Jean Genet's un Chant d'Amour

UPC: 881190007693

Studio: Cult Epics

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Nudity, Strong Sexual Content]

Summary: Jean Genet, the novelist, playwright, political activist and gadfly who became a (literal) outlaw literary hero in France, directed his first and only film in this notorious silent short subject. Set in a French prison, Un Chant D'amour explores the crushing loneliness and thwarted desires of men behind bars, as well as the sadistic impulses of the men who look after them. Two prisoners whose cells are next to one another are desperate to make contact, but the Morse code they tap on the walls and the cigarette smoke they blow through straws are as close as they can come to human interaction. As the men lose themselves in homoerotic fantasy and self gratification, a guard watches their actions though a series of peep holes, and chooses to sadistically beat one of his charges, who uses his daydreams to escape the pain. Featuring a great deal of nudity and explicit sexual content (especially for a film made in 1950), Un Chant D'amour was originally intended to be sold only among collectors of erotica, and its few public screenings in the 1950's and early 60's led to it being declared obscene in France and the United States. After standards for motion picture content became more lenient in the 1970's, the film was occasionally revived at art houses, though Genet spoke negatively of it later in his life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Adult

Features: New film transfer
Video introduction by Jonas Mekas
Audio commentary by Kenneth Anger
Bonus:
Genet a documentary by Antoine Bourseiller

Jean Genet's un Chant d'Amour

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/31/2009

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 77 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Cast and Crew: Java  Actor 
André Reybas  Actor 
Coco Le Martiniquais  Actor 
Lucien Senemaud  Actor 
Nico Papatakis  Producer 
Jean Genet  Director 
Jean Genet  Screenwriter 

Country: France