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Garçon Stupide

A fresh take on a well-worn genre
By PEG ALOI  |  February 23, 2006
3.0 3.0 Stars
ARTISTIC YEARNING, but he won't let anyone help himNewcomer Pierre Chatagny’s Loïc is a Swiss teenager whose life consists of anonymous tricks in Lausanne (with men he’s met on-line), a dull job at a Bulle chocolate factory (juxtaposed in split screen with graphic, orgiastic tableaux), hanging around with friend/flat mate Marie (Natacha Koutchoumov) while she works at a museum of medical oddities, and unpredictable conversations with an unseen man who’s full of questions. The questioner is co-writer and director Lionel Baier, and though these meta-cinematic segments may seem indulgent, they ground this unsettling coming-of-age film in real time when it veers into ambiguous fantasy. Loïc’s shallow outlook belies an artistic yearning, but he’s too socially stunted to let others help him; even loyal Marie is forced to kick him out. Retreating to the Swiss suburbs, he just may be finding himself at last. Or does he finally fall in love? Baier challenges viewers with a stop-and-start narrative and film-school cleverness, but stunning visual textures (chocolate and skeletons vie with mountains and carousels) and honest performances enhance this fresh take on a well-worn genre.
Related: Buying in, Happy feet, Massive attack, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Cultural Institutions and Parks, Museums
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Comments
Garçon Stupide
Whatever the merits of this film, and there are several, I find it most irritating that so much of it is filmed in close-up. It is like reading a text all in caps, with all sentences closed by an exclamation mark. At some point I got a headache. This is an relatively common fault with many indies regardless where they originate. Close-ups are used to highlight.... Use too much of it and it becomes tedious and levels the visual narrative.
By yo momma on 05/12/2006 at 8:24:20

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