Three Dancing Slaves (2005)

The film does an excellent job presenting (without politics or the need for either factual exposition or excessive narrative), the socio-economic situation in France for young males with excessive energy, time and desires on their hands. The films has a number of homoerotic undertones without really being a gay film. In fact, the segment for the third brother, which would qualify as the "gay segment" is the shortest and least developed of the three. While some people have viewed each of the three segments as being about the three brothers, they are really about all three of them, clearly interconnected and with each brother (even the missing oldest in the first sequence) being "present" and playing a role.I think it would have been a far better film if they had made it about two brothers and perhaps two closest friends. It actually is about three brothers and the close friend of one (Marc) who later became a close friend and romantic partner of another brother (Oliver). Personally, I also wouldn't have made some of the choices the filmmaker makes, I would have spent the time developing some of the other threads further. That said, it's an interesting film and means that the filmmaker may make further films of note, but I can't really recommend this as anything other than a rental when other, primary, choices are not available.

A Gael Morel film whose theme will be familiar to viewers who have seen "Wild Reeds" or "Come Undone" : young, handsome, sexy, disturbed young Frenchies trapped in the limited prospects offered by the mediocre towns and cities far from Paris. Here we have the three sons of an indifferent French father and a Maghreb mother, recently deceased. Where they live horny young men lack even a town whore for relief and, resignedly, must rely on the local grouchy, bored transvestite. Morel favorite Stephane Rideau is a 20-something, "scared straight" ex con who will trade his youthful wildness for the dull comfort and security of middle class respectability while his two younger brothers grapple, respectively, with intolerable powerlessness and gay love.All the guys are eye candy and Morel and his actors have never suffered from fear of frontal. All of which would mean little were it not for the interesting characters and Morel's unique cinematic style. Rent it. You'll enjoy it. And if it turns out you disagree, hell, it's only 88 minutes including the credits crawl. Jim Smith

This movie exhibited wonderful filmography, surprisingly convincing performances and gorgeous young men. Where this film was lacking tremendously was the plot. Even though it had so much potential, it's execution was haphazard, and too much time was spent on unnecessary scenes, so toward the end it felt rushed, and the relationship between Olivier (Thomas Dumerchez) and Hicham (Salim Kechiouche) if it were developed more deeply, would have made for a wonderful film. Finally, the ending left me lacking as if it would continue next week. In other words, the entire film felt like an episode in a larger series. It felt unresolved; unfinished. And the extended Soliloquy, conveyed in the form of letters written to Christophe (I believe) certainly did not make up for a proper ending. That really frustrated me.

This is the story of 3 working class brothers, living with a weak father in the aftermath of their mother's death. The film is formally divided into 3 sections, one for each brother, although the protagonist remains the first brother we explore, Marc, a tortured soul.CONTAINS SPOILERS Marc is an interesting character, unable because of his position in a macho subculture to access his feelings, even though he often shows the potential to be a caring individual. When he is beaten up by some local thugs and his dog killed, he takes a revenge which rebounds on him, leaving him paralysed, machismo is paralysing being the point.The most interesting section of the film has the older brother Christophe's taking a job in a meat factory. He soon rises in his bosses' estimation and is promoted. On the way he has learned that to survive in the workplace, one has to be ruthless. We last see Christophe with a girlfriend and a future. We know that he has achieved that future by accepting his part in a dehumanising world. It is no coincidence that he has been released from a spell in prison at the play's start. Prison has tamed him, he has agreed to conform, he takes his place amongst the dead meat, he is rewarded.The film is strongly homo erotic and the camera spends its time dwelling on the brother's bodies, especially Marc who is exceptionally attractive (making it all the more tragic when he body is crushed. I have read a po-faced review which says that this reduced its characters to sex objects. This is telling about a certain type of Puritanism. Many young working class men are beautiful and indescribably sexy - the film puts this at the centre of the equation, so as not to geld the subject.In any case, there is a narrative excuse for the camera's gaze: the story is seen through the eyes of a family friend, who is gay and eventually has a brief affair with the youngest brother, Olive. The affair ends abruptly. The film is no Queer as Folk fantasy. Olive retreats from a love affair in which his femininity can be expressed sexually and freely to become Marc's carer, his femininity giving him his dead mother's place in the family and so becoming helpful, familiar, imprisoned. His lover "escapes" to a "free" urban life in Paris, where people merely want to exploit him for sex. The choices given the film's characters are bleak.Le Clan is slow and elliptical in narrative terms but eventually becomes clear. It is worth sticking with as a complex and honest dissection of working class masculinity.