Drôle de Félix (2000) aka The Adventures of Felix

 
Drôle de Félix (2000) aka The Adventures of Felix


"Drôle de Félix" je film koji će te sa lakoćom odgledati. Felix je mladić, francuski arapin koji redovno uzima koktele ljekova protiv Aids-a. Njegov način života ne odiše nekom patnjom zbog bolesti sa kojom mora da se bori. Živi sa partnerom, izjutra voli da gleda jeftinu sapunicu i voli male stvari koje život čine ljepšim. Nakon smrti majke nailazi na pismo koje je nekada njegov otac poslao majci. Odluči da ga potraži i upozna. Na putu za Marselj upoznaje razne ljude. Uživao sam posmatrajući ga sa kakvom lakoćom prihvata ljude onakvim kakvi jesu, trudeći se da svakom od njih na neki način pokloni dio sebe! U svakom od nas se nalazi nešto dječije, al većina "odraslih" to krije! Felix spada u one koji svoje snove ne kriju i kojima je svaki običan dan nešto lijepo u životu!

Malo sam razmišljao i o svom odnosu prema ljudima. Neke odbacim , možda čak i zbog predrasuda, neke zbog straha, a prema većini sam suzdržan, bar dok ih ne upoznam! Većinom smo svi takvi. Feliks nam nenametljivo pokazuje da je naš odnos prema drugim ljudim usko vezan za naš odnos prema životu uopšte!

 

Year: 2000
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau
Duration: 95 min
Country France
Actors: Sami Bouajila, Patachou, Ariane Ascaride, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Charly Sergue, Maurice Bénichou, Philippe Garziano, Didier Mahieu, Aliette Langolff-Colas, Arno Feffer, Clément Dupré, Clément Révérend, Daniel Lesur, Antoine Marneur, Lisa Guez

"Adventures of Felix," a French road movie, opens with an extended shot of the title character riding his bicycle along the boardwalk of Dieppe, a coastal town in northern France. Over the soundtrack, we hear the whimsical voice of American cabaret artist Blossom Dearie.

It's a distinctly French feeling -- an air of caprice and light expectations -- and a perfect prologue to a delightful film.

Felix, beautifully played by Sami Bouajila, is a gay dockworker who turns vagabond when he's laid off. He has a father he's never met, and so, with his boyfriend's (Pierre-Loup Rajot) blessing, he hits the open road in a pea coat and knapsack and hitchhikes to the south of France.

He's in no hurry, so he takes the back roads and connects with people in intimate, surprising ways. Jules (Charly Sergue) is a 17-year-old student who rapidly develops a crush on Felix. Mathilde (Patachou) is a sensual older woman who brings Felix home to move some furniture and invites him to stay, knowing that when she was younger she would have gladly bedded him.

It's typical that people confide in passers-by in ways they wouldn't with close friends: There's a lot less to lose. But with someone like Felix -- sexy, emotionally open, a man-child with no attitude -- that dynamic is accelerated.

There's an erotic encounter with a hunky railroad worker (Philippe Garziano), a madcap adventure with a single mom of three (Ariane Ascaride) and a lazy afternoon with a fisherman (Maurice Benichou) so mellow and comfortable that we start wishing he were the true father.

Each of these encounters is introduced with a title -- "Little Brother," "Cousin," "Grandmother" -- suggesting that Felix is creating his own family in his father's absence.

"Adventures" doesn't underline Felix's sexuality -- it just takes it for granted. His HIV status is treated casually, with a trip to a clinic and a daily regimen of meds, and when he kisses his boyfriend in public there's no sense of embarrassment or risk.

In that sense, "Adventures of Felix" is a tad dreamlike: Like the recent "Big Eden," it imagines a world in which gay men aren't marginalized, and everyone's better, sweeter nature is set free.

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