-away best selection of the bunch, "Herculaneum," presents a series of three encounters between two men who meet through a hook-up app. (I would highly recommend viewing this one, even if you skip all of the others.) The whimsical "Apollo" is somewhat of a fantasy detailing the titular teenage boy's obsession with his body, particularly the size of his penis.
"Ruptures" is a hard-to-follow mash-up of various 20-somethings describing their past break-ups. It jumps back and forth between snippets of a series of interviews conducted by a friend, as best I can figure. But, to what end?
Each of the remaining two shorts has a different pair of boys at its core. The first half of "Juliet Electrique" presents two adolescents, one being the alpha-male leader; and the other, his accomplice, who will face whatever fears he has to meet his pal's dares. An unexpected kiss between them throws them -- and the film! - off track, into an obscure future, dragging the viewer along to an unresolved confusing neverland.
And lastly, it is anyone's guess what "The Body of Angels" is supposed to be about. It seems to want to be allegorical; but in any event, we can safely say that it is "for the birds."
While it is true that whenever I see that a film's star is also its writer and director, I tend to avoid watching what I assume will be another vanity production. Sometimes, however, I decide to take a chance and watch it anyway; and occasionally I am pleasantly surprised. This is not one of those cases.
From the get-go, this film is dominated by the "performance" of one Tom Heard, who plays Jamie, an older gentleman who was once an enthusiastic local cabaret performer, but who is now attempting to recover from an upsetting break-up with his singing partner/boyfriend, by isolating himself in his apartment, belting out maudlin love songs to himself. He is not a likeable character at the onset, and does not ever become one!
The plot is such that our sad-sack crooner begins interacting with his younger neighbor, another "damaged goods" loner who is unwilling to deal with his depression due to the death of his mother, and has a journal full of sentimental "poetry" to prove it. Donato De Luca does at least provide a little spark as the sulky young neighbor, Ben.
I suppose it is debatable whether the film would have been better served by having less saccharine poetry, better song lyrics, or vocal performances beyond those exhibited by Mr. Heard. Let's cut to the chase here: If there is any reason to sit through this low-budget, low-energy fiasco of a film, I just don't get it!
From the get-go, this film is dominated by the "performance" of one Tom Heard, who plays Jamie, an older gentleman who was once an enthusiastic local cabaret performer, but who is now attempting to recover from an upsetting break-up with his singing partner/boyfriend, by isolating himself in his apartment, belting out maudlin love songs to himself. He is not a likeable character at the onset, and does not ever become one!
The plot is such that our sad-sack crooner begins interacting with his younger neighbor, another "damaged goods" loner who is unwilling to deal with his depression due to the death of his mother, and has a journal full of sentimental "poetry" to prove it. Donato De Luca does at least provide a little spark as the sulky young neighbor, Ben.
I suppose it is debatable whether the film would have been better served by having less saccharine poetry, better song lyrics, or vocal performances beyond those exhibited by Mr. Heard. Let's cut to the chase here: If there is any reason to sit through this low-budget, low-energy fiasco of a film, I just don't get it!
