Director: Jean Genet
Year Released: 1950
Rating: 4.0
A masterpiece of short-form filmmaking, this was (regrettably) Genet's only attempt at direction, using the same surreal sensibility he brought to Our Lady of the Flowers. Unlike Our Lady of the Flowers, however, this is actually coherent - not to get into book critiquing, but that piece of fatuous fragmentation was lucky it got Cocteau as a backer; not saying Genet wasn't an amazing writer capable of beautiful phrases and emotions, but the book's seemingly random assembly of stories and characters doesn't add to the narrative, and tends towards repetitiveness (if you'd submit Our Lady to almost any agent or editor today, it would inevitably be rejected, which is either a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it). I think people regardless of sexual orientation may be taken aback by the images Genet presents (and to think: 1950!) but his technique as a filmmaker is surprisingly assured - it may be one of the most remarkable debuts in movie history. When critics attacked Brokeback Mountain for being too 'tame,' I believe this is what they were thinking it should have been.
