Les Nuits Fauves (French) [Savage Nights]

I thought this was a very weird movie. Actually had I seen it around the time when it came out in early 90's , it is slightly possible that my view could have been different but watching it today made me feel that the viewer was at times being taken for granted. This film can easily be classified as one of those artsy gay films. You need patience and time to watch this film because there is a whole lot going on and actually nothing going on at the same time.

Jean, a professional photographer living in Paris discovers that he has contracted the HIV virus. He is young, fll of life and is shown gay. He meets Laura, a young actress whom he meets at an audition for a commercial he is working on. For some reason he has this instant attraction towards here and they start having sex without any protection, she being unaware of his HIV status. Meanwhile, Jean also continues having random gay encounters, as well as a sexual relationship with Samy, an aggressive and narcissistic young bodybuilder. Laura is angry when Jean finally tells her he is HIV positive, yet her emotional attachment to him becomes more and more intense and they begin living together. She also becomes increasingly possessive of Jean and jealous of his relationship with Samy. Returning from a short vacation, Laura finds Samy and Jean living together, and she reacts furiously. Jean decides to end his relationship with Laura, who is now obsessed with him to the point of self-destruction. Having gone to live with her mother, she descends further and further into hysteria, occupying her time by phoning Jean and screaming insults at him. Laura is treated in a psychiatric ward where she is found to not have the virus. When he sees Laura again, she has nearly fully recovered and has a new boyfriend. She now accepts that her relationship with Jean is over, and they say good-bye to each other.

There is a lot of melodrama between Jean, Laura and Sammy. Jean loves both of them and cannot just seem to choose either of them while he is struggling with being HIV positive. He is a complex character whose love translates into a consuming, sensuous hunger for physical pleasure, companionship, and excitement, as well as living a normal life. This is a film that is not simply about HIV and the way it takes away life, but rather about what happens to a life when HIV enters into it. Laura has acted superb in this film. She gets to play a gamut of emotions and she has used this to her full opportunity.

A semi-autobiographical film from the director, he dies soon after the film got widely acclaimed. (4/10)