Skip to main content

Un Enfant dans la foule (French) [A Child in the Crowd]

This is an old 70s film which directly actually does not fall in the gay category. There are situations in the film that question whether Paul was gay or not but it is clear that his attraction is more real to wards the girl whom he meets towards the end of the film. So this can be argued. Set in 1930s in Paris during the German occupation time, the film is nevertheless interesting.

7 year old Paul studies in a church run boarding school and visits his home every weekend. For some weird reason he feels that no one at home wants him (including mother, father and elder sister). Soon there are issues between the couple and they split. Paul is no longer in boarding school but school was never his thing. He tries but he just does not like to study. He wanders on the street and like to meet strange men looking for love and acceptance. He does this menial jobs for German soldiers in Paris and make some money out of it. He meets a school friend, they share a bond. Paul steals for him because he is finally getting love from someone but it doesn't last long because the boy being Jewish is deported. He then meets several grown up married men. They help him with some money and food which he graciously accepts. None of them uses him. BUt they all ultimately have to go back to their respective families, once the war is over leaving him all alone longing for love. The film ends when he is all dressed up as a 13 and a half year old boy going out looking for work to help is family.

This film is a classic example of how subtle you can show things in a movie. Is the boy gay or does he have affairs with men because he can provide his family with food? It's impossible to answer in that context. Paul's need for love is so intense he's looking for someone all along the movie. And this is because we see as a child he so strongly years for his mother's love but get complete ignorance on her part. There is no hint at homosexuality, all is suggested with an incredible sense of decency.

The film shows the pain of a boy very artistically. It engrosses you with it. (5/10)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin

One Summer Night (Korean)

I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who

Ultimate masturbation: Shigoki no yama (Japanese) [The Ultimate Masturbation]

I would never know what was the point behind making this film. Was it supposed to be a comedy, cos it wasn't. It wasn't even porn. It was just a silly attempt at making something absolutely senseless and ridiculous. The story, as well as direction is equally shoddy. You could laugh for having seen something so bad, but I wouldn't call that comedy. An old man runs a camp about gay masturbation. The explanation given is that gays masturbate for pleasure unlike straight men, for whom the act is seen as shame or because they can't find a woman. One day a straight man shows up and wants to join the camp for his thesis. After discussion, he is allowed in. Rules include that you can masturbate together, you can masturbate one another, but there is no fellatio or anal sex. Some students of course breaks rule. The teacher then talks about 2 forms of masturbation which gives ultimate pleasure. He shows one without touching and then refuses to talk of the other. Somehow suddenly,