Criterion Connection: Querelle (1982)

[@dudemask4943]

I really agree your guys opion:It's super simple and super complicated,there's many things worth digging in

[@dudemask4943]

After rewatching "Querelle" in a more organized manner, my current thought is that this movie might not be simply a gay film. The definitive narration throughout the movie, along with some very obvious symbols of traditional patriarchal society (what comes to mind is a lamp post base resembling a phallus, on which the captain graffiti's: 'young men need boys with big cocks,' and then there’s the scene where the police officer flips through Gil's photos, where the naked women are always accompanied by a naked man, perhaps the brother of the naked woman), these overly explicit and apparent representations of a male-dominated society's perspective on 'gay love' make me doubt that Fassbinder is delivering a crude conclusion. Instead, it’s possible that he uses these frameworks to metaphorically (artistically) depict Querelle’s self-awareness exploration process as a journey to find oneself under a specific power structure. Especially the way the lines are recited like dramatic dialogues in the film seems to imply an unquestionable framework structure. Also, there's a line in the movie where Lys tells Querelle that he is infinitely self-replicating, which might be from Artaud. I remember seeing something similar in "Difference and Repetition." But even from this perspective, the film still inevitably seems a bit narcissistic... Nevertheless, emotionally, I still enjoy watching it. I never find it boring, and instead, I think there are many points of doubt (the meaning of the tarot cards at the beginning, the intention behind the birth certificate at the end, the significance of Gil and Robert being played by the same actor, etc.) that can be interpreted or explored from multiple angles...

[@colortura]

The gays of a certain age love this movie.