MIFF NOTES: Paris 05:59 (2016, Dirs. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau)

Filmmaking partners, Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau have been quiet mainstays on the queer film circuit since the late ‘90s. Their films tend to slip into the fun but forgettable bucket. So much so that I pretty much left them behind after 2008’s Côte d'Azur (a.k.a. Crustacés & coquillages).

They’ve gone full steam at busting through the bore-barrier with their latest. Well, full steamy. Paris 05:59 kicks off with a 20 minute multi-participant sex scene. Totes orgy. Bits and all. It’s enough to shake up the hook-up-on-a-night out formula that has long been one of film’s most popular points of access (see Trick, Weekend, or the likes of Linklater’s Sunset films on the other side of the fence).

It’s not one of my favourite conceits but when done well, with personable leads, it can be effective. Paris 05:59, coming off the running start of its surprisingly sensual opening, settles into its playfully-bantering, night-scenery-displaying groove pretty effortlessly. The leads, Théo (Geoffrey Couët) and Hugo (François Nambot) share a palpable connection and post-rooting it is easy to root for them to take it deeper. There’s a little post-exposure hiccough though.

I probably didn’t need another hurdle to jump here, but even with the public health campaign vibe that the film shifts into (the boys end up at an emergency ward for an extended PEP consultation), I found myself sucked in. Ducastel and Martineau’s screenplay sensitively navigates its stigma-erasing raison d'être, providing touching moments amongst to instruction. It’s a totally believable example of how all this would go down and it remains beautifully character-driven throughout but the fact that everything is shown onscreen (thanks to the film’s real time structure) presses it close to the teaching-point precipice. Thankfully not over it.

When the drama subsides and the romance pushes back through, Paris 05:59 impresses with a sweet, time-condensing climax. It’s a nice cap to what will certainly come to be viewed as a barrier breaking film.

On a bit of a side note, it is interesting to see the pair (relatively) recently directed a version of Jean-Luc Lagarce’s “It's Only the End of the World” for French television. Having had the luck to experience Xavier Dolan’s (contentiously) exquisite film version, I’m super intrigued. Will have to see if I can hunt it down.

★★★☆

Trailer:

Paris 05:59 screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.