French director André Téchiné recalls the sexual revolution's twilight years in this semi-sober drama, which depicts the early ‘80s onslaught of AIDS and its effects on a circle of swinging European sophisticates. Children's book writer Sarah (Emmanuelle Beart) and her police inspector husband Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) have an “open marriage” (and very progressive ideas). Their friends include middle-aged gay doctor Adrien (Michel Blanc), narcissistic young Manu (Johan Libéreau), and Manu's sister Julie (Julie Depardieu). The various escapades of this little group move in a somewhat somber direction, with Manu contracting AIDS, Adrien becoming a leader in the search for a cure, and Mehdi confessing to his wife that he had an affair with the younger man. Téchiné carefully directs his actors to react in such an evenhanded manner that melodrama never surfaces here; in fact, the film takes no moral stance on the behavior of its characters, and draws to a rather ambiguous, message-less close. The Witnesses is ultimately an intriguing movie, albeit one likely to shock some American viewers with its casual portrayal of sex among affluent, adventurous, multicultural Europeans. Recommended. (E. Hulse)
The Witnesses
Strand, 112 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $27.99, June 24 Volume 23, Issue 4
The Witnesses
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