You were made to be loved...
A staggering way to end a 'relationship' and, beyond measure, a staggeringly stabbing film. Félix Maritaud is - practically - never off-screen and there is a good reason...he is absolutely commanding as this hapless hooker hellbent on finding a love that goes by any name you want to call it.
Vulnerabilities abound around this young man...his tragedy is smeared across his face from the beginning. But...this is not - in the strictest sense of the word - a tragedy...as tragic as it is. There is one scene - in the doctor's surgery - that will simply take your breath away...and the director holds the moment long enough to let the tears flow freely, it's a heartbreak...as this young man's true loneliness and unavoidable immaturity comes to the surface...gasping for air. At 22, he's still a [failed] boy in a [beautiful] man's body...he has no backstory...but, he understands the power of beauty and youth...but, has no idea how to use it to his advantage. He is a statistic...wow...isn't that cold? But...Monsieur Maritaud's warmth will rouse the 'protector' in everyone who happens to encounter him!
Certainly, it's a graphic...it needs to be, to get the point across...and, it gets the point across - intolerably loud & unpleasantly clear. Man's capacity to degrade and defile another human being is a difficult pill to swallow. However, the bitterest pill of them all is...a man's ability [and capacity] to consent to such degradation. This whole hideous reality is revealed in one of the most eye-watering scenes in cinematic history!
Camille Vidal-Naquet certainly puts across the idea that some [people] are meant to end up the way they end up....simply down to the fact that they wanted to end up that way! Most people think that prostitution is wrought from dire necessity rather than a free choice. Well, this film turns that notion on its head! Yes, prostitution can be a means-to-a-way-out, it can also be a means-of-living-for-the-moment!
Get an old man...he's told. But, being an idealist who neither wants to compromise his idea of love nor settle for a security in exchange for being him...on-call, on a leash. His sense of morality could tarnish the most moral.
Complex issues, a thumping soundtrack...and, with a virtuoso performance, Félix Maritaud bares his soul...Sauvage is a brutal depiction of an underclass. By no means is this an easy watch...but, it will pull at your heartstrings from every conceivable angle.
An astounding piece of work. Merci Messieurs Vidal-Naquet et Maritaud - a perfect example of a director's actor and an actor's director.
Trailer...
Leo is 22 and sells his body on the street for a bit of cash. The men come and go, and he stays right here - longing for love. He doesn't know what the future will bring. He hits the road. His heart is pounding.