This film is one of my favourites.It looks at two prisoners in complete isolation, separated by thick brick walls, and desperately in need of human contact.They devise an unusual kind of communication with each other and the guards through holes and the sharing of smoke. The film is completely silent and communication is reflected through circular movements and touching. The cinematography at the time was very innovative so much so that it was banned and Jenet denies ever making it.
Jean Genet himself was part of the Parisian existentialist movement in the late 1940's.He explores extremes in human behavior and experience and looks at faults within society. He was constantly persecuted and put in prison for being homosexual and a rent boy. The film is informed by his own personal life and like Eva Hesse he humanizes inanimate objects such as flowers,cigarettes and smoke which all have sexual connotations.
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