Eastern Boys is a French feelbad movie that leaves many bruises and question marks
REVIEW: A slow-burning, yet highly combustive French drama, Eastern Boys is rife with psychological tension and inter-cultural unease.
Leigh Paatsch
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Eastern Boys (MA15+)
Director : Robin Campillo (The Returned)
Starring : Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov.
Rating : ***1/2
Straying on the wrong side of the tracks
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A torrid, slow-burning, yet highly combustive French drama, Eastern Boys is rife with psychological tension and inter-cultural unease.
Anyone with a bent for world cinema capable of both illuminating and intimidating an audience should make a point of tracking this one down.
A masterful opening act outlines an affluent Parisian businessman’s dangerous fascination with a gang of unruly eastern European youths that hang out at a nearby train station.
It is only after inviting one of them into his home that Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin) realises he has fallen into a trap that could prove to be his ruin.
The aftermath of this initial visit - during which a number of uninvited guests had taken advantage of their host’s hospitality - becomes the true focus of Eastern Boys.
A disturbingly enigmatic relationship slowly develops between Daniel and a young man named Marek (Kirill Emelyanov). What each requires from the other - and what each believes they are giving away - continually changes in shape and intent throughout.
Though prone to more than its share of flat spots - a tighter edit would have helped immeasurably - this is still a very skilfully controlled and composed affair from filmmaker Robin Campillo (a co-writer of the 2008 Oscar-nominated arthouse hit The Class).
Eastern Boys is now showing exclusively at the Cinema Nova, Carlton in Victoria, and the Dendy Newtown in Sydney NSW. Other states to follow.
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