Powerful filmmaking, although the graphic sex scenes and passive protagonist won't be for everyone

Sauvage [trans. Wild, although a lot of reviewers are incorrectly calling it Savage] is the debut film of writer/director Camille Vidal-Naquet, a former professor of film studies, and takes as its subject the daily grind of a male prostitute. Vidal-Naquet strikes a delicate balance between misery porn and objectively delineating the day-to-day of being a sex worker. The film is undeniably bleak, but it's not what you would define as miserablism. Remaining detached from what it depicts, it adopts a clinically dispassionate approach, one that remains always non-judgemental. Intermixing the degrading reality of selling one's self with unexpected moments of tenderness and warmth, Vidal-Naquet taps into something deeply compelling. Some will be put off by the (very) graphic sex scenes, the passivity of the main character, or the lack of much of a plot. However, for everyone else, although it certainly isn't multiplex fare, there's a hell of a lot to admire here.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/EStmD