L'Homme blessé (1983)
Whilst waiting to see his sister off at a Paris railway station, Henri, a withdrawn adolescent, realises he is being watched by another man. He follows the stranger to the men's toilets where he finds him being assaulted by another man, who spontaneously kisses Henri. The following evenings, Henri returns to the station to try to find the man who kissed him and eventually meets up with him. The man, Jean, is a rough crook and homosexual pimp, but Henri is drawn to him and insists on following him around. Henri's parents notice a change in their son's behaviour, but their hostile reaction merely hastens his alienation and descent into the abyss.
Arguably one of the darkest screen portrayals of homosexual awakening, L'Homme blessé is director Patrice Chéreau's most controversial work to date, and many spectators will find it a harrowing film to watch. The nocturnal settings, sparse dialogue and assembly of shady characters give the film the feel of an erotic existentialist nightmare, offering a profound and poignant metaphor for the soul-crushing isolation experienced by a lonely man upon discovering his homosexuality.
Brutally explicit in its stark minimalist cinematography, the film offers a convincing depiction of a young man who is driven by a sexual urge he cannot control or rationalise, an urge he consciously loathes and struggles against. Both the urge and the struggle drive him into further isolation, culminating in a shocking and unavoidable act of destruction which vividly illustrates the danger of surpressed sexuality.
The film stars Jean-Hugues Anglade in what remains his most courageous and striking screen role, playing the taciturn mixed-up adolescent Henri with so much conviction that it is hard to believe he is enacting a fictional piece of drama. Anglade pours everything he has into this performance and the film's impact rests mainly on his sympathetic portrayal of Henri as a vulnerable victim of his own tragic humanity.
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Next Patrice Chéreau film:
La Reine Margot (1994)
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L'Homme blessé won 1 César in the category of: Best Original Screenplay (Hervé Guibert, Patrice Chéreau) [1984]. The film garnered 2 further César nominations for: Best Editing (Denise de Casabianca) [1984]; and Most Promising Actor (Jean-Hugues Anglade) [1984].
The director Patrice Chéreau also worked with the actor Jean-Hugues Anglade on the films La Reine Margot (1994) and Persécution (2009).
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For a complete set of credits and other relevant data visit the Internet Movie Database.
Film Credits
- Director: Patrice Chéreau
- Script: Hervé Guibert (dialogue), Patrice Chéreau (dialogue)
- Cinematographer: Renato Berta
- Music: Fiorenzo Carpi
- Cast: Jean-Hugues Anglade (Henri), Vittorio Mezzogiorno (Jean Lerman), Roland Bertin (Bosmans), Lisa Kreuzer (Elisabeth), Claude Berri (Le client), Hammou Graïa (Le jeune homme de la gare), Gérard Desarthe (L'homme qui pleure), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Le père d'Henri), Annick Alane (La mère d'Henri), Sophie Edmond (La soeur d'Henri), Marie Verdi, Suzanne Chavance, Roland Chalosse, Eddy Roos, Charly Chemouny, Patrice Finet, Daniel Geiger, Roland Vargoz, Denis Lavant, Françoise Maimône, Laurent de Berward, Franck Coquet, Philippe Allaire
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Support: Color
- Runtime: 109 min
- Aka:The Wounded Man
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