Olivier Perrier | Tapette (Faggot) / 2016

give me your hand

by Douglas Messerli

 

Olivier Perrier (screenwriter and director) Tapette (Faggot) / 2016 [10 minutes]

 

This is the second French-language film of the year to bear the title “Tapette” or “Faggot” in English. Canadian director Olivier Perrier’s version is a serious drama that repeats the common trope of a young sports player, in this case the school hockey champion, Alex Giraud (Robin L’Houmeau) who is has discovered that he is gay but remains closeted for fear of how he may be rejected by the homophobic hangers-on who surround him.

     As in almost all of these films, the school sports hero must first of all come to terms with himself in order to stand up to the others’ constant homophobic remarks. But in this case it is particularly disconcerting since the object of their abuse is his young, shy lover, Eliot (Eliot Nault).

      At least the abuse in this case is mostly name-calling and not physical, except for a moment when one of his “friends” asks for a piece of paper which he rolls up as a small missile to throw at the studious Eliot.

       And Eliot, unlike many of the other out gay lovers of school bully leaders, seems to comprehend his friend’s reluctance, knowing that it may result in his complete loss of popularity and perhaps even jeopardize his position on the hockey team. That he attends each of the hockey practices and games, however, should provide some with a clue, and you keep waiting for Alex to turn to his friend after a goal and toss him a kiss.

       Moreover, the verbal abuse is almost as painful as the physical, particularly for Alex who sits with his filthy-mouthed friends as they weave the words of hate through their various conversations. And the viewer becomes frustrated at his own lack of courage to at least say something, particularly when we discover his relationship with Eliot and his determination to act, despite his continued reluctance and his fantasy fears that the word “tapette” is suddenly sewn to the back of his uniform jacket.

      But when, in the midst of yet another, shared lunch of spewed-out hate for gay individuals, Alex finally acts in full regal style, standing up and moving away from his little group of mean-hearted twits and walking over to his lover, and with an open hand gesturing for him to stand, it can be read by his coterie as a false move that could lead to violence. But we know otherwise.

     However, the film goes black before we can observe what follows. Does he kiss him, just put his arm around his shoulder, or go into an impassioned moment of and open display of love? We can only imagine, as well as fantasizing about the other’s response, their open-mouthed expressions of shock and awe probably preventing them even from uttering what is on their empty minds. And if words come, they now must need include themselves in their protests, who have so idolized their friend Alex.

      Perrier’s film is not a profound or even a particularly original short film. But such films are always appreciated since in reality the silence of such individuals is deeply painful. I knew such a sports hero in my high school who, alas, never spoke out and was left alone and clearly desperate years later, committing suicide surely out of lonely desperation.

      There appears to be no English language subtitled version of this film, which is sad. Although most Canadians speak French of necessity, the film might reach a far larger US audience if Perrier had only released a subtitled DVD.

 

Los Angeles, September 18, 2022

Reprinted from World Cinema Review (September 2022).