At the finale of Robin Campillo's masterful Eastern Boys, bourgeois, middle-aged Frenchman Daniel (Oliver Rabourdin) has overhauled his relationship with the Ukrainian hustler Marek (Kirill Emelyanov) into something totally unexpected. The journey to that climax is a rollercoaster of flirtation, betrayal, larceny, lust, love, dauntless deeds, comeuppance, and finally a benevolent acceptance of the pair's interconnectedness in a manner that neither of these devoted halves could foretell.
The film begins documentary-like, and you won't be able to guess who the lead characters are for the first ten minutes or so as the camera goes sightseeing amongst a bevy of young males meandering to and fro at a train station among self-absorbed travelers. Are the lads thieves or hustlers or just out for a lark? Some men eye them warily with a slight lust unsure of whether to approach or not. One station guard's suspicions are raised due the actions...
The film begins documentary-like, and you won't be able to guess who the lead characters are for the first ten minutes or so as the camera goes sightseeing amongst a bevy of young males meandering to and fro at a train station among self-absorbed travelers. Are the lads thieves or hustlers or just out for a lark? Some men eye them warily with a slight lust unsure of whether to approach or not. One station guard's suspicions are raised due the actions...
- 3/7/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
The eastern boys of French-Moroccan director Robin Campillo's beautifully acted new film are a gang of undocumented East Europeans headed by a gorgeous, cruel Boss (Danil Vorobyev). They live together in a shabby suburban hotel and go into Paris each day to earn or con the money to survive. The most sensitive and intriguing of the boys, Marek (Kirill Emelyanov), is Ukrainian and delicate, aloof. Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin), a bourgeois Parisian, cruises Marek at a train station and invites him back to his swank, modern flat. In doing so, Daniel accidentally involves himself in the gang's messy violence. Later, Marek lets the older man fuck his limp, languid body for money; the two fall into a strange, unnerving relationship; lonely Daniel tries both to date and to paren...
- 2/25/2015
- Village Voice
It was a battle of Yves Saint Laurent biopics at the Césars (the French Oscars, if you will) this year as both the French foreign language Oscar submission "Saint Laurent" (leader of the pack with 10 nods) and "Yves Saint Laurent" picked up a ton of mentions. Oscar players that popped up include "Two Days, One Night" star Marion Cotillard and animated feature "Song of the Sea." Foreign film Oscar nominee "Timbuktu" also had a major showing. And of course, in the Césars' foreign category, films like "Boyhood," "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "12 Years a Slave" are duking it out. Check out the full list of nominees below, and remember to keep track of it all at The Circuit. Best Film "Les Combattants" "Eastern Boys" "La Famille Bélier" "Saint Laurent" "Hippocrate" "Sils Maria" "Timbuktu" Best Director Céline Sciamma, "Bande De Filles" Thomas Cailley, "Les Combattants" Robin Campillo, "Eastern Boys" Thomas Lilti,...
- 1/28/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Designer biopic leads the pack with 10 nominations; Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche in the running for actress awards.Scroll down for full list of nominees
Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent and Olivier Assays’ Sils Maria are the hot favourites in France’s 40th annual Cesar awards.
France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences unveiled the nominations for this year’s César Awards at its traditional news conference at Le Fouquet’s restaurant on the Champs Elysées on Friday morning.
Biopic Saint Laurent - exploring fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s life from 1967 to 1976 - led the pack with 10 nominations including best film, best director for Bonello, best actor for Gaspard Ulliel and best supporting actor for Louis Garrel.
Jalil Lespert’s rival biopic, Yves Saint Laurent, secured seven nominations. While it missed out in the best film and director categories, it scored nods with Pierre Niney for best actor, Charlotte Le Bon for best...
Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent and Olivier Assays’ Sils Maria are the hot favourites in France’s 40th annual Cesar awards.
France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences unveiled the nominations for this year’s César Awards at its traditional news conference at Le Fouquet’s restaurant on the Champs Elysées on Friday morning.
Biopic Saint Laurent - exploring fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s life from 1967 to 1976 - led the pack with 10 nominations including best film, best director for Bonello, best actor for Gaspard Ulliel and best supporting actor for Louis Garrel.
Jalil Lespert’s rival biopic, Yves Saint Laurent, secured seven nominations. While it missed out in the best film and director categories, it scored nods with Pierre Niney for best actor, Charlotte Le Bon for best...
- 1/28/2015
- ScreenDaily
Update, 2:25 Am Pt: Last year’s dueling Yves Saint Laurent biopics each picked up several nominations this morning for France’s César Awards. Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent, the country’s entry for the Foreign Language Oscar, leads the pack with 10 mentions, followed by Thomas Cailley’s Directors’ Fortnight title Les Combattants with nine, and Oscar nominee Timbuktu with eight. Yves Saint Laurent, from helmer Jalil Lespert, took seven nods. Otherwise, there are a number of usual suspects in the batch including Best Actress Oscar nominee Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night, as well as Juliette Binoche for Olivier Assayas’ Sils Maria. In something of a departure — and a first — for the French Académie, they nominated American actress Kristen Stewart for her supporting turn in that Cannes competition entry. (Adrien Brody won the Best Actor prize in 2003 for The Pianist.) There are also six nominations for late 2014 release La Famille Bélier.
- 1/28/2015
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Repugnant drama about the tender relationship between a man who pays for sex and the boy he hires. At least Pretty Woman pretended to be a fairy tale. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing (at least before the film started and I realized what it was about)
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I have no sympathy for men who pay for sex. I have even less sympathy for men who delude themselves into thinking that the people they are paying for sex actually enjoy it and want to be letting the man paying do what he’s doing. (We can test that! Let’s level the playing field and ensure that everyone can make a decent living without having to accept money from strangers in exchange for access to their bodies. And then we’ll see just how many women...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I have no sympathy for men who pay for sex. I have even less sympathy for men who delude themselves into thinking that the people they are paying for sex actually enjoy it and want to be letting the man paying do what he’s doing. (We can test that! Let’s level the playing field and ensure that everyone can make a decent living without having to accept money from strangers in exchange for access to their bodies. And then we’ll see just how many women...
- 12/5/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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