Search - Ma Saison Super 8 on DVD

Gaining National and Personal Acceptance

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 05/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Ma Saison Super 8"

Gaining National and Personal Acceptance

Amos Lassen


Water Bearer Films brings us "Ma Saison Super 8" set in Paris in 1968. Marc finds himself adrift after France refuses to grant equal rights to gays. He is forced to deal with his feelings of being gay at a time when there was no place for homosexuals in society. He meets Andre in a park and they begin an on/off relationship which lasts for the following three years. Andre is a factory worker from a small town who is unsure of his own sexuality and he looks to Marc to give him what he needs even though he emphasizes that he will one day get married. Marc is a strong advocate for gay rights and even though the men share heated passion, this fact tempers their relationship and leads Marc to be at odds with his own father who is a police office with the Paris Police Department.
Marc gives us his the story of his life on the form of an intimate and perplexed journal. He tells us of his coming to terms with his sexuality and his goals for revolution. Likewise we learn about his family and how and why gay rights are so important to him.
The film is a personal one which is shot on black and white and mainly in close-ups and we see a collection of broken images and what seems to be monotonous at first, later evolves into a very personal and beautiful film that requires patience to stick with it. It comes across as an understatement about the place of gays in today's world and the birth of the French gay identity. It is also a testimony to contemporary and modern French history.
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An Entirely Honest Film

Alfredo R. Villanueva | New York, NY United States | 09/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film blew me away. It was like reliving my life, except that it was not Paris, it was New York in the 60's and 70's. What I liked the best was the total honesty in depicting the different factions and interactions between gays, straights, lesbians, bisexuals, one-timers, and the gradual disappearance of the revolutionary spirit as they are all absorbed into dominant discourse. Beautifully done, even down to the bothersome movie camera (I remember a time when absolutely everything had to be filmed). The protagonist is absolutely beautiful. And please, do not compare this movie to Bertolucci's major turkey."

VERY DISAPPOINTING

Peter Fraser | Sydney, NSW Australia | 08/02/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Ultra slow moving film. The shakey hand held camera work and the day for night photography (blue sky at night) was very annoying to watch.Bertolucci did it far better and sexier with his erotic film THE DREAMERS which handled the same subject."