di_Notte I'd really, really wanted to see this movie, and waited for months to get it through our Blockbuster Total Access account. When it showed up in our mailbox, I threw it straight into the DVD player.I was very sadly disappointed, which in turn made me mad. I'll give any movie a chance, even if I want to walk out of the theater/press 'stop'. I watched it all the way through, but didn't get anything from it but frustration.The acting was very, very good, but that was about it. Nothing is explained; while we understand that Mathieu becomes depressed and lands in a psych ward of some kind, we're never given insight to his 'downfall'. While we understand that he and Cedric break up, again, we don't see it happen or WHY it happened. During an interview with Mathieu's doctor, Cedric reveals that he'd cheated on him once, but it was no big deal. I expected to see this in flashbacks, but no--nothing. We also gets the hints that Cedric was the one to bring Mat to the hospital--but AGAIN, we don't see it.I know some movies are a 'take it as it is' basis, but this movie honestly ticked me off. When Pierre, Cedric's ex shows up in the club and starts trouble, we don't see hide nor hair of him until near the end, and it took me a good chunk of time to figure out that Pierre WAS the ex. His personality at the club and when Mat finds him are entirely different. I might even be wrong saying this, it was that confusing.The film expects you to know everything and move along with its disjointed, out-of-place and confusing pace. I can keep up with films like 'Pi', 'Citizen Kane' and other films that have flashbacks/flash-forwards left and right, but CU didn't capture and hold onto the style. At the end of 'Citizen Kane', you know what's going on and discover the answer to the main mysteries. CU just leaves you hanging. It has an air of pretension in its 'we're not gonna tell you a damned thing, figure it out for yourself' presentation. It's like reading a book with the chapters switched around and pages missing.Good acting, like I said. I liked the characters, but the whole story was just too disappointing.

radioriot O'k the guys are cute... but what happened? I hate sub titles, but usually they at least let you know what is going on. They are few and far between in this movie, because there is so little dialogue during important scenes. Lots of talking when nothing is going on or they are just sitting around shooting the breeze. Then the movie jumps from the beginning to the ending to the middle. It jumps from winter to summer back to winter then a different summer....! I liked the story and the actors were very good, but the director or editor forgot to tell US what was happening. Too many holes. We had to guess most of the time. This isn't a spoiler cause I am asking a question... at the end, why did they break up... they lost me there some place. They are supposed to write dialogue so that we can follow the story, not get lost. Good movie poorly executed!

alexandre-extra I found this film the first time when I was searching for some works in witch Stéphane Rideau had participate, still in an extraordinary ravishment caused by the astonishingly beautiful «Les roseaux sauvages» (in Portuguese, Juncos Silvestres), by André Téchiné. I was searching for similar movies, in the come of age line. I found then «Presque Rien», a movie where the director Sébastien Lifshitz deliciously amazes us, earning a nomination by the Cannes festival in 2000. The story is about two guys, the kind «boy next door», Mathieu (Jérémie Elkaïm) and Cédric (Stéphane Rideau), who meet during the summer vacations. In a land far from where he lives, Mathieu spends is days at the beach with his sister. There he meets Cédric, a local, with whom he starts this estival and revealing relationship, much by means of the sensual and seducer personality that Stéphane Rideau gives his characters, (in «Les roseaux sauvages», 6 years younger, he still preserves the innocence of the sweet seducer, witch matures here in experience). Exemplar in directing, in the amorous sequence, in the intimate and confessing description that is made about a boys first facing his (still ambiguous) sexuality and great love. The first love, in its terrible progression ecstasy-despair. The best of the film is the best of France: the fervent passion, the hot and excited rationalism, the brownish beauty, the simple and natural acceptance made by the families, although not without surprise and first anger. Still, there is the beach, the luminosity, the lightness e simplicity of summer, the freshness of breeze, the surge’s melody, and the expressive eyes of an introverted Elkaïm (hesitant, hurt, puzzled, passionate). The sex is not avoided nor exploited, it is treated as it is, with no exhibitionist intention. In virtue of pure talent, this is a work of drama of uncommon quality, without cheap sentimentalism, showing an inevitably real image of two homosexual in their prime youth as any ordinary person, although with a social fear of rejection and shame. It is well worthy being seen, especially by those who adore French movies (although the DVD front cover is very lame, with the two actors in between tens of stars, greased with brilliantine). A movie witch, in my opinion, deserves an 8-9!

dancallaghan To be perfectly honest, I only watched this film originally because it's a gay film and I felt obliged. (The cover, oddly resembling that of a porn flick, may have also influenced my decision ...) I was expecting little more than a pair of hot guys who get it on (and they are hot, and they do get it on).There were two things I wasn't prepared for: the story, centering on Matthieu, is told by interleaving three periods of time together. Unfortunately, it takes the audience quite by surprise (it took me a while to figure out what was going on, and when). Also, by giving us a glimpse of what the future holds early in the film, I spent the whole rest of it waiting for a tidy (or at least satisfying) resolution, but none comes. Instead the audience is left to piece the film together and guess what went unsaid. For me this was a major down-side, as I always prefer a film with a solid (unpredictable) ending, or at least to leave me thinking (but _not_ wondering what the hell was going on).That said, the second thing I wasn't prepared for was how effective the two guys were as a couple. They were believable, and although Jérémie Elkaïm's acting leaves a lot to be desired I still found myself wanting to watch them. This is more than can be said about many onscreen couples.Overall worth watching, even if only for the two attractive young men and the full frontal nudity, but be prepared for a lack of continuity and coherence (at least Memento made sense eventually!), and don't expect any kind of satisfaction at the end. 5/10