Gigola (Laure Charpentier,2010): France

Reviewed by Linda Sweatt. Viewed at the 2011 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

I love this film on so many levels! Gigola, erotic, elegant and fascinating, has all the makings of a great Hollywood film, only the setting is Paris. The main characters drive around in classic sports cars, eat at fancy French restaurants and live in elaborate upper class homes. In the genre of such movies as Chicago and Burlesque, Gigola is very entertaining with Vaudeville style singing and dancing, yet there’s a twist, the women dancing are dressed like men and they are lesbians. We enter a rarely seen world of erotic lesbianism and prostitution . The cinematography is beautiful with its treatment of lesbian sexuality. Delicately portraying this alternative lifestyle set in the 1950’s, this film tackles so many intense issues. While the women are always facing  challenges they are held together as a big family, supportive each other through thick and thin, staying strong as a community.

Gigola, played by fantastically by Lou Doillon, is a woman who is more gentlemanly than the best gentleman; she is a very suave, handsom butch. She wears tailored suits, a top hat and carries a cane while her women are dressed in designer gowns and expensive jewelry. The film is old school, butch and femme, black and white.

This is a fascinating look at gender roles, very interesting how a woman can enter a mans’ world in a tuxedo, carrying a gun, gambling with a gorgeous woman on her arm. Gigola wins the respect and acceptance of men and women a like. She is often mistaken for a man and treated like a man. Beginning as a  high-class prostitute, catering exclusively to the very wealthy older women, she ultimately becomes a professional and successful pimp herself. In her role as pimp we at first have the hope that being a woman she may be more kind, but by the end she is also cruel and abusive with her clients, sex workers and beautiful girlfriend. She can’t love because her first true love has died.

Gigola must deal with intense relationships in her role as daughter without acceptence her mother forever tries to pressure into conforming. Whereas her father is mostly absent,  an abusive  addict always robbing her family. She learns to take her own power and create her own path earning the admiration from both men and women. Her undying love for her first lover, a female school teacher who controlled the relationship with her by age and position leads to her own power over all the other women in her life: suppression causes suppression, violence beseeches violence. While the ending is a bit confusing and some might find it disappointing, I for one am happy to see Gigola stay strong and stick to her own path of self  identity.

Gigola is definitely my number one personal favorite of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Having lived several years in France and being a lesbian myself might just make me a bit partial, but I think Gigola translates to a very broad audience and is very entertaining so it should be well received and successful. Definitely worth seeing what you think for yourself.