Sauvage

I watched this movie on the evening of March 3, International Day for the Rights of Sex Workers.

I felt how bad it was to be abused.

It is a movie that people can watch to understand what sex workers, male sex workers, LGBTI+ sex workers, gay male sex workers and all sex workers in general are going through.

The film centers around a young gay man and his love for his close friend who is heterosexual but has sex with men for money. In addition, the movie shows the sex work of a gay male man and what happens to sex workers.

I hoped the ending of the movie was different, but that's okay. It was a movie that I watched with interest.

Really believable characters and behaviour.

The way men connect abuse and live each other is beautifully explored within this film. Beautiful acting and shocking at times.

The smell and energy almost wafts from the screen.

The ending which if course I can't discuss here has left us with a huge debate about why and what and alternative endings.

This film is different from what I've seen before. Takes me into a World I've visited and left. Will tell a story some will know well and others not at all.

It's a violent beautiful erotic film.

Haunting and quite special.

I was not drawn to see Sauvage, but did so because a friend asked me. I won't outline the story because that's already been addressed, but I will say that I found Sauvage interesting, moreso perhaps because the director was present for a post-screening Q&A when I saw it as part of MoMA's New Directors Festival. One of the things this film expresses for me is that even though the world seems to group gay people and the gay existence as some kind of collective, group experience, it's really a very individual journey that each person confronts, deals with, and ultimately goes through on their own. The main character in Sauvage certainly has a unique perspective on life and living, and one that I doubt even has anything to do with the fact that he is gay. There's plenty of nudity, sex, and drug use, but none of it feel gratuitous or cheap. This film will be a bit too raw for many, but if you have even an ankling to check it out I suggest you do so.

A cruel, brutal and honest depiction of life as a young male prostitute in Paris. Leo lives in a very destructive existence. The movie takes us straight into life and does not hold back for how tough this life is. Felix Maritaud is fantastic in the role of Leo, and is able to express the despair he often experiences. But he also produces a protagonist who may not be able to change his existence (for reasons we do not know). Although the film is both brutal and intense, it also has warmth and shows friendship in a credible way. I also want to draw the effort to Eric Bernad in the role of Ahd. The relationship between him and Leo is one of the film's best scenes, but also the most demanding to be able to relate to. Frankly, I think the movie shows a harsh reality, perhaps in a closed world for most of us. The director will be praised for making a film that really manages to depict a human being in a merciless world. But the movie is also about that despite a tough situation, it's always the choice we take that has consequences. That way, the film does not produce these people as victims, but as living individuals who choose to live their lives, different from most of us. A strong movie, on many levels. Highly recommended.

This is a difficult film to review because it is an extremely difficult film to view. There were scenes when I found myself wincing and occasionally turning my face away from the screen. It's rough, it's raw, it's brutal, it's sad, it's violent and it all seems very authentic. It's the story of a young prostitute who is rather sweet at heart, but is also a lost soul with the need for love who continues to be lost when he finally finds it. The centerpiece of this very, very realistically acted film is Félix Maritaud. It is as bold and brazen a performance as you will ever see. He's beautiful, but ugly at times as he keeps going downhill in a life going in the wrong direction. This harsh film doesn't really have a purpose or a message other than to show you this ugly slice of life. To put it mildly, this is not a film for everyone nor is it a film for those who have a problem with nudity and sex. It cannot even really be classified as entertainment, but it is fascinating if you can handle it. Everyone in this is strong and not a one even seems like they're performing, but it is Mr. Maritaud that makes you care about a character, who despite all, always has an aura of innocence about him. This is the only feature film directed by Camille Vidal-Naquet. It would be interesting to see more of what he can do.