Matthias et Maxime (Xavier Dolan, 2019) Canada

Reviewed by Kaio Farkouh and edited by Rachel Clyde. Viewed at the Cannes Film Festival 2019.

Directed by the actor-director Xavier Dolan. The canadian artist brings us a story about a group of friends, that decide to go to their camp house. While they are having a good time, the sister of one of their friends is looking for people to help her record a scene for her movie, without saying the scene, Matthias and Maxime end up being the guys to do the scene. Which after is revealed that they have to make out.

The young director only give us a glimpse of the moment, and the scene fades away in such an intimate moment. Speaking about intimacy, the movie works very well. From emphasis on the color red and blue, from storms after moments of intimacy and shots through doors/windows where we can deeply feel the characters emotions.

If the movie started out with the group of friends together, after the scene involving the two friends, the director split the two main characters, Matthias and Maxime. While Matthias goes through a process of trying to understand who he is, Maxime is living his last days before he goes abroad. And this is where the movie lacks, if the first part worked so well to see all the friends interacting, the second act gets too repetitive in showing us how the characters are evolving after their intimate scene.

“Matthias et Maxime” is a good movie, with soul, and about how a touch can trigger our deepest feelings. It is also nice to see something different, based on the fact that most of the romance stories in movies today are between heterosexual characters. And they rarely bring the question, who are you?


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