A photographer living in Montreal during the early 1970s develops an intense interest in a fourteen-year-old boy. The two hit it off and grow close, but then the man's friends and the boy's parents become suspicious about the nature of the relationship and attempt to bring it to a halt.
The relationships between the photographer and a the boy, the boy's parents who are disturbed by this strange friendship, and a covey of homosexuals and others, makes for dolefully sincere but vague and unconvincing drama. Frank's closest friend is Bozo; they have a disastrously furtive attempt at sex together at one point, although neither considers himself gay. But their friendship, and Frank's life in general, threatens to fall apart when Frank meets Johnny and in some sense falls in love with him. It's impossible to be more explicit about it, since the film itself isn't. In fact, hardly anything happens in the way of reportable incident: it plays as a stream of modest encounters and conversations, which seem like improvisations.
Frank Vitale, who wrote the original story, directed and stars as the artist, has focused his cameras on the sleazy, Bohemian areas of a Montreal far removed from a tourist's itinerary. And his disquieting, if not moving, slice of offbeat life is in keeping with its squalid, if authentic, surroundings.
The cast, reportedly non-professionals using their real names and improvising much of the dialogue, does not act so much as react to situations that often call for fuller explanations. There seems to be a good deal of confusion in Frank's sexual leanings. He is in conflict both with girls and his apparently bisexual friend, Allan, who resents the attention he pays to John, the boy.
This odd couple eventually is forced apart by the youngster's parents, but the problems of the principals, the boy's family and the unloved and grimly gay types remain largely unresolved, even if they seem all too real. Rare, and out of print, this obscure 1974 Canadian film has become a cult classic in Montreal's art cinemas.
The relationships between the photographer and a the boy, the boy's parents who are disturbed by this strange friendship, and a covey of homosexuals and others, makes for dolefully sincere but vague and unconvincing drama. Frank's closest friend is Bozo; they have a disastrously furtive attempt at sex together at one point, although neither considers himself gay. But their friendship, and Frank's life in general, threatens to fall apart when Frank meets Johnny and in some sense falls in love with him. It's impossible to be more explicit about it, since the film itself isn't. In fact, hardly anything happens in the way of reportable incident: it plays as a stream of modest encounters and conversations, which seem like improvisations.
Frank Vitale, who wrote the original story, directed and stars as the artist, has focused his cameras on the sleazy, Bohemian areas of a Montreal far removed from a tourist's itinerary. And his disquieting, if not moving, slice of offbeat life is in keeping with its squalid, if authentic, surroundings.
The cast, reportedly non-professionals using their real names and improvising much of the dialogue, does not act so much as react to situations that often call for fuller explanations. There seems to be a good deal of confusion in Frank's sexual leanings. He is in conflict both with girls and his apparently bisexual friend, Allan, who resents the attention he pays to John, the boy.
This odd couple eventually is forced apart by the youngster's parents, but the problems of the principals, the boy's family and the unloved and grimly gay types remain largely unresolved, even if they seem all too real. Rare, and out of print, this obscure 1974 Canadian film has become a cult classic in Montreal's art cinemas.
INFO:
ORIGINAL TITLE: Montreal Main
ALSO KNOWN AS: Boulevard Saint-Laurent Montréal (Canada: French title)
YEAR: 1974
DIRECTOR: Frank Vitale
GENRE: Drama
RUNTIME: 88 min
COUNTRY: Canada
LANGUAGE: English | French
CAST: Frank Vitale, John Sutherland, Dave Sutherland, Ann Sutherland
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE:
NUMBER: 0077946
USER RATING: 6.0/10
AWARDS: ␀
KEYWORDS: Gay | Gay Interest | Independent Film
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét