Director/Writer: Robin Campillo
Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Daniil Vorobyov, Edea Darcque, Camila Chanirova, Beka Markozashvili
128mins French with subtitles Drama
Transeuropean migration and the nature of homosexuality are the themes that coalesce in this genre-bending French thriller that cleverly draws you into a web of intrigue from opening its opening sequences. EASTERN BOYS is the slick and provocative second feature from writer-director Robin Campillo, a long-time collaborator of Laurent Cantet (Vers Le Sud, The Class).
In the Gare Du Nord in Paris, gangs of Eastern European migrants hang around looking for opportunities for work and sex. One of them is the alluring Marek (Kirill Emelyanov) who catches the eye of Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin), a middle-aged business-man who is cruising for company. What follows is a shocking and thought-provoking thriller, an immersive love story and a disturbing police drama with shifts in tone that feel entirely plausible yet at the same time highly innovative. EASTERN BOYS succeeds both as a cracking drama with gay and art house sensibilities and a sinister thriller with mainstream appeal. MT
EASTERN BOYS WON BEST FILM in the Orizzonti section at the 70thVenice Film Festival. MT
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN CAMPILLO
EASTERN BOYS IS NOW OUT ON DVD/Blu on 9 MARCH 2015