This one falls into that darker corner of gay cinema. There was real potential buried in here, but the execution feels so flat that at points it plays out more like a filmed stage play than an actual movie. It's a dark psychological drama built around a street hustler confessing to a brutal, confusing murder of his own lover. Black and white flashback sequences do a solid job laying out the details of what happened, but the real focus stays on the dialogue and the writing itself. Right at the start, a young hustler has already killed his male lover Claude. Three days go by before he calls the police to turn himself in for the murder. But instead of just reporting it somewhere ordinary, he actually summons the police and the local press directly into a judge's private chambers. Yves has keys to the place, which tracks given what he does for a living, but having the press waiting right outside makes the whole scene look like some elaborate blackmail scheme against the judge. The ...
The five senses is a truly lovely film. It takes a look into the lives of several people, most of whom are somehow the embodiment of a sense. Yet the fact that they are so involved in a particular sense prevents them from experiencing life fully.The story that glues all five senses concerns the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl, Amy Lee. One day at the massage therapist, Ruth, Anna finds that Amy Lee is bored. Ruth asks her very reluctant teenage daughter, Rachel, to take Amy Lee to the park across the street to play. Rachel's attention gets diverted and Amy Lee goes missing. Now lets talk about the 5 senses and the people who get interconnected through these. Sight is embodied in Rona, a young woman who bakes designer cakes. The cakes are visually stunning, but she has very little regard to how they taste. She just cares about external beauty. In contrast, Taste is embodied by her Italian lover Roberto whom she met on a trip and now she feels she cannot get rid of him. Rona is the last one who sees Rachael and Amy Lee together. Hearing is embodied in the bittersweet story of Dr. Richard who lives in the same building and is making a list of those sounds that he wants to listen to before his hearing goes ...
Gail, a paid "escort" and sympathetic person, helps him in his quest. Smell is personified by Robert, a fun guy, cleaner by profession and Rona's best friend. He is meeting all his ex's so that he can smell true love in maybe one of them. His quest ends when the wife of one of the couple he works for gives him a perfume as a gift knowing that Robert has a crush on her husband. They all 3 end up in bed together. Touch is Ruth, a massage therapist who seems to use her practice to regain the intimacy she once had with her now deceased husband. Meanwhile Rachael and her friend Rupert use all their senses and try to discover who they truly are.
Te film was very interesting though culmination of Rona's and Roberto's story was a little weird. Everyone's acting was just superb. Its very difficult to say who was better. Clearly the only gay connection in this movie was for the cleaner but it still made me review this film here. The film also shows the struggles of people's lives and how some of us fight with loneliness.
A very well made film. (7/10)
Comments