EVENINGS OUT
No twist here: film leaves
straight man on top
French Twist
Directed by Josiane Balasko
*
Reviewed by Tamara Murphy
The press release touted it as a “tolerant and open view of love in the '90s... daring and refreshing." And while French Twist left me with a multitude of responses, among them amusement, irritation, tenderness and disgust, what it didn't leave me feeling was surprised.
Mind you, the cast was attractive, and the cinematography was at times breathtaking. Hell, on occasion
it was even funny. But refreshing? No. Beyond the slightly sensational "cheating husband drives devoted wife into
the arms of attentive, lesbian lover" storyline, I found nothing daring or even unconventional about this film.
Screenwriter, director and actress Josiane Balasko explains that her goal in
making French
any worse, when I thought I couldn't be any more infuriated or disgusted, Balasko dealt her final card. The final stripping of Marijo's power was by far the most disturbing part of the film. Very early on, even before her affair with Marijo, Loli correctly assesses her husband's animosity toward Marijo, telling him that his issue is simply that he cannot have her. She is the one woman whom he may not possess.
There, in that one statement, lies a key to the power of lesbianism. Not only do we crave a truly female sexuality; but men, who possess nearly everything else in our culture,
ash
DOMINIQUE NABOKOV
Twist was "first Victoria Abril, Alain Chabat, and Josiane Balasko.
of all to make a
film that could
engage the general public, rather than a militant one that preaches to the already converted." On this score, she succeeds remarkably. This is due in great part to the fact that such long-time values of the "general public" as sexism and homophobia are left firmly in place, even as a free-for-all sexuality unfolds on screen.
Far from a daring portrayal, the value of both women is consistently and unwaveringly defined only in terms of their sexual, domestic, and reproductive contributions. The husband has a firm grip on his Madonna complex; the adored, virginal (read: sexless) woman whose sole purpose is to nurture himself and his seed.
In addition, the household teems with comments like "I won't have any dykes in my house!" And this from a man who is, to use another term from the film, bushwhacking three nights a week. This is no exploration of "bisexual chic," as Balasko suggests, but simply the story of a woman who discovers there is more than one way to scratch the seven-year itch.
Even Balasko's admirable decision to portray the lesbian lover as a butch dyke rather than follow standard Hustler magazine format appears less an attempt to create, as she says, "a female sexuality where men have no place, not even as voyeurs” than a presentation of the butch dyke as male substitute. Indeed, the sexual relationship between the wife, Loli, and her lover, Marijo, is from the beginning, entirely defined by what is lacking in Loli's relationship with her husband.
In fact, after the promising introduction of sexual chemistry between Loli and Marijo, the heat quickly fades into a much safer, tepid tenderness. All the better for the comfort of the aforementioned "general public," but sad for us "militants" who really do crave a female sexuality. Adding insult to injury is the fact that once she's turned the tables on her cheating husband, and once her "lover" is properly installed in the household, all of Loli's passion is again focused on the man in her life. Their sex sizzles with newborn passion, while her relationship with Marijo becomes insipidly domestic. It's as if Marijo is there not as a true lover, but as a companion to Loli, and as the merest hint of a threat to keep hubby in line.
And just when I thought it couldn't gef ̈
can not and do not possess us. We have defined our own worth, our productivity apart from reproductivity, apart from domesticity, and apart from sexual usefulness. A butch is one of the most visible reminders of this power.
In the sexual union of Marijo and the husband, Balasko ensures the comfort of the "general public," particularly the straight male public, by stripping this power away. "Nothing is off limits," she seems to say. Additionally, she reinforces the image of a woman's worth defined only in terms of domestic and reproductive usefulness.
It ties up one more loose end quite tidily, for that matter. With his wife now his lover, our hero the philandering husband has lost his Madonna. With the gelding of Marijo, Balasko grants him one, while at the same time removing any threat to his virility. While I was touched by the inexplicable tenderness of a butch dyke carrying a child, the implications were not of power, but of weakness.
All in all, the comfort level of "the general public" is quite well preserved in Balasko's film. Unfortunate, I think, both for them and for us "militants."
Want a LOVER?
Try PALS, a DATING SERVICE for OHIO MEN. Let Pals introduce you to lots of friends and maybe even your LOVER!
Pals
of Ohio
Send for a
FREE BROCHURE Discreetly mailed
PO Box 1444, Johnstown, PA 15907 Phone: (814) 532-PALS or 535-4776 Fax: (814) 535-8526
FEBRUARY 23, 1996
GAY PEOPle's ChroNICLE
19
Want To Win The Rat Race?
GET REAL
REALESTATE MORTGAGECORP.
THE
GREAT RAIL RACE PLACE
Thomas J. Rankin
Residential Lending Specialist
"Your Partner in Lending"
·
756-LEND (East) • 356-LEND (West) Voice Mail-736-9071 20575 Center Ridge Rd. #500, Rocky River, OH 44116
C. Wesley Jackson, Jr. Ph. D. Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, ABPP
Change Your Life For The Better
Counseling and Psychotherapy
Individuals◆ Couples & Pairs ◆ Families Women's Personal Growth Support Group Executive Coaching
"Serving the confidential needs of Northeast Ohioans for over 30 years."
216/321-9355
only at the Wexner center
TATTOO BOY
Larry Turner
Sunday, March 3, 2 pm
Larry
Turner's
STOP
Face Value Film Portraits
292-2354 to
FORECLOSURES
■ I.R.S ACTIONS
■ GARNISHMENTS
■ LAWSUITS
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 11
I
CHAPTER 13
Cancel debts while keeping most property
Control business operations & personal affairs while restructuring
Save your home by consolidating debts into a monthly payment plan
Joan Allyn Kodish Co., LPA
1015 Euclid Avenue • Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216)566-0580