Wild Side (2004 film)

Wild Side is a 2004 drama film directed by Sébastien Lifshitz and starring Stéphanie Michelini, Yasmine Belmadi, and Edouard Nikitine. It premiered at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival.

Wild Side
Theatrical poster
Directed bySébastien Lifshitz
Written byStéphane Bouquet
Sébastien Lifshitz
Produced byGilles Sandoz
StarringStéphanie Michelini
Yasmine Belmadi
Edouard Nikitine
CinematographyAgnès Godard
Edited byStéphanie Mahet
Music byJocelyn Pook
Distributed byAd Vitam Distribution (France)
Peccadillo Pictures Ltd. (UK)
Release dates
  • 8 February 2004 (2004-02-08) (Berlin)
  • 14 April 2004 (2004-04-14) (France)
  • 25 September 2004 (2004-09-25) (Belgium)
  • 15 April 2005 (2005-04-15) (UK)
Running time
93 minutes
CountriesBelgium
France
United Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
Russian
French
Box office$15,355 (US sub-total)

Plot

Stéphanie, a transgender sex worker (Stéphanie Michelini[1]) travels from Paris to a small town to care for her sick mother. She is joined by her two flatmates, an Algerian hustler, Jamal and a Russian soldier on AWOL, Mikhail. Both men fall in love with Stéphanie and she decides to have a relationship with them both.

Cast

Awards

In 2004 Wild Side won two awards, including the Teddy Award, at the Berlin Film Festival,[2] the Special Jury Award at the Gijón International Film Festival,[3] the Grand Jury Award at L.A. Outfest and the New Director's Showcase Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.[4]

Michelini won the Prix Michel-Simon for Best Actress for her role.[5]

Reception

Wild Side has received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 16 critics.[6]

Russell Edwards of Variety stated, "A morbid and self-important homosexual Jules & Jim for the new millennium",[6] "intention to shock is unmistakable" and "narrative-time shuffles only disrupt the flow".[7] V.A. Musetto of the New York Post on 10 June 2005, noted "Viewers are either going to walk out after 10 minutes or, like this tolerant critic, get caught up in the sordid lives of the three misfits and stick around for the ambiguous ending".[8] Chris reviewing for eyeforfilm.co.uk on 7 April 2008 noted it is "beautifully photographed" and has "typically unpretentious French acting".[9] Timeout states the film follows a "non-linear tapestry" and it is "a meditative tone-poem on society’s marginals".[10]

Todd W. Reeser wrote in Studies in French Cinema in 2007 about the film's complex narrative.[11]

References
  1. "Q&A: WILD SIDE - Director Sébastien Lifshitz and Lead Actress Stéphanie Michelini". HOME. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  2. "18th Teddy Award 2004: The winners! - Aviva - Berlin Online Magazin und Informationsportal für Frauen aviva-berlin.de Kultur". www.aviva-berlin.de. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  3. "Gijón International Film Festival 2004". MUBI. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. "identities 2017 | Queer Film Festival | Wild Side". www.identities.at. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  5. Dokhan, Julien (8 December 2004). "Prix Michel-Simon 2004 : le palmarès". AlloCiné. Retrieved 25 June 2021. (in French)
  6. "Wild Side (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  7. Edwards, Russell (22 February 2004). "Wild Side". Variety. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. "On the 'Wild Side' of Kinky & Seedy". 10 June 2005.
  9. "Wild Side (2004) Movie Review from Eye for Film". www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  10. "Wild Side (2005), directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, Film review". Time Out London. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  11. Reeser, Todd W. (2007). "Transsexuality and the disruption of time in Sébastien Lifshitz's Wild Side". Studies in French Cinema. 7 (2): 157–168. doi:10.1386/sfci.7.2.157_1. S2CID 144652468.
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