'Presque rien' is a story of two young boys falling in love during summer stay by the seaside. I don't want to tell the plot, because it's not what's most important about this film (but you can be sure that it's interesting and original). The best part of this movie is the cinematography. The visual side of 'Presque rien' is so amazing it deserves highest note. It leaves you charmed with its beauty.As for the plot, it is shown in uneven, rather complicated way. There is no simple chronology nor there are answers to all the questions the film brings. But this is what makes 'Presque rien' even more interesting. I recommend this movie to all the people for whom the artistic side of films is very important and they will not be disappointed.

PRESQUE RIEN (USA: Come Undone /UK: Almost Nothing) Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: Dolby DigitalWhile visiting his sick mother in Brittany during summer recess, a teenage boy (Jérémie Elkaïm) falls in love with a local youth (Stéphane Rideau), but their relationship falters as Elkaïm is cut adrift from all that was once familiar to him, with near-tragic consequences.Sébastien Lifshitz's intimate drama chronicles the sexual awakening of a naive teenager over the course of an idyllic summer, recounted in piecemeal fashion as the director cuts abruptly between timeframes, from Elkaïm and Rideau's love affair to the former's subsequent hospitalization following an off-screen suicide attempt, rendered 'naturalistic' by hand-held camera-work and some improvized dialogue exchanges in key scenes. The results are confusing, to say the least: Just as the boys begin to strike out from their families and forge a life for themselves, Elkaïm slips into depression (why?) and appears to reject Rideau (why?), after which he goes looking for him again, only to find solace in unexpected quarters.Anyone hoping for a rose-tinted love story will come away feeling more than a little disappointed, though Lifshitz refuses to compromise the sexual aspects of his own screenplay (co-written with Stéphane Bouqet): Elkaïm and Rideau are completely nude in several sequences, and there's a memorable, full-on sex session amongst the sand dunes which should satisfy all but the most ardent porn-watcher. But the boys' attachment is complicated by their relationship with their respective families, especially Elkaïm, who feels unable to declare his burgeoning sexuality because of a recent tragedy which has driven his father away and confined his mother to her sick-bed. Sad, complex and not a little frustrating, the movie works its magic in quiet ways, but it's a little too cold and dispassionate to satisfy all tastes.Nicely produced on a modest budget, the film also stars Dominique Reymond, Marie Matheron and Laetitia Legrix as the three women in Elkaïm's life (mother, aunt and sister, respectively), along with Nils Ohlund as one of Rideau's former boyfriends, who figures heavily in the narrative's closing stages. The two leads are fine in difficult roles, and both have become iconic figures in European gay cinema: Rideau starred in such well-regarded Queer movies as WILD REEDS (1994), FULL SPEED (1996), TRANSFIXED (1997), SITCOM (1998) and THREE DANCING SLAVES (2003), while Elkaïm - who looks like a Bel Ami porn beauty - also appears in the gay-themed drama YOU'LL GET OVER IT (2002) as the love object of handsome Julien Baumgartner (SEXY BOYS). Director Lifshitz made his feature debut with the French TV production LES TERRES FROIDES (1999) following a series of short films with Queer themes, and his latest entry is WILD SIDE (2004), another perceptive exploration of omnisexual angst.(French dialogue)

Another French seaside relationship story with an incidental background of family hardship.As with the others it's well acted, scripted, directed and interesting to watch.Other than character interest, it's also fairly devoid of any emotion or plot(unless you have a strong interest in gay french holiday romances).French cinema seems prolific in this respect, probably reflecting their otherwise staid perspective on non-holiday relationships, so if you liked this there's plenty more where it came from.

To be perfectly honest, I only watched this film originally because it's a gay film and I felt obliged. (The cover, oddly resembling that of a porn flick, may have also influenced my decision ...) I was expecting little more than a pair of hot guys who get it on (and they are hot, and they do get it on).There were two things I wasn't prepared for: the story, centering on Matthieu, is told by interleaving three periods of time together. Unfortunately, it takes the audience quite by surprise (it took me a while to figure out what was going on, and when). Also, by giving us a glimpse of what the future holds early in the film, I spent the whole rest of it waiting for a tidy (or at least satisfying) resolution, but none comes. Instead the audience is left to piece the film together and guess what went unsaid. For me this was a major down-side, as I always prefer a film with a solid (unpredictable) ending, or at least to leave me thinking (but _not_ wondering what the hell was going on).That said, the second thing I wasn't prepared for was how effective the two guys were as a couple. They were believable, and although Jérémie Elkaïm's acting leaves a lot to be desired I still found myself wanting to watch them. This is more than can be said about many onscreen couples.Overall worth watching, even if only for the two attractive young men and the full frontal nudity, but be prepared for a lack of continuity and coherence (at least Memento made sense eventually!), and don't expect any kind of satisfaction at the end. 5/10