Un Chant D'Amours by Jean Genet, 1950

I posted this in the gay themed film discussion. But I wanted to put it here as well because the nudity is so incredibly beautifully filmed.

This is a landmark in cinema, a short black and white film that is must see if you have never experienced it. It is a silent, dreamlike and incredibly erotic film short.

The importance and beauty of the film is in its imagery, its symbolism and underlying story. The film takes place in a prison or holding jail where prisoners are separated by walls and the guard becomes our eye into their world. Literally we see his eye through peep holes into the prison cells. We see the prisoners aware he is watching. They perform for him and we come to understand he is also a prisoner. We see several flashbacks and fantasies from their lives outside the prison walls, but the barrier of the walls between the men is an important image in the film. Jean Genet used walls as images in his stories and plays and uses it beautifully here. It is the central character in the film. He truly was a visual genius.

There's an incredible scene that is probably one of the most important images in world cinema, where the two prisoners share a cigarette through a straw inserted through the prison wall. It is stunningly intimate and sayisfying, as intense as any sex scene. At one point the older prisoner tries to get the younger prisoner's attention by tapping his erect penis against the wall. Men are consumed by their own desires, their own bodies their own masculinity and most important,their own deep needs as men.

The fact that this was even made is kind of incredible. But it is one of the most interesting and compelling pieces of film I have ever seen. In the way that a short story is tight and concise and constrains the writer to tell the story in fewer words, this film tells it's story in fewer but incredibly erotic and intense images. It is shot in 35mm black and white and is filled with close- ups. Since no telephoto lenses were used, the camera had to be right at the person's face or body so there is an intensely intimate feel to this entire piece. The nudity is stunning, and reflective of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography. Just the fact that it shows an erect penis on film in 1950 is incredible! The feet, body hair and armpit closeups are just as beautiful and erotic as the other nudity.

This was apparently never supposed to be distributed to the public. It was for private collectors. The scenes are somewhat pornographic but only if you limit yourself thinking of them that way.

I can not recomnend you seeing this enough.

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