After receiving a video camera for his 16th birthday, an adolescent documents his life and the lives of those around him. It soon becomes apparent that the teenager is coming to terms with his gay sexuality in this delightful film which features a star-making perfomance from young Jimmy Tavares.
Olivier Ducastel’s marvellous follow-up to Drôle De Felix is a cannily observed coming-of-age tale of a sixteen-year-old ice-skater coming to terms with his gay sexual... more >
Olivier Ducastel’s marvellous follow-up to Drôle De Felix is a cannily observed coming-of-age tale of a sixteen-year-old ice-skater coming to terms with his gay sexuality. The film is shot entirely with a DV camera which Etienne receives for his birthday. About half the footage is shot by Etienne himself, as he converses with his friends and families, often asking direct personal questions. At other times Etienne is the subject of the gaze, filmed performing his skating routines or chatting to his best friend. He frequently turns the camera on himself, yet he rarely talks about his emotions unless directly asked.
Mimesis is generally used to suggest the youth’s homosexuality – his camera occasionally drifts onto an older man in the background, whom it transpires is Etienne’s object of desire (and who ends up dating Etienne’s mother). In one hilariously gauche scene, Etienne tries to attract the man by showing him his dance moves, removing his own clothing as he works up a sweat – these crass attempts at seduction could well strike a chord with anyone who has ever experienced an awkward adolescence.
It is also nice to see a drama dealing with a gay character who is not idealised beyond all human recognition. In Drôle De Felix, the title character is a cheery, loveable darling who soon becomes irritating for his absence of human infallibility. Etienne, however, is a precocious teen who thrusts a video camera into the faces of all he sees (his best friend’s girlfriend dumps him owing to Etienne’s insistence on filming everything), asking inappropriate questions. It is easy to root for this insecure character, who is played by Jimmy Tavares in a very promising performance; he is full of nervy charisma, whilst the supporting cast, including Guédiguian regular Ariane Ascaride, are excellent. This one of my favourite French films of recent years. < less
