One can only hope that the openings sequence of this movie (an extensive, totally uninhibited and extremely graphic account of a gay sex orgie, that takes like 15 to 20 minutes!) doesn't scare too many viewers away. This would be such a pity, because then they would also miss out on what actually is a very original, insightful and endearing feel-good movie.
Don't get me wrong: as in-you-face as the openings-sequence may be, it's absolutely crucial to the story, introducing the two main characters Hugo and Theo and making their instant mutual attraction understandable. Maybe directors Ducastel and Martineau could have toned it down a bit and still make their point, but as it is, with no prudish restraint whatsoever, it gives the movie a very honest, almost refreshing openness, that totally fits the premise of a passionate sex contact that is the cause of a chain of events that brings Hugo and Theo not only physical but also emotionally together.
The form of the narrative is cleverly devised, everything takes place in the last hours of the night, both guys alternately cycle, walk or run through the nightly streets of Paris (an evident metaphor for a miniature coming-of-age journey: through the dark into the light of the morning!), while in the meantime, by talking, fighting, kissing, bickering and making up again, they gradually get to know each other and more and more let their own guards down.
Both actors Geoffrey Couët and François Nabot do a great job, they not only are both attractive to watch, but they are also totally convincing as the instantly smitten but cautious and tentative lovers, and one can only admire their courage to go all the way to comply with the director's need for ultimate realism.
Don't get me wrong: as in-you-face as the openings-sequence may be, it's absolutely crucial to the story, introducing the two main characters Hugo and Theo and making their instant mutual attraction understandable. Maybe directors Ducastel and Martineau could have toned it down a bit and still make their point, but as it is, with no prudish restraint whatsoever, it gives the movie a very honest, almost refreshing openness, that totally fits the premise of a passionate sex contact that is the cause of a chain of events that brings Hugo and Theo not only physical but also emotionally together.
The form of the narrative is cleverly devised, everything takes place in the last hours of the night, both guys alternately cycle, walk or run through the nightly streets of Paris (an evident metaphor for a miniature coming-of-age journey: through the dark into the light of the morning!), while in the meantime, by talking, fighting, kissing, bickering and making up again, they gradually get to know each other and more and more let their own guards down.
Both actors Geoffrey Couët and François Nabot do a great job, they not only are both attractive to watch, but they are also totally convincing as the instantly smitten but cautious and tentative lovers, and one can only admire their courage to go all the way to comply with the director's need for ultimate realism.