197. The Wild Boys (Les Garcons Sauvages); movie review

THE WILD BOYS
Cert 18
110 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

And the lesson is... don't try to watch every cinema release unless you accept that you will be weirded out from time to time.
Girls acting as boys and island vegetation which can both kill and have sex is just where the strangeness begins.
It also includes a brusque sea captain (Sam Louwyck) with a map of the world tattooed on his rather large John Thomas.
This adaptation of William S. Burroughs apocalyptic novel is the eagerly awaited first movie of Bertrand Mandico who has carved a reputation for the bizarre during nearly 20 years of making short films.
The Wild Boys is a swirl of surrealism, veering from black and white to vivid colours reminiscent of the psychedelic 60s.
It flaunts kinky sex from the start when the girl/boy (Anaël Snoek)  is molested my sailors and then is one of a group of five who attack and kill their teacher.
Yes, there are echoes of Lindsay Anderson's If and Lord Of The Flies chucked into Mandico's intoxicating mix.
As penance for their crimes the boys are cast away from their home island and ferried to sea by the aforementioned captain who insists he can reform their savage ways.
From then on the story becomes progressively more off the wall culminating in the 'boys' being stranded on a desert island where the unimaginable happens.
For some reason, I couldn't help wondering what my mum and dad would make of The Wild Boys, possibly because I recall them turning off If as soon as they witnessed the plastic bag scene.
Yep, they would absolutely hate this and probably would just switch it off without giving it a chance.
Of course, because this is the everyfilm challenge, I stuck it out but I can't say I enjoyed it.
In fact, I defy anyone to say they did. That would be akin to giving a smiling thumbs up to Anti-Christ.
I suppose those who support subversive art might give it a nod of appreciation but this really is more of an endurance test than a film to lap up.
And I am afraid that, after nearly two hours,  Mandico's attempt to shock just became a bit dull.

Reasons to watch: Experimental cinema which may gain appreciation from art lovers
Reasons to avoid: Will be too surreal for many tastes

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Director quote - Bertrand Mandico: "I create hybrids, sexual and cinematic. The times change and the representation of gender has to change in cinema.

The big question - What's is all about?

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