Querelle (1982)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Jean Genet (novel)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 September 1982 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It will take you into a surreal world of passion and sexuality, further than most would dare to go. [Video Australia]

Plot:

French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that...

Plot Keywords:

Sailor | Brest | Melodrama | Gay Lead Character | Male Nudity

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Brad Davis	...	Querelle
Franco Nero	...	Lieutenant Seblon
Jeanne Moreau	...	Lysiane
Laurent Malet	...	Roger Bataille
Hanno Pöschl	...	Robert / Gil
Günther Kaufmann	...	Nono
Burkhard Driest	...	Mario
Roger Fritz	...	Marcellin
Dieter Schidor	...	Vic Rivette
Natja Brunckhorst	...	Paulette
Robert van Ackeren	...	Betrunkener Legionär
Werner Asam	...	Arbeiter
Isolde Barth	...	Mädchen
Axel Bauer	...	Arbeiter
Neil Bell	...	Theo

Also Known As:

Querelle: A Film About Jean Genet's 'Querelle de Brest' (International: English title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

West Germany | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Italy:VM18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

CCC-Atelier, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Planet Film

Trivia:

Selected in competition at the 1982 Venice Film Festival. In that edition, the Golden Lion for best film went to 'Wim Wender''s Der Stand der Dinge (1982) much to the disgust of Marcel Carné, who withdrew from President of the Jury after releasing the following statement, that can still be seen printed at the beginning of the copies of Querelle circulating in Italy: " I would love to make a personal statement. While being President of the Jury, I would love to express my disappointment in not having been able to convince my colleagues to place R.W. Fassbinder's "Querelle" among the winners. As a matter of fact, I've found myself alone in defending the Movie. Nevertheless, I keep on thinking that, although controversial, R.W. Fassbinder final movie, want it or not, love it or hate it, will one day find its place in the HISTORY of CINEMA. Marcel Carné ".

Quotes:

Lysiane: [singing] Each man kills the thing he loves!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man yan (2004)

Soundtrack:

Each Man Kills The Things He Loves

Queer Masterpiece

Jean Genet's queer theory is still cutting edge and controversial. The film version can't begin to encompass all the ideas in the novel, but it stands on its own. This film is stylized and poetic, raw and crass. Tenderness and brutality blend until you can't tell one from the other. Betrayal becomes an act of affection. Submission is empowering.

Characters travel to extremes in their journeys of self discovery. One man seduces his young lover with lecherous statements about the boy's sister, "Imagine what I'd do to her if I were holding her like I'm holding you right now." The same man later rants in a bar, "I'm all man!!! I even f*** guys!" This dichotomy of gender-play and defiant same-sexuality is at the root of Genet's queer theory. Even someone with no knowledge of Genet's philosophy will be struck by its power in this film.