Sébastien Martinez and Samuel Simonian | Sans dire adieu (Without Saying Goodbye) / 2024

the long kiss

by Douglas Messerli

 

Sébastien Martinez and Samuel Simonian (screenwriters and directors) Sans dire adieu (Without Saying Goodbye) / 2024 [8 minutes]

 

This is not at all a very profounds short film, but is nonetheless truly heartfelt. It comprises basically of two major scenes, Noah (Robin Gailhac) and Alexandre (Emmanuel Rol) at the beach and then back in presumably Alexandre’s apartment of their last day together after several years of a relationship as the high successful Alexandre will be relocated, perhaps by his company (we are never told) to Hong Kong for 5 long years.

 

     Noah, who will be now left alone, broods over the Syrah wine Alexandre offers him about his belief he will never succeed, while Alexandre assures him that he will. They brood, drink more, dance, and kiss. 

     Back at the beach where they both sit watching the waves washing in, suddenly Alexandre disappears, leaving Noah alone without a sure path ahead.

    This happens to numerous couples, straight and gay; but if short gay films are to believed, it occurs often to gay couples, who have not perhaps revealed their boyfriends to their employer or even their sexuality, or perhaps simply have not yet made a full commitment to their relationship. Married couples at least might expect to follow their companions to their new venues; but in these films they are always left behind.

     Yet even the title of this French short is misleading since through their drink, dances, and kisses they actually do bid one adieu. But this film has decided to wallow a bit in its own tears of a sad parting. We sympathize, but can we say or do. The film remains rather pointless, engaging our empathy over matters which simply don’t involve us and are not fully explained.

    But then this film was created for the “48 Hour Film Project” of Marseille, not perhaps giving its creators full time develop their project into even a full-fledge short film.

      I will say the cinematography by Mathilde Miceli is quite excellent.

 

Los Angeles, October 20, 2026

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (October 2026).