The film starts like a documentary: Paris, railway station, people are running to trains, coming, meeting, buying newspapers and water… But among all these passengers we see group of young people who are not here for travelling, they live here. They are unemployed migrants from countries of Former Soviet Union. They need money and ready to do everything for getting it – so when Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin), the discreet fifty-years old French man, offers to young Marek (Kirill Emelyanov) to come to his house – young guy doesn’t have any doubts about coming but only worries about price.
And next day Marek comes to Daniel’s home but not alone, he takes all his company with him. All they together make party at Daniel’s place and take literally everything from his house. Everything. Some days later Marek comes again to Daniel, this time alone. He needs money and is ready for sex… The main story of film begins.
All movie divides on several parts, each part has the title, it’s own style of image, location, the main topic or main thought of authors. The dramaturgy works perfect, film surprises you, but sometime I had question in my head: What is the motivation of the character? Why have he done it? For example: why Daniel didn’t call police or didn’t try to stop the gang when they were robbing his house?
I think the most of “boys” are played by non-professional actors, and if you know Russian language you can notice some problems with proper intonation and acting. At the same time it gives feeling of reality in this film.
There are several gay sex-scenes in the movie. The male nakedness is shown as weak, tender but also as harsh. Some of these scenes don’t have editing – you see it like real-show. From the very beginning – from Marek’s embarrassment when he takes off all his clothes first time till the moment when he goes to the shower… It is not erotic or porno scenes but it looks so real that shocks your imagination. Robin Campillo showed the feelings of two persons who unexpectedly turned out in one room and know that they are going to have sex now.
But “Eastern Boys” isn’t film about social problems or about illegal migrants. It isn’t even story about gays. Outstanding thing about this movie is that film speaks about absolutely universal topics: about developing of relationships of two people. It is not important if there are man and woman or man and boy. The director tells us story how people become close to each other, what does this closeness mean, when begins friendship, when and why sex stops to be important, what is real care about another person…
The film asks all these questions and stays in your head for long time after the watching. It has so many different levels of understanding that I’m sure everyone will have chance to find something for himself. 28/30