The Wild Boys (film)
{{short description|2017 French film}}
{{Infobox film
| director = Bertrand Mandico
| image = The Wild Boys (2017) Film Poster.jpg
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Emmanuel Chaumet
- Mathilde Delaunay
}}
| screenplay = Bertrand Mandico
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Vimala Pons
- Diane Rouxel
- Anaël Snoek
- Mathilde Warnier
- Pauline Lorillard
- Sam Louwyck
- Elina Löwensohn
}}
| music = Pierre Desprats
| cinematography = Pascale Granel
| editing = Laure Saint-Marc
| studio = Ecce Films
| distributor = UFO Distribution
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2017|09|04|Venice|2018|02|28|France}}
| runtime = 110 minutes
| country = France
| language = French
}}
The Wild Boys ({{langx|fr|Les garçons sauvages}}) is a 2017 French film directed by Bertrand Mandico. Set in the beginning of the 20th century on the island of La Réunion, it is about five adolescent boys from wealthy families who commit a brutal crime and are in turn taken in by a Dutch Captain for rehabilitation on his dilapidated sailboat, who sail for a tropical island on which they will secretly be changed into women.{{cite web|url=https://fictionmachine.com/2019/03/04/review-the-wild-boys-2017/|title=REVIEW: The Wild Boys (2017)|work=Fiction Machine| author=Grant Watson|date=4 March 2019|accessdate=18 May 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.slugmag.com/film-reviews/damn-heels-wild-boys-les-garcons-sauvages/|title=Damn These Heels: The Wild Boys (Les garçons sauvages)|last=Brady|first=Lois|date=2018-07-16|website=SLUG Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.intomore.com/culture/bertrand-mandico-blurs-sex-and-fantasy-in-his-gender-bending-debut-the-wild-boys-les-garcons-sauvages|title=Bertrand Mandico Blurs Sex And Fantasy In His Gender-Bending Debut 'The Wild Boys (Les Garçons Sauvages)'|website=www.intomore.com|date=14 August 2018 |access-date=2019-05-18}}
Notably, all the five male protagonists in the film were played by female actors.
Cast
- Vimala Pons - Jean-Louis
- Anaël Snoek - Tanguy
- Diane Rouxel - Hubert
- Mathilde Warnier - Sloane
- Pauline Lorillard - Romuald
- Sam Louwyck - Le Capitaine
- Elina Löwensohn - Séverin(e)
Release
The film premiered in the 74th Venice International Film Festival under the International Critics' Week and won the Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for the Best Technical Contribution.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
Reception
The Wild Boys received mostly positive reviews from critics upon its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 18 reviews.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wild_boys|title=The Wild Boys|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=2019-05-18}} On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-wild-boys|title=The Wild Boys|website=Metacritic|access-date=2019-05-18}}
Cath Clarke of The Guardian called the film an "uninhibited, deeply bizarre sex-swap drama". She wrote: "Some might find the movie outrageously self-indulgent, but I was drawn into its hermetically sealed world of oddness – and Mandico pays attention to character to a degree that experimental film-makers often don’t bother with. [...] Mandico has made a wildly strange debut, striking enough to make you sit up and pay attention."{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/10/the-wild-boys-review-odd-fraught-sex-swap-drama|title=The Wild Boys review – uninhibited, deeply bizarre sex-swap drama |website=The Guardian|date=10 May 2018 |access-date=2019-05-18}} Andrew Todd of Birth.Movies.Death noted that "there's also a robust streak of eroticism running through the whole film." He wrote: "It’s the kind of eroticism that would probably make you feel dirty if you really interrogated what you were watching, but it’s achieved with such wide-eyed innocence and tactile texture that you never even think about doing so."{{Cite web|url=https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/10/22/fnc2017-review-les-garcons-sauvages-seamen-semen-and-semi-men|title=FNC2017 Review: LES GARÇONS SAUVAGES' Seamen, Semen, And Semi-Men |website=Birth.Movies.Death|date=22 October 2017 |access-date=2019-05-18}}
{{Anchor|Awards|Accolades}}
Film magazine Cahiers du cinéma ranked The Wild Boys #1 in its 2018 list of Top Ten films.{{Cite web|url=https://www.yearendlists.com/2018/12/cahiers-du-cinema-top-ten-films-of-2018|title=Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Films of 2018|website=Year End Lists|date=3 December 2018 |access-date=2019-05-18}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|6340640}}
{{Cahiers du Cinéma Award for Best Film}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Boys, The}}
Category:2010s French-language films
Category:Bisexuality-related films
Category:Intersex-related films
Category:Transgender-related films
Category:French LGBTQ-related films
Category:2017 LGBTQ-related films
Category:LGBTQ-related science fiction films
Category:French science fiction films
Category:Louis Delluc Prize winners