Querelle
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Movie Reviews of Querelle
Movie Review: Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie truly made me rethink my pompous blow-hard nature: that is to say, I'm fanatical about Jean Genet, madly in love with Brad Davis, and I even MOSTLY like Fassbinder. But for some reason, I can never seem to get through the first half of this movie.Jean Genet's forbidden story of Querelle was, simply put, never meant to be translated into a movie. The internal struggles of Querelle were too innate, too complex...to ever be categorized and flow-charted and minced down into two hours of a panel-by-panel film script.
Now, with that said, I think Fassbinder made an excellent attempt to put you right up inside the taboo story of our favorite murderer/hero. The scenery is luscious, the costumry finely detailed, the casting superb. Not to mention the delicious sailor booty of a certain leading man, Brad Davis.
Still, I find this movie left me with much to be desired. After the torrid affair of Querelle and Nono, I wanted to roll over and go to sleep (no underlying meaning meant). Even THEN, there was only so much tension up until that point, and the plot manuevering that Fassbinder undertook did nothing to appease me. For example, the lusty leiutenant who writes of Querelle in the novel, keeps, instead, a tape recorded diary. With any horribly tedious passages taken directly from the text. In terribly stiff monologues.
Scary stuff.
All in all, I rated this movie with four of five stars. It perfectly compliments any Genet collection and makes for wonderful ornamentation on your DVD shelves. But if you've never heard of Jean Genet or never saw a Fassbinder movie, you should probably buy a different homoerotic brothel-lined story of metamorphoses and love.
Movie Review: Once upon a time there was a ship full of oily sailors...
Summary: 4 Stars
...and it only gets more confusing after that. 'Querelle' is a difficult movie to follow. I've watched it quite a few times and I end up with something new after each viewing. Querelle (Brad Davis in a way-too-tight sailor uniform) appears to be just another resident meanie in the port of Brest. OK, a very sexually-repressed meanie. He hasn't come to the realization that he just wants to be loved. How he comes to that realization is the plot of the movie (...or is it?). Along the way, Querelle murders, fondles a cop, smuggles drugs and flirts with his commanding officer. The movie is an eerie, voyeuristic experience painted in sepia tones. Although Querelle participates is numerous kinky episodes, there is nothing pornographic here in the sense of flailing flesh and hungry moans (lots of sweaty sailors, though) and everything that happens moves the plot along.
The DVD is a welcome change from the Columbia and EDDE edition VHS tapes (but I would rather have the original Columbia VHS artwork instead of the big "Q" here). The print is anamorphic (2.35:1) and of a pretty good quality for 1982. I did notice a few frame shakes here and there but nothing too jarring. You also get the original English mono track and an alternate French track. There's no trailer included for this movie but there's a couple of other unrelated ones.
So sit back and prepare to scratch your head and say "What the..." Querelle is definately not a disappointing flick.
Movie Review: Fascinating and Bizarre
Summary: 4 Stars
Brad Davis is captivating as the sailor boy prostitute "Querelle" desired by men and women alike in this odd, yet gentle masterpiece. Clearly not for all audiences, the movie is dark and often harrowing, at times recalling other classic Genet adaptations, and occassionally, even the legendary "Midnight Express" which made Davis a star. Like the latter film, there are moments here that shock the viewer into action, perhaps fewer than necessary, and yet always mezmerizing and accomplished. Steeped in an aura of bright, almost unimaginable color, "Querelle" is one of those gay-cinema classics that deserves a place in an adult video collection (like "Taxi Zum Klo" for example.) Yet remember - this is a harrowing vision, and clearly not for every member of the family. Still, Davis is superb!Movie Review: Rub a Dub Dub
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all when you get the DVD version, you have the opportunity to watch the film as it was originally filmed - in English. Anyone who speaks French and can read lips knows that the film was dubbed into French (and not just bad sync-sound) - the film was later released back in the states with English subtitles under the French dub (talk about a triple threat).I must say that I love this movie for tackling issues that 20 years ago were definitely still taboo in the mainstream. Although not a masterpiece in terms of plot development, I believe it stays true to the development of Jean Genet's characters - and of course the cinematography is stunning. Like watching a live action Tom of Finland cartoon directed by David Lynch at times... Wonderful.
Movie Review: Surprising!
Summary: 4 Stars
The bright side of this movie is that it's surprisingly outrageous! It is not a very direct movie, you have to infer much of its meaning and it's very subject to personal interpretation in some parts.It is a very theatrical movie, and it depicts homosexualism in a very novel way -- no gayness, just homosexualism.