Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

SADFI 1 I was only prepared to give this film just half a chance (which I'm glad I did), and bail out as soon as it got too "Euro" for me.Aside from one semi-painful and overly long techno-music / dancing scene early on, the film was perfectly palatable to this particular Mid-Western American's tastes.As others have noted, it starts off a bit slowly, and you're left wondering if there will ever be any dialogue.Turns out there is, and in multiple languages too. I loved the realism of the two initially only being able to communicate through their own broken English, instead of their native tongues (each being unfamiliar to the other).Really well acted by all, and beautifully filmed. It had a documentary feel to it, without the obnoxious jittery camera work that some directors think that look requires.There are some mildly graphic gay sex scenes, so if that's too much for you, consider yourself warned. It's hardly gratuitous though, and nothing you haven't seen between heterosexual characters in other movies over the last thirty years.The story could have used a bit more background on the primary characters, which is what prevented me from giving it an 8 or a 9. I can see how time constraints might have gotten in the way of the film maker's doing that however.Anyway, it's a breath of fresh air from the usual formula and is much recommended.

Bayamon_Hill The first thing you must understand about this movie is that there is hardly any back story to the characters. Daniil, the well-off French man, wears a suit, has dinner parties at his house, and desires young men to have sex with. He finds one named Marek, who is part of a large group of (illegal) Eastern European guys, none older than 26, that cruises and hustles, and ultimately looks for ways to get over on people. The arrangement is made between the two and disaster happens the following day when Marek's crew shows up instead and ransacks Daniil's place and takes everything. Lesson learned right? That would be a short, but pretty good movie. What we get is a slow slide down to something less compelling. Marek comes back out of some sense of regret (or maybe just an easy way of getting money) and he and Daniil complete their deal, except that Marek keeps on coming back. All of this makes sense to me because people act differently when by themselves. The hustler acts tough with his guys and when alone, he can be more expressive (not that he is). Marek eventually tells Daniil that he trusts him, and so allows himself to be vulnerable enough to relate his tragic tale. Daniil, in turn, offers up no story of his own but shows a desire to take care of Marek. It still makes sense until Daniil's attraction for Marek, who he is getting to know so much about, changes from carnal to paternal. One can still care and protect someone who he or she loves intimately. I would say it is sort of required. So by the end of the movie, when Daniil is now trying to adopt Marek as his son, I was very confused. It just seemed that the maker of this movie wanted to create a relationship between the older man and the younger guy that would be more palpable to audiences. Getting to know someone's troubled back story should not become a reason to stop loving someone romantically, but I think would make that love stronger. It would just take a braver filmmaker to make that point.

Tom Dooley Around the Gare du Norde railway station groups of East European lads gather and seek opportunistic chances for an easy buck. Daniel Muller (Olivier Rabourdin 'Of Gods and Men') is a gay man who is attracted to one of them - he is not sure if they are for rent but approaches Marek and a date is arranged at Muller's apartment. Only when he answers the door he is not prepared for the visitor he gets.That is the start and what develops goes way beyond what I was expecting. We have quite a few issues being explored here from migrant integration, crime, pay for sex and affairs of the heart. I was at times feeling uncomfortable, angry, concerned and even happy. The main thing is that it is always engaging.Great performances from all the cast but Olivier Rabourdin was totally convincing and Krill Emelyanov as Marek as the confused yet caring Ukrainian was brilliant. This is for those who enjoy an intelligent gay themed film, but a lot of the issues here are very universal and as such I can highly recommend.

Trevor I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival 2014. The film is engrossing, funny, moving and often very intense. The story concerns an older man, Daniel, who picks up a young male prostitute from Eastern Europe at a train station in France. The young male prostitute, Marek, is there illegally; living with a gang of other illegal Eastern Europeans, mainly young men, who survive through criminal activities, particularly stealing. They of course steal from Daniel at his home, when he gives Marek his address to hook up. The opening half hour that introduces us to the characters at the train station and the scene where Daniel has his property stolen while he is in the house is mesmerizing. As the film progresses, Daniel develops, extraordinarily, a relationship with the young Marek. Through this relationship we develop an understanding of Marek's background and the problems faced with illegal migrants; particularly in regard to being manipulated and susceptible to criminal activity in order to survive, as seen through Marek's relationship with his gang of young men. The performances are very good, particularly from Daniil Vorobyov, who plays 'Boss', the leader of the gang - he makes you believe the magnetism he holds over this group of young men. Recommended.