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Sauvage
****
Dir: Camille Vidal-Naquet
Starring: Camille Vidal-Naquet
(USA, 18, 1hr 39m)
When confronted by his doctor about changing his drug use, Leo (Felix Mariteaud) struggles with the idea. “Why would I want to do that?” he asks.
This scene sets the tone for the entire film. Leo is a rambler. Of no fixed abode and a user of heavy drugs, he makes money by turning tricks. We are never given any background information as to why Leo is like this – which leaves a seemingly calculated gap where the question; “should it matter?” lies.
When he comes upon a friend in a fellow sex worker, sharing clients and sometimes a bed, he is taught how to be gentle. He doesn’t seem to equate his self-worth with his job – like most might upon learning how he makes his money – which is a whole other discussion. In fact, the idea that Leo might have something called self-worth is completely absent in his eyes on screen. Félix Maritaud conveys this sublimely.
Climbing into bed beside his friend, Leo starts to ‘relieve himself’. The friend responds with anger – a common emotion when these two men communicate.
“We are not animals,” his friend says, taking him under his arm.
There’s a lot to love in Sauvage. One element is the way it challenged stereotypes of gay men. In the storm that is this current political gender climate, it’s these nuanced and delicate stories that we need to bleed into mainstream media to broaden our understanding of identity; the experience of being gay is not universal, but individualistic. These are characters that are refreshingly not “camp” and some are very masculine, even to the point where toxic masculinity comes into play, at times overstepping into abuse.
The limitations of Leo’s emotional intelligence are only lightly dispersed throughout the film, making his disillusionment with the world all the more tender and touching when it happens. The silence in such moments are filled with his confusion, loss and separation. There is a wall between him and the rest of the world and a very strong sense of isolation (although there really are a lot of slightly tiresome overextended scenes of him just walking around the streets looking dishevelled).
You don’t feel like a lot is going on, but there is. Slowly, we are taught to learn about this character and care for him. And by the end, we’re crying out for him to love and be loved. The question is – can he allow himself to, or will he stay in the familiarity of isolation?
words Ruth Seavers
Sauvage is out in cinemas from Fri 1 Mar. It first screened in Wales as part of Iris Prize Festival