F IS FOR FRANCE

I loved it so much I rewatched it immediately: and I never rewatch films. All my life I have ached for Lord of the Flies to be queer and intersex, I have ached for Beau Travail to have more Kenneth Anger to it. Now I have both, and more. Five boys from rich families commit a crime and are handed over to an enigmatic sailor to be reeducated through serving on his ship. However, as the ship crashes on a desert island, and the boys are left to fend for themselves, they discover that perhaps reeducation might imply not just becoming different people, but becoming people of a different gender. All the boys are played by young actresses, and there’s also Elina Lowensohn, Mandico’s eternal muse. I was very surprised to find that many viewers found the film to be misogynistic. Misandrist, if anything, I thought. But also simply transcendent and fluid. Un curieux melange d’acide et de lait, indeed. See and decide for yourself.

Wild Boys (Les garçons sauvages), 2017
Director: Bertrand Mandico

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