In this movie we enter the world of an isolated gay beach and cruising spot in southern France (filmed at Lac de Ste-Croix). Like many of these places in Europe, in the summer the men often bathe in the nude and frolic openly together in the wooded area behind the beach. It is a lakeside sylvan idyll, complete with sunshine, lush undergrowth and wind rustling through the trees. The inviting water is warm, clean and clear.
A small group of men - often the same ones returning every day – enjoy the natural beauty of this spot and engage in their cruising and sexual activity. Guiraudie presents this hidden world sympathetically, in a few deft strokes painting the complex social interactions that take place between these men. This is a specific time and place, but their interactions are universal and familiar. A fact of life, sometimes painful, sometimes humorous.
The film shows us not just the nature and geography, but also the ritual. The parking, the path, the anticipation, the greetings, the undressing, the talking, the sunbathing, the swim, the gaze, the dance, the rejection, the acceptance, the embrace, the release, the farewell, the path, the car. Day in, day out.
Franck loves it. You might say he's addicted to it. Guiraudie pornographically shows every aspect to movie goers, so there is no doubt what is actually going on. Seeing this is essential to properly understanding this erotically charged world.
We also see how brutal and shallow this beautiful world can be. Human relations here are based on appearance and sex, and little else. Franck seems to be a nice chap, but sex is the thing, perhaps the only thing, that really matters to him. Only the hot guys get to do it with someone like Franck; the others barely exist. Franck lusts after studly Michel, but as far as Henri is concerned, Franck enjoys his company and nothing more. At one point, Franck complains to Henri that all the good ones are taken – yet available Henri is sitting right there, listening to these hurtful words. Down-to-earth Henri doesn't seem to be hurt though. He even tells Franck he's not interested. He's not into cruising. Why would he be, the way he looks?
Some reviewers don't see much of a story in this film; however, the story is about Franck learning (or experiencing at least) that certain natural laws cannot be ignored.
* If something is too good to be true, it probably isn't.
* Beauty and goodness are not linked at all. Nor are sex and love.
* The people you find at the lake are there for a reason.
* Of course, people get hurt by all this. (It turns out that Henri was very hurt after all.)
* And, if you become too much part of this world, you'll eventually end up doing it even with poor Eric.
Our hero Franck is confronted with the ultimate dilemma: would he do it with a hot guy he knows is a murderer? Answer: Of course he would. The story is about Franck trying to maintain his balance on a slippery moral slope. Franck has no one to blame for his predicament except himself, although his incomprehension or heartbreak (I'm not sure which) is apparent when he calls out to Michel at the end.
Another moral (one that all gay men should pay heed to) is that problems often arise when two men start off their relationship with hot sex, before getting to know each other at all. Gay relationships are hard, and this is one reason why. The relationship between Franck and Michel illustrates this dilemma beautifully.
Despite its message, this world is shown in too much detail for the film to be an indictment of gay cruising or gay public sex. This is an honest gay film with profound truths about gay life and the human heart – for those willing to watch.
A small group of men - often the same ones returning every day – enjoy the natural beauty of this spot and engage in their cruising and sexual activity. Guiraudie presents this hidden world sympathetically, in a few deft strokes painting the complex social interactions that take place between these men. This is a specific time and place, but their interactions are universal and familiar. A fact of life, sometimes painful, sometimes humorous.
The film shows us not just the nature and geography, but also the ritual. The parking, the path, the anticipation, the greetings, the undressing, the talking, the sunbathing, the swim, the gaze, the dance, the rejection, the acceptance, the embrace, the release, the farewell, the path, the car. Day in, day out.
Franck loves it. You might say he's addicted to it. Guiraudie pornographically shows every aspect to movie goers, so there is no doubt what is actually going on. Seeing this is essential to properly understanding this erotically charged world.
We also see how brutal and shallow this beautiful world can be. Human relations here are based on appearance and sex, and little else. Franck seems to be a nice chap, but sex is the thing, perhaps the only thing, that really matters to him. Only the hot guys get to do it with someone like Franck; the others barely exist. Franck lusts after studly Michel, but as far as Henri is concerned, Franck enjoys his company and nothing more. At one point, Franck complains to Henri that all the good ones are taken – yet available Henri is sitting right there, listening to these hurtful words. Down-to-earth Henri doesn't seem to be hurt though. He even tells Franck he's not interested. He's not into cruising. Why would he be, the way he looks?
Some reviewers don't see much of a story in this film; however, the story is about Franck learning (or experiencing at least) that certain natural laws cannot be ignored.
* If something is too good to be true, it probably isn't.
* Beauty and goodness are not linked at all. Nor are sex and love.
* The people you find at the lake are there for a reason.
* Of course, people get hurt by all this. (It turns out that Henri was very hurt after all.)
* And, if you become too much part of this world, you'll eventually end up doing it even with poor Eric.
Our hero Franck is confronted with the ultimate dilemma: would he do it with a hot guy he knows is a murderer? Answer: Of course he would. The story is about Franck trying to maintain his balance on a slippery moral slope. Franck has no one to blame for his predicament except himself, although his incomprehension or heartbreak (I'm not sure which) is apparent when he calls out to Michel at the end.
Another moral (one that all gay men should pay heed to) is that problems often arise when two men start off their relationship with hot sex, before getting to know each other at all. Gay relationships are hard, and this is one reason why. The relationship between Franck and Michel illustrates this dilemma beautifully.
Despite its message, this world is shown in too much detail for the film to be an indictment of gay cruising or gay public sex. This is an honest gay film with profound truths about gay life and the human heart – for those willing to watch.