Update · SAUVAGE / WILD

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Wednesday, April 10 – Tuesday, April 23

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CAMILLE VIDAL-NAQUET

“The kindness – and unkindness – of strangers looms large in the life of a feral male prostitute in SAUVAGE / WILD, an incredibly frank and involving immersive portrait impressively anchored by an in-every-frame performance from Félix Maritaud. Gut-punchingly authentic with radiant moments of tenderness where least expected, intimate yet not voyeuristic, this first feature by writer-director Camille Vidal-Naquet gets the balance between looking-for-love and settling-for-sensation exactly right… Tapping into a reservoir of physical grace, Maritaud, who appeared in BPM, projects a deep range of emotions, going with the flow with such magnanimity that (his) eventual flashes of anger are as unsettling as they are expressive.” – Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily

Presented with assist from the R.G. Rifkind Foundation Endowment for Queer Cinema

FRANCE    2018    99 MINS.    IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES    STRAND RELEASING

Reviews

“A riotous and sensual ode to freedom. A work of rare vitality. The film neither demonizes sex as perverted or mindless, nor eulogizes it as the pinnacle of pleasure. SAUVAGE / WILD’s complex representation of love – from the ephemeral connections with sexual partners, to intense romantic passion – is less conspicuous than its frank portrayal of sex work and gay sexuality, but it is just as nuanced.”
– Elena Lazic, Sight & Sound
 
“Raw, uncompromising and yet strangely romantic. As played with emotional nakedness and complete physical surrender by the remarkable Felix Maritaud, Leo evokes the gentler, more Thoreauvian sense of the word – of a solitude divorced from social norms, expectations and material needs, an aspect amplified in the film’s haunting final image.”
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
 
“A powerful portrait…recalls the unmoored, asphalt-pounding energy of [Agnes] Varda’s seminal 1985 character study VAGABOND. Refreshingly straightforward and unvarnished… [Lead actor Felix] Maritaud [is] extraordinary.”
– Guy Lodge, Variety
 
“Boldly challenges our perceptions of male sex workers. Vidal-Naquet’s script is sharp, brimming with passion. SAUVAGE / WILD is brave and carefully insightful. Off the back of queer sensation BPM with a career-shaping role, Maritaud is magnetic.”
– Ella Kemp, Little White Lies

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