Avant que j'oublie / Before I Forget (Jacques Nolot, 2007)

[tavernier]

It actually is only having two screenings as part of the Film Comment Selects series. I missed the Sunday show; I'm trying to make Thursday's.
I doubt it gets any distribution at all here after that.

[Barmy]

When I saw the word "rimming" in the program description I decided to pass.

[acquarello]

I caught this on Sunday at Film Comment Selects and while it's not exactly "enjoyable" because of the subject matter (about an aging hustler coping with HIV and loneliness), it really is an intensely honest look at a culture and identity that I haven't really seen represented before. Jacques Nolot's character is pretty indefinable, and while his life is at times sad because of the way he has exploited his older lovers (and is now left with nothing), I like that he is never morally "degraded" even when he is placed in situations where he is marginalized or humiliated. I'm still digesting this one, but just the fact that the Nolot can talk about Pasolini's death as a kind of fearlessness of character, or cruising with Roland Barthes was already telling me that this was operating on a more complex plane in depicting the gay experience than the usual fare (although it does have some pretty funny moments).

[yoshimori]

But I recommend always wearing a bra for these occasions, plus a small box with a wasp in it so you can always get the commentary track from heavily accented Female Texan film scholars later.

I have NO IDEA what this means, but it's one of the funniest things I've ever read.

And I am always ready to salute a gay film which is not at all kind to bourgeois gay orthodoxy or the mindless PC of the kids. (Which is but one reason I like Lifshitz so much. And Techine.)

Techine's very well made AIDS-themed Les temoins is coming out in r2uk-land next week, btw.

[tavernier]

Strand Releasing has picked this up, so there will at least be an R1 release at some point, if Barmy wants to catch up with it.

[Barmy]

Forget it.

[Michael]

Now it's out on DVD, anyone seen it?

[Matt]

I've seen it. It's not a bad transfer (not great, but watchable). As a film, I thought it was enjoyable, but it didn't really stick with me after viewing. A far better film than Les Témoins, though.

[Michael]

A far better film than Les Témoins, though.

Interesting. I thought the Techine film was pretty good but I remember you didn't care for Lifshitz, sort of a mentor of Techine. I happen to love those very humanist, introspective directors anyway. Thanks for the thoughts, Matt.

[Matt]

I normally like Téchiné's films, particularly Les Voleurs and Wild Reeds. I just thought this film was disjointed, twitchy, and rather formulaic. It had some good performances in it, though, but also a couple of very bad ones (and nice use of Les Rita Mitsouko, which instantly takes me back to the summer of 1986). Nolot's film is a better story and has some great scenes (the endless shot of a pantsless Nolot making coffee), but he's not an "expert" filmmaker: the seams still show (but then, there's a certain charm in that).

[Michael]

That I absolutely agree with you all about Wild Reeds. It is still Techine's crowning achievement and he hasn't made a film to match it yet.

Porn Theater is a fascinating film, examining the dynamics of porn theater attendees. I never went to a porn theater myself but after viewing this film, I felt like I had. All fat ugly guys, who would like to get fucked by hot straight jocks, need to do is to put on a wig and maybe some necklaces. That's all it takes - a cheap dollar wig. My jaws dropped to the floor along with the film guiding me throughout this closed dark enclave.

[Don Lope de Aguirre]

Presumably you guys know about this...

[foggy eyes]

Presumably you guys know about this...

I hadn't the faintest idea, but will now be ordering it instead of the Strand. Thanks!