Famously homoerotic, Querelle's many gay scenes (mostly involving Brad Davis's eponymous anti-hero) are not explicit, but have an intensity above anything else in mainstream cinema. But there is an eroticism to the few female characters as well, with Jeanne Moreau's Lysiane also open about her desires. You can tell than Fassbinder loved exploring human sexuality on film.
The "mise en scene" combines the compositions of fine art, the prose of Jean Genet, and an almost completely artificial presentation of the characters and the location. Costumes reflect and define gay fetish wear of the era; the port of Brest and the ship moored in her is very obviously a closed set, complete with exaggerated sexual decoration; and the script (dubbed) is more like a manifesto than a conversation.
This artificiality is accentuated by the cinematography - washed out, often tinted red, and occasionally distorted. I'm not sure if this was intentional, accidental, or the result if a poor quality master being used for the digital transfer, but it adds to the overall "otherness" of the film.
If I had written this review 25 years ago, the visuals alone would have been enough for me to give a high rating. But I value story more highly now, and this is where Querelle falls down. It is little more than a sequence of scenes - and without the narration it would be impossible to follow what is going on. The "twist" at the end is nonsensical, and belongs in a parody reel of European art cinema cliches.
Querelle is intriguing to watch, but empty of meaning.
The "mise en scene" combines the compositions of fine art, the prose of Jean Genet, and an almost completely artificial presentation of the characters and the location. Costumes reflect and define gay fetish wear of the era; the port of Brest and the ship moored in her is very obviously a closed set, complete with exaggerated sexual decoration; and the script (dubbed) is more like a manifesto than a conversation.
This artificiality is accentuated by the cinematography - washed out, often tinted red, and occasionally distorted. I'm not sure if this was intentional, accidental, or the result if a poor quality master being used for the digital transfer, but it adds to the overall "otherness" of the film.
If I had written this review 25 years ago, the visuals alone would have been enough for me to give a high rating. But I value story more highly now, and this is where Querelle falls down. It is little more than a sequence of scenes - and without the narration it would be impossible to follow what is going on. The "twist" at the end is nonsensical, and belongs in a parody reel of European art cinema cliches.
Querelle is intriguing to watch, but empty of meaning.