pick a hand: love or hate
by
Douglas Messerli
Pierre
Verquin (screenwriter and director) AMO / 2020 [9 minutes]
I
frankly have little patience at this point in my life with this little French
film in which a seemingly shy young man, Milosz (played by the handsome
Verquin) stands in a back alley waiting to be picked up. Another good-looking
boy his age (Arthur Morey) finally comes along, and despite the appearance of
an intrusive older man, Milosz does finally go home with the cute boy. They
appear to have passionate sex.
But a
moment later, we realize that the same Milosz is now in bed with his girlfriend
or wife, Kalina (Elina Piette), who reminds him that they are attending a
party, with a sickly green color of the frame, instead of the previously scarlet red.
Off
to the party they go, where, lo and behold, Milosz meets up with the boy of the
other night. While Kalina seems to be busy kissing another man, Milosz enters
the kitchen where his former lover waits for him with a drink, and proceeds to
beat him and possibly even kill him, before gathering up his little miss,
kissing her and whisking her off home.
Obviously, Milosz is a terribly confused
young homo with such self-hatred and fear of being discovered as being queer
that he is ready to kill to protect himself from the knowledge.
There are such people, obviously,
stalking the streets and gay bars since time immemorial, and plenty of violent
films in the past have reminded gay men and women of their existence. But this
film appears to have not even the littlest of intention of suggesting that
something may be wrong with this. It presumes our disgust, or maybe it presumes
our comprehension of why Milosz would react in this manner.
It’s
a dramatic film, with stark colors and interesting poses; but it is an empty vessel
really of hate, describing itself quite simply as “An all-in-one love and hate
story between two young men, between a young man and a young girl, between a
young man and himself.”
Enough said. This film has no real purpose
in its empty head. Do we really need to return to the days of William Friedkin's
Cruising?
Los
Angeles, June 20, 2026
Reprinted
from My Queer Cinema blog (June 2026).
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