Ah me! Another international pop culture and fashion phenomenon which seems to have passed me by completely (and which, having been introduced, I don't comprehend at all). Pierre et Gilles (or plain ol P&G to their sycophantic fashion victim minions) are a photographer/graphic artist team whose profoundly awful kitsch photo-tableaux seem to be the hottest thing since Jerry Lewis among France's mega-trendy, polymorphously perverse, fashion demimonde. P&G's painstakingly costumed, staged, and reworked photos of leather boys, porn stars, music biz trendies and fringe-ies, and other assorted camp followers are apparently plastered all over Europe--from ads on the walls of the Parisian metro, to the pages of the slickest fashion mags, to the walls of chic galleries. The video hyperkinetically follows P&G through various gallery openings, gadding-about in after-hours clubs, and in the midst of photo shoots. P&G models and groupies offer running, gushing testimonials to their patrons' high art. And to top it all off, Catherine Deneuve appears on screen to offer periodic, oh-so-reverent mots--enough pretentious foolishness to make one want to give her a good swift kick in her perfect, Gallic derriere. All of this comes across as little more than warmed over Warhol Factory shenanigans. The almost tangible aura of narcissism and social incest that hovers around this crowd is perhaps the most fascinating thing about the film. As for the filmmaking itself--mon dieu! Jumpy, ill-lit, ineptly-edited, and off-mike. Most maddening of all is the refusal of the camera to stay put on anything from the P&G oeuvre for more than a half-second, as if a prolonged gaze would reveal how truly vacuous and self-indulgent this stuff really is. A marginal acquisition for libraries with strong interests in photography, fashion, popular culture, or gay and lesbian studies. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)
Pierre & Gilles: Love Stories
(1997) 57 min. $99: public libraries; $300: colleges & universities. Frameline. PPR. Vol. 13, Issue 4
Pierre & Gilles: Love Stories
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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