NQV Media’s excellent series ‘The French Boys’ has served up plenty of must-see moments over the course of its first three instalments. Barely putting a foot wrong, the series has been the strongest to come from the distributor so far. Not quite ready to say goodbye to the boys of France, I’m delighted that there’s one final instalment – ‘The French Boys 4’ – released today to bring the series neatly to a close (hopefully not forever though!).
This final collection pulls together seven shorts from French film-makers and it continues to showcase the breadth and diversity of gay shorts coming from France. Opening strong with David Chausse’s six-minute ‘Discreet), ‘The French Boys 4’ wastes no time drawing you in and keeping you hooked. This film features two men from the same neighbourhood who meet randomly on a bench and start talking about their antics the previous night. Focusing on hooking up with women and stereotypically masculine traits, things take a surprising turn when tension builds and the two cross an unexpected line. It’s what happens after that, that’s the most surprising!
‘Distinguished Feelings’ by Keren Marciano is one of the weaker moments on the collection but it’s still an interesting watch. A mixture of black-and-white and colour, the quirky short mixes drama, silent movie and musical for a dizzying 11 minutes. Elena (Bianca Li), hears that her boyfriend wants to break up with her but lacks the courage to do so. In a strange twist, Elena tries to save face by getting a young man to seduce him so she can save face but that backfires quite spectacularly. I admire what Marciano tried to do here, but for me there are stronger moments across the seven films.
Patrick Fabre’s ‘Rue Des Roses’ is a real highlight and surprisingly emotional. Mehdi (Philippe Bas) is waiting for his daughter to visit on Father’s Day and he’s not sure how she’s going to react to his boyfriend Axel (Fabien Ducommun). When she arrives, the girl is anything but warm to Axel but we see how her relationship with him builds into something unexpected and special once she gets older. The short captures the anxiety of a man that has come out later in life, and the pressure he feels when it comes to being the best father he can for his daughter.
Florent Gouëlou’s ‘First Love’ captures the breakdown in a relationship between a popular drag queen and her boyfriend. It’s an exploration of two people whose relationship has run its course but one of them is keener to let it go than the other. In David Chausse’s second short of the collection, ‘The Edge’, a dancer and a pizza delivery guy find themselves trapped on a roof together. With seemingly nothing in common, they begin to learn about one another and find common ground that neither of them expects.
Paul Granier’s sexually-charged ‘Without Transition’ captures Leo (played by the film-maker himself), a man who is unsure about being emotionally close with someone again, as he embarks on an intense hook-up with Thom (Harrison Arevalo). The two men click sexually but Leo realises there could be more as they speak to each other, and he ponders the possibility of being open to love again.
The final short on the collection is the excellent ‘Fragile’ from Hakim Mao. Mehdi (Youssouf Abi-Ayad) is convinced to meet up with a man he finds on a dating app and after agreeing to go through with it, he meets a rather unusual and intense man. Through the encounter, Mehdi learns about the stereotypes that still exist towards Arab men, and he pushes himself out of his comfort zone to create a satisfying sexual encounter. It’s a bold short and one that may require repeated viewings.
‘The French Boys 4’ brings the collection to a close with a bang. It’s a very strong collection and it lives up to the high expectations set by the instalments that came prior. This really has been a fascinating and engaging series of films and I hope that we get to revisit ‘The French Boys’ in the not-too-distant future.
Cast: Sofian Khammes, Jordi Gimeno, Bianca Li, Philippe Bas, Fabien Ducommun, Andrea Romano, Romain Eck, Harrison Arevalo, Youssouf Abi-Ayad Directors: David Chausse, Simon Frenay, Keren Marciano, Patrick Fabre, Florent Gouëlou, Paul Granier, Hakim Mao Certificate: 18 Duration: 92 mins Released by: NQV Media Release date: 7th March 2022
[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]
