Written and Directed by Bertrand Mandico
Composer - Pierre Desprats
Cinematography by Pascale Granel
Cast
Vimala Pans as Jean-Louis
Pauline Lorillard as Romuald
Mathilde Warnier as Sloane
Anael Snoek as Tanguy
Diane Rouxel as Hubert
Nathalie Richard as the Literature Teacher
Sam Louwyck as The Captain
Elina Lowensohn as Dr. Severin
Opening Thoughts: I was supposed to see this film back in September of 2018, but life got in the way. What stood out to me around that time from back then was that when I saw the preview the imagery was like watching an intoxicating hallucination version of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Simply breathtaking and gorgeous. I had to see the film at some point even of I know nothing else going into the film.
Plot: Tanguy, a young boy, finds himself on an island exhausted in a state of panic. To escape the madness, Tanguy tries to commit suicide by throwing a box of explosives onto a fire with him in the blast radius. A few moments later, a group of sailors come upon Tanguy's body and begin to rape him, but there is something odd about Tanguy he appears to have one breast. Why?
Moments later from the agony, Tanguy's life begins to flash before his eyes. Tanguy, a schoolboy, is apart of a gang of 5 individual boys who have a passion for mischief and danger. The gang led by Jean-Louis, the alpha male, have the hots for their Literature teacher.
Jean-Louis plans to rape their teacher in the name of Trevor, a diety they can't control. The boys end up murdering her and stand trial. Each of the 5 boys said she seduced them and they murdered her to protect themselves. Unsure of how to proceed, a Captain of a sailboat says he jas a program that takes troubled individual boys and turns them into docile members of society.
The council agrees to let the Captain take the boys into his custody. The Captain, by himself, takes the boys onto a ship and embarks on a trip to an island. The boys under torture are forced to man the ship in different positions. Jean-Louis at this time decides it is time for the boys to rebel uet fails. It's a rebellion attempt that will keep happening theoughout the film.
When the boys arrive they are exhausted and led to a special spot on the island that has everything they need to survive. Plants that look like cocks in which they have to suck to get the liquid they need and a special fruit that appears to be Rocky Mountain Oysters with pubic hair all across them. The boys are disgusted by this, but are told to stay in this spot while the Captain leaves for a meetup elsewhere on the island. The boys are told to stay in this spot because the island has dangerous secrets that can be deadly.
As the Captain leaves, one boy tries to follow him, but appears to get trapped in a cocoon. What is happening? Will the boys survive the island? Will they be able to fight off the Captain's attempts to make them docile human beings? Who is this mysterious person the Captain is meeting up with? One thing is for sure it is not Tennille.
Review: The Wild Boys marks the directing debut of Bertrand Mandico. So I have seen no previous works to compare this film to and wonder if Mandico will be a one film wonder, but what I can do is compare this film to other films with similar concepts.
Children being stranded on an island and forced to fend for themselves is not a new concept in films by any means. The two best examples are Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale and Peter Brook's Lord of the Flies. The Wild Boys shares traits of Royale with the island and how society tries to deal with troubled souls. The film has more in common with Lord of the Flies boys forced to fend for themselves on an island, an alpha dog pecking order, turn of the 20th century setting, and filmed mostly in black and white.
Yet the film also has similarities with Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Like Clockwork their is a psychotic violent youth gang leader who murders a lady of standing. That would be coincidental in itself, but Mandico also uses the plot element of a rehabilitation program to make an individual docile. While you may look at this as a remake of Clockwork, Mandico has done enough to make this film his own to where only a huge Kubrick fan or dedicated Cinephile will see the similarities.
Yet Mandico's best achievement of this film is how he used beautiful cinematography, use of sets, and special effects that this film is a unique achievement that reminds of Michael Gondry's Science of Sleep just for imagery and Christopher Nolan's Inception because so much is happening in this film that I could literally think The Wild Boys is about something else with each viewing. One thing is for sure there is so much happening one viewing is not enough.
What I can't believe after viewing this film is that it was shot in 16mm. The film in my opinion is the most gorgeously shot film since The Revenant. For a first time director, Mandico has just set a high bar for himself that he may never be able to live up to again.
Should you rush out to rent, buy, or see this film in the theater? Yes and No. I think everyone should see this film, but some of the themes of the film forced feminization, rape, and LGBT may make this film a tough watch for some. If you can't handle LGBT theme movies then this film is probably not for you. If you can't handle feminism and the recent trend of social awareness again I caution. However, if those themes don't bother you should try this film. Either way I will not judge your character for whatever reason if you choose to watch or not. Too much hate in the world already.
One thing should be pointed out the 5 actresses who play the boys in the film deserve a special shout out. While there was that beginning of the film sequence with Tanguy in which you could tell he was playing played by an actress during the rape scene, curves of the body, the rest of the film while I had some sense that was what the visuals were meaning transformational of the body you couldn't tell until the transformation was about to happen. They were believable and that led to the allure of the film.
Closing thoughts: I can see why some of my friends love the film it was like they took Lord of the Flies, Clockwork Orange, and Peter Pan and threw them in a Blender and ended up with this magnificent piece of Jackson Pollack work. The Wild Boys is truly a masterpiece of perfectly blended hallucinatory imagery, story, suspense, and comedy into one film.
It's only a matter of time before this film becomes a cult classic and a must see film on all LGBT list of great films. Priscilla Queen of the Desert was my favorite LGBT film, but not anymore The Wild Boys is. I would honestly rank The Wild Boys on my top 25 films I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.
For myself, this film is a solid 9.5 out of 10. That shot sequence in the beginning of the film with Tanguy's body being exposed and I could tell it was an actress not a boy gave a little bit away too early. That said you should look out for Anael Snoek the actress who played Tanguy she might just be the next Tilda Swinton.
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