mylifeonice

SYNOPSIS- MY LIFE ON ICE

This endearing and sexy story of one
year in the life of a gay French
teenager is seen entirely through the
lens of his video camera. A truly
remarkable film from gay filmmakers
Olivier Ducastle and Jacques
Martineau (The Adventures of Felix).

REVIEW

From the directors of The Adventures
of Felix comes the story of a cute gay
teenager who discovers himself only
through the eyes of others. The film is
the video diary of Etienne (Tavares), a
budding championship figure skater,
who tapes his life in its seventeenth
year; we only see him when someone
else holds the camera or he uses the
remote. And “remote” is the key here --
Etienne is clearly more comfortable
watching the world than participating in
it. His passions are all singular – his
skating, his one close friend (the Tom
Cruise-like Lucas Bonnifait), his video
camera, and his handsome geography
teacher (Jonathan Zaccaï).

When his single mother (Ariane
Ascaride) suggests he try hockey, he
replies in a perfect teen-aged snit, “I
hate teams.” The one unspoken
character is Etienne’s budding
sexuality (which is not officially
revealed till the end). Etienne is always
filming other male skaters, construction
workers, his teacher and his gorgeous
best friend. You get the sense that the
camera is aware of his gayness before
he is thanks to these always inventive
filmmakers. While this method of
filmmaking is certainly different, it
never feels less that real. One rather
important element of the film we feel
compelled to mention is that Etienne
plays a game of strip-tease with his
camera throughout the movie, saving
his whole delicious body for the end.
We are drawn into the world of a
teenager who is outwardly charming
yet inwardly conflicted. With a surprise
and satisfying ending, this utterly
beguiling journey is all you could hope
for. (French with English subtitles)