''Un chant d'amour'' (; English: ''A Song of Love'') is
French writer
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
's only film, which he directed in 1950. Because of its explicit (though artistically presented) homosexual content, the 26-minute movie was long banned.
Plot
The film begins with a hand extended from prison bars, swinging a bouquet of flowers towards, but never reaching another hand extended from adjacent prison bars. The plot is set in a French prison, where a prison guard takes
voyeuristic
Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature.
The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...
pleasure in observing the prisoners perform masturbatory sexual acts. In two adjacent cells, there is an older
Algerian
Algerian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Algeria
* Algerian people
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...
-looking man and a tattooed convict in his twenties. The older man is in love with the younger one, rubbing himself against the wall and sharing his cigarette smoke with his beloved through a straw.
The prison guard, apparently jealous of the prisoners' relationship, enters the older convict's cell and beats him. Following this, the inmate drifts off into a fantasy where he and his object of desire roam the countryside. In the final scene, it becomes clear that the guard's power is no match for the intensity of attraction between the prisoners, even though their relationship is not consummated. The prison guard makes the older prisoner suck on his gun in a sexual fashion. The guard therefore becomes a distorted reflection of the prisoners' love for each other. The film ends with the other hand grasping the flowers and taking the flowers behind his own bars.
Genet does not use dialogue in his film, but focuses instead on close-ups of bodies, on faces, armpits and penises. The film is also rich in symbolism, and the entire narrative may be read as symbolic of the desire for consummation of love between two persons, realised in part through the voyeuristic and sadistic intervention of a third.
Production
''Un chant d'amour'' was French writer Jean Genet's only film, which he directed.
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
was believed to be the film's cinematographer.
Controversy and ban
Critical reception
''Un chant d'amour'' was described in ''The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television'' as "one of the earliest and most remarkable attempts to portray homosexual passion on-screen". Fernando F. Croce of ''Slant'' wrote "A revolutionary vision of emancipation through sensuality, ''Un chant d'amour'' is a song of love both universal and eternal." Jamie Rich of DVD Talk called it "an effective film, albeit a tad clumsy and pretentious" that is "still a progressive and interesting experiment worth the time one is willing to put into it."
Phil Hall of ''Film Threat'' was more critical, writing "working in a silent film medium robs Genet of the lyrical language that dominated his artistic genius, and instead he presents a skein of imagery that becomes sillier and sillier as the film progresses.
..Strictly of curio value, "''Un chant d'amour''" can offer contemporary viewers little more than some unintentional gay giggles."
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 8 critics.
Legacy
The film has been cited as an influence for many gay filmmakers, including
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist.
Biography
Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...
,
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
, and
Paul Morrissey
Paul Morrissey (born February 23, 1938) is an American film director, best known for his association with Andy Warhol. He was also director of the first film in which a transgender actress, Holly Woodlawn, starred as a girlfriend of the main cha ...
.
Cast
* Bravo as older prisoner (uncredited)
* Lucien Sénémaud as younger prisoner (uncredited)
* Java as nude prisoner (uncredited)
*
André Reybaz
André Reybaz (born 29 October 1929 in Paris, France, died 7 April 1989 in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France) was a French actor.
Reybaz had a long career spanning 40 years, which mostly consisted of numerous French television appearances. In 1950 he ...
as Guard (uncredited)
* Coco Le Martiniquais as second dancing prisoner (uncredited)
See also
*
List of avant-garde films of the 1950s
This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1950s. Unless noted, all films had sound and were in black and white.
References
{{Filmsbygenre
Avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', l ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chant d'amour, Un
1950 films
1950s LGBT-related films
French LGBT-related films
French short films
Works by Jean Genet
Censored films
LGBT-related controversies in film
Obscenity controversies in film
LGBT-related short films
LGBT-related coming-of-age films
1950s French films