Going South [DVD]

.......despite a "seemingly" happy-go-lucky Quartet of early to mid-20s Guys + a Gal heading South to carefree(?) sunny, ocean shores. (BUT, wait....there's plenty of darkness ahead, and let's just say it starts with a bang).(( A HURT SO LARGE....SO DEEP.......you close yourself off.....nearly close yourself down ))Here's my "Brief-Take" on this 2009 production from France (basically a 3.5 Star film---but 1/2 Star added for Yannick Renier's performance. Only slight spoilers included):- The main plot line of this story stems from an horrific, early childhood, traumatic event.....one which we learn of early on in the film.- Added to what you were just told, this tale also gives us: Mental illness....family breakup....out of wedlock pregnancy....absence of parental love....suicide....and a killer Glock----you name it and it's probably here.- It takes a little viewing time to realize that this story is, intrinsically, about only one of our Quartet: And Yannick Renier, as darkly brooding and angst ridden Sam, works wonders with the part----this is his movie (I'm looking for more of his DVD work). Still, Nicole Garcia as "Mom," really shines in her small role, particularly at movie's conclusion. This pair's end of film scene together wrenches us, as they talk of their past relationship: deep unhappiness having pervaded it. Yet....we come to perceive there seems the barest hope of a turnaround----something which is the only thing that might save either one of them.- Sex scenes, you're wondering? (thought you'd never ask). Both a heterosexual one, as well as a long-time-getting-there love on the beach tumble between Renier's character and another Quartet member, well played by **Theo Frilet. Though dimly lit, this is still an excitingly amorous scene.- Finally, the closing we're given----a waterside scene which becomes, perhaps, an attempt to wash away years of sadness, disappointment and unhappiness.PS--There is a "Moral" to this tale.....and it's simply: Don't always follow in Dad's Footsteps---or Mom's, either, for that matter.I will be keeping this in my DVD library for every so often rewatching.....but for those of you looking for more "gay content," perhaps a video rental will do.**(for you watchers of small, gay films, you may remember Frilet from 2006's " One Day in Summer [DVD ]").PPS--Since no one else is telling you about this other gay content film, let me be the first (I'll even put my review of it here on your UK website). Take a look at " Handsome Harry [DVD] [2009] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC ]". Not bad.

One never quite knows or understands the impact a parent can have on the psyche of their children. Perhaps we can have an inclination of the profound and lingering distortion that some negative childhood events have on one, but not to the extent that such can mould and permeate the adult being in its entirety. Having witnessed the suicide of his mentally ill father, Sammy is then forced to watch his mother's decent into the same. Slightly older than his brother, he is forced to experience this alone, as his sibling is far to young to understand the gravity of that decent.As an adult is is faced with the demons of his upbringing, torn between a love and hate for his mother. Incapable of affection, or more accurately allowing himself the grace of such affection, he wanders throughout life with a solitary fixation. That fixation is to confront his mother, whom he holds responsible for his father's death. What this confrontation actually entails is left to the audiences imagination, although quite early in the story one is introduced to the very gun that killed his father. Does this mean that she is to die to set Sammy free, or will he find such freedom in the confrontation itself?Driving South towards her home in Spain, Sammy picks up brother and sister Mathieu and Lea. Similar to Sammy in many ways, the two seemed overwhelmed by his beauty, and are soon part of his story. What transpires in that road trip is an exploration of self, with a healthy dose of introspection and fear. Yet humanity has the capacity to reach out in such moments, and Sammy allows himself to feel, albeit briefly. In the end, you witness with Sammy, hoping that he will free himself from his childhood trauma.Beautifully directed movie, with beautiful people shot in a manner consistent with artistic expression. Titillating, whilst profoundly moving.

Coming back to Going South after seeing it a couple of years ago, it strikes me as better now than then. It's very nearly as good as Presque Rien, benefitting similarly from an outstanding central performance from a somewhat reserved, sensitive young man who has clearly been damaged on his path through life so far. As Jérémie Elkaïm was deeply touching, so too is Yannick Renier, set in an ever changing landscape as he travels south in the company of three younger people. He's in his late twenties, they're nearer twenty ... two of them are brother and sister, the other tags along, and there is something of life caught on the wing in their interactions, or perhaps on the surface of the water in the numerous shots of the ocean we see. But the deeper currents constantly draw him back to his childhood and youth, and the trauma of a catastrophic event and his mother's subsequent admission to a psychiatric hospital, his being sent to foster parents etc. All this is filled in quite lightly, balancing the contingencies of the present, yet he cannot really be free of it. The interest shown in him by Mathieu (Théo Frilet) cannot inhabit him in the same way as it does the younger man, as he is trapped nowhere, footloose by force. The film conveys great delicacy of feeling through its subtle camera work - Mathieu videos a lot of what he sees - and the beauty of all the leads is quite striking. The final encounter between Sam (Renier) and his mother (Nicole Garcia) is powerfully done, using Garcia's formidable presence and remarkable voice to lift it to a heightened but understated anguish. It is altogether like a visual poem to Sam's loneliness, and it is a remarkable role for Renier whose contained masculinity resonates strongly against his poignant vulnerability.