Porn Theater (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)'La Chatte à deux têtes' (PORN THEATER) is a somber study of a sector of life few know, an aspect of human sexuality that didn't make it into the Kinsey Report, a part of the underbelly of city life most would rather not accept existed. Does that mean it should not be examined, should not provide the impetus for an art film? Writer/director and actor Jacques Nolot thinks otherwise. In this dark little film we are invited into the inner sanctum of a dirty old movie house in Paris that shows only straight pornography for a clientele of men of various types: military men, straight men look for gay sex, married men in need of exploration of their senses, transvestites, old men for whom such places provide the only sexual outlet, and the regulars who spend their evenings in the dingy darkened atmosphere for anonymous sex.
The theater is a theater of life for these people, and the 'stage manager' is the sole female Italian ticket cashier (Vittoria Scognamiglio) who has seen every aspect of sexuality, embraced it, and therefore is wholly non-judgmental. She converses with her straight projectionist (Sébastien Viala) who is attracted to her on several levels, and with one of her regulars (Jacques Nolot), a man of fifty who is living with AIDS in a responsible way, but finds his only sexual outlet to be this theater scene. During the course of the film the cashier manages to discuss her open views of sexuality with these two men and the three of them seem headed for a communal experience.
This open view of human behavior is set with the background of the various acts within the theater. We watch transsexuals ply their wares, group encounters in bathrooms, and various odd approaches and rejections for gratification that in the end represent a group of men who find connection to each other as human beings far more difficult (?impossible?) than quick satisfaction in the dark. There is considerable frank acting out of encounters that are usually not seen on film and that may be more than the regular viewer can tolerate. But at least one director has the courage of Genet and Gide and Burroughs et al to tackle this subject matter in a wholly realistic way. The result is a film of social significance, even though it may not be for everyone. It is an art film, very well made, with a brave cast and an even braver writer and director. To not see it is to miss some important messages about human sexuality and about human needs too frequently dismissed as non-existent. In French with English subtitles. Grady Harp, February 06

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Item Name: Porn Theatre; Studio:Strand Releasing

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The Pornographer Review

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(More customer reviews)This film is certainly a mixed product. Some strenghts but more weaknesses.
A fifty year old pornograhic director comes out of retirement after many years of idleness supported by his architect wife. He tries to make a film but the younger directors and producers overpower his vision and produce a typical porno product. Jacques, the director, tries to make the film naturalistic with restrained dialogue, no fingernail polish, and restrained whimpers during sex rather than overacted screams of pleasure. He is quickly over-ruled and he quits the project.
This man has lost much and will lose more during the film. His first wife committed suicide, leaving him with a little boy. The boy discovers his father is a pornographer and leaves home. When his son returns, they have little to say. Eventually Jacques leaves his devoted wife and alienates his best friend and isolates in a single room writing and editing his random thoughts.
One redeeming aspect of the film however was a description by Jacques of his early career and work. He saw pornography as a political and social act in which he and his friends and girlfriends engaged. Thus pornography had a rebellious political and artistic overtone that became washed out through commercialization. This sentence helps explain why Jacques was considered to be a great film maker, even 30 years after he was in retirement. His films were alive because they were created with the political and social spirit of the times in which they were produced. They were works of art as well as pornography. Now Jacques does not have that same rebellious spirit. We are reminded of the nature of youthful, unrealistic, energetic, eutopian, rebellious, protest in the film when Jacques' son and his friends have the ultimate rebellion against society by becoming mute.
One thing to remember, this film actually contains a pornographic scene that is as explicit as any porno movie.

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Item Name: The Pornographer; Studio:KOCH LORBER FILMS

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