Drole De Felix | Film Review
January 20th 2009 01:47
Drole De Felix
(FUNNY FELIX)
French with English subtitles
Directors: Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau
Cast: Sami Bouajila, Patachou, Ariane Ascaride, Pierre Loup Rajot.
In just under 100 minutes this gay road film manages a reconstruction of the ghastly stereotypes of People living with HIV/AIDS (plwha) with delightful ease. It also succeeds in reforming a view of the post-modern family, shying away from both gratuitousness or
prudishness when it comes to depicting male same-sex relations, it is a rare must see.
Felix (Sami Bouajila), the title character is a charmingly likable guy who is hooked on morning television soap. He is in a relationship with a teacher around his own age. Reccently his mother has passed away leaving Felix to deal with sorting out her apartment. Her legacy to Felix is a tin box of cash and the address of the father Felix has never met at the other end of the country.
Upon becoming unemployed Felix decides to hitch his way to meet his father. As the journey unfolds the directors of this quietly delightful film create a title for each rambling encounter Felix has along his way.
Sami Bouajila is perfect as the darkly handsome Felix. His performance is pitched just right as he sits and chats about his hiv treatments, runs from aggro murderers, assists a single mother with her kids and explores some beautiful French countryside.
When I saw it many years ago at the Sydney Film Festival, Funny Felix was featured after Rick and Steve - The Happiest Gay Couple in the World, an 8 minute short by Allan Brocka which plays with lesbian and gay stereotypes in a way that either cracks people up or just pisses them off. It won an audience award at Outfest, and deservedly so. It is the very short story of two dykes who visit two queens and ask one to jerk off so the girly dyke can have a baby.
The dykes don't really like the poofs and the guys don't really like the girls. There's a mid-70's Sonny and Cher quality of verbal sparring throughout which I found most amusing. I've always said if they were going to build an intergalactic zoo, like they once did with Judy Robinson in Lost In Space - they'd never put Dykes and Queens in the same enclosure. It just doesn't work in that way; so this was honestly amusing.
The boys go jerk off then the girls go do the turkey baster thing. It's animation with lego-people, very American and crass enough to get hearty laughs out of the audience. As a short preceding FUNNY FELIX it was an excellent amalgam of rhetoric we have been fed over the past decade regarding gay family.
DJ
(FUNNY FELIX)
French with English subtitles
Directors: Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau
Cast: Sami Bouajila, Patachou, Ariane Ascaride, Pierre Loup Rajot.
In just under 100 minutes this gay road film manages a reconstruction of the ghastly stereotypes of People living with HIV/AIDS (plwha) with delightful ease. It also succeeds in reforming a view of the post-modern family, shying away from both gratuitousness or
prudishness when it comes to depicting male same-sex relations, it is a rare must see.
Felix (Sami Bouajila), the title character is a charmingly likable guy who is hooked on morning television soap. He is in a relationship with a teacher around his own age. Reccently his mother has passed away leaving Felix to deal with sorting out her apartment. Her legacy to Felix is a tin box of cash and the address of the father Felix has never met at the other end of the country.
Upon becoming unemployed Felix decides to hitch his way to meet his father. As the journey unfolds the directors of this quietly delightful film create a title for each rambling encounter Felix has along his way.
Sami Bouajila is perfect as the darkly handsome Felix. His performance is pitched just right as he sits and chats about his hiv treatments, runs from aggro murderers, assists a single mother with her kids and explores some beautiful French countryside.
When I saw it many years ago at the Sydney Film Festival, Funny Felix was featured after Rick and Steve - The Happiest Gay Couple in the World, an 8 minute short by Allan Brocka which plays with lesbian and gay stereotypes in a way that either cracks people up or just pisses them off. It won an audience award at Outfest, and deservedly so. It is the very short story of two dykes who visit two queens and ask one to jerk off so the girly dyke can have a baby.
The dykes don't really like the poofs and the guys don't really like the girls. There's a mid-70's Sonny and Cher quality of verbal sparring throughout which I found most amusing. I've always said if they were going to build an intergalactic zoo, like they once did with Judy Robinson in Lost In Space - they'd never put Dykes and Queens in the same enclosure. It just doesn't work in that way; so this was honestly amusing.
The boys go jerk off then the girls go do the turkey baster thing. It's animation with lego-people, very American and crass enough to get hearty laughs out of the audience. As a short preceding FUNNY FELIX it was an excellent amalgam of rhetoric we have been fed over the past decade regarding gay family.
DJ
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