SummaryJohn Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in and around a modern-day underground salon. The characters converge on a weekly gathering called Shortbus: a mad nexus of art, music, politics and polysexual carnalit...
SummaryJohn Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in and around a modern-day underground salon. The characters converge on a weekly gathering called Shortbus: a mad nexus of art, music, politics and polysexual carnalit...
You'll never see another film quite like Shortbus. It's a rom-com, a heady emotional drama and a study of sex and desire in one, all broken up by quite graphic sex scenes that wouldn't look out of place in pornography. The way in which the sex scenes are performed (i.e. for real), isn't a criticism, on the contrary, after witnessing the first few instances of passion, these scenes lose their shock factor and become woven into the fabric of the film as a whole. Shooting these scenes for real also has an interesting side effect - it allows the actors to introduce a liberal doses of improvised humour to these situations, humour which would be almost impossible to pull off if these moments were simulated. Every scene in the film is a miniature character piece, and it's a testament to the skills of the actors that they've managed to instill their characters with so much depth. The cast appear to be effortlessly natural, and it was entirely left up to them to flesh-out their respective characters and story-lines, therefore the film feels pleasingly organic and completely believable. Despite the flexible nature of the narrative, the plot never loses focus, everything is tied together by quirky, animated sequences which sweep through an abstract version of New York, and the film builds towards an extremely pleasing symbolic, yet emotionally grounded finale. The film isn't just about love, or even lust, it's really about coming to terms with who you are, and exploring your own mind and body. Shortbus isn't all frolicking about with naughty bits on show, either. At points it touches upon some extremely dark issues, and handles these with maturely and sensitively whilst at the same time using them for the maximum dramatic potential that they offer. It's one of the finest examples of collaborative filmmaking in history, and it's also probably the best film about sex that's ever been made.
A movie that makes you feel and think and is as good as any. It's a shame that not many people will see it, and some that start it won't get through it. It has a rare depth and perspicacity. Very successful, indeed.
A darkly comic trifle that follows in the footsteps of such films as Catherine Breillat's "Romance" (2000), "The Brown Bunny" (2003) and Michael Winterbottom's "9 Songs" (2004) by incorporating hard-core sex into a nonpornographic narrative.
The quest for sexual happiness is a radical notion in these repressive times, as well as a legitimate basis for storytelling, but Shortbus doesn't quite delve as deeply as it ought into its characters' emotions.
Unquestionably the most sexually graphic American narrative feature ever made outside the realm of the porn industry, John Cameron Mitchell's ambitious attempt to merge his characters' active sexual lives with more conventional emotional content is playfully and provocatively entertaining for roughly the first half, but loses staying power thereafter when investment in the uncompelling characters' problems is requested.
Difficile de juger ce genre de film à la croisée des chemins de la comédie et de la pornographie... Mais apparemment, il est simplement qualifié d'érotique (?) alors que l'une de ses qualités réside... dans la qualité de ses quelques scènes pornograhiques. Appelons donc un chat, un chat et une chatte, une chatte. Et tout le reste viendra naturellement.
Donc, plutôt un bon porno en fait. Mais est-ce vraiment le cas ? car le réalisateur balance toutes ses cartouches au début et nous laisse sur la béquille à la fin, euh je veux dire sur notre faim, car le cul devient bien plus rare, quel dommage !
Le film se perd en effet dans le drame psychologique à la petite semaine avec ses **** dépressifs ainsi que son côté "peace and love" de bisounours progressiste. En même temps, toute la galerie des névropathes est illustrée ici avec le maso, le branleur, la sado, le voyeur, et la fille à voile et à vapeur mais toujours peine-à-jouir. Et tout ce petit monde se retrouve au "Shortbus", le bar à partouzes. Pour forniquer et mater. Et pérorer aussi.
Le côté comique est certes bien présent avec précisément la sexologue à la recherche de l'orgasme perdu... c'est quelque chose ! Un mélange bizarre, donc, de porno et de pathos, plus ou moins drôle... ou pathétique. Un peu court tout cela mais certainement audacieux.
It's sex, passion, lust, a bit of love, unfulfilled desires and also female orgasm dysfunction. Nice topics but they feel misguided and hollow.
The film presents interconnected stories that never feel strong or at least just more interesting.
I can say it was certainly unusual but very far from being truly thought-provoking
"Shortbus" is an interesting perspective on the loose sexual morals of the hip New York underground scene and shows us how these people apparently soothe their insecurities with lots of promiscuous sex, but I found it too distant from my own way of life, too shallow and too one-sided to really appeal to me. I liked the way it explored human weakness and the insecurities of the various characters felt all quite genuine, which is quite refreshing in an age where shallow pulp blockbusters make the majority of films available. However, the film didn't really go being that, it lacked balance in every possible way and wasn't nearly the genius art house film it tried to be, which left somewhat of a bitter aftertaste.
Even though one can see people talking about their private lives a lot, the character development still felt rushed. We get to understand people's insecurities regarding relationships and sexuality, but that's pretty much all we learn about them which makes it hard to really empathize with the characters. Also, besides the sex and relationship talk all we really get to see is people being naked and/or having sex, which gets quite monotonous near the end of the film and is too much in contrast with the emotional side of the rest of the film.
While we do get to see things from a lesbian perspective, a straight perspective and a **** male perspective, the **** male perspective is way too over-lighted and the lesbian side is only really touched in one scene. The heterosexual male's perspective is very under-lighted as well and even the heterosexual female's perspective does not get the amount of attention it should have gotten in spite of a straight female main character.
Similarly, the director shows us quite a lot **** males having sex, whereas the straight sex is very limited and very mild in comparison and there is no lesbian sex at all. Female genitals are not really shown, whereas male genitals are all over the place. Now, I have no problem with **** directors and them making a film from their own perspectives but he could have either made this a pure **** film ("Queer as Folk" style) or he could have given the heterosexual and lesbian side more screen time. This unbalanced mixture feels very awkward.
While the style of this film was most definitely refreshing and far from bad, it by no means comes close to the genius of Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Human Nature", "The Science of Sleep") or Sean Ellis ("Cashback") who also explored human sexuality and relationships in their films (although from a straight, generally male perspective). "Shortbus" didn't even come close to being as charming as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", as silly as "Human Nature" or as intense as "Cashback". Unlike the other films mentioned, "Shortbus" seemed to be more about sex than about love. Also unlike the other films mentioned, the audiovisual style of "Shortbus" felt not very innovative or unique after having seen quite a few art house films in my life. This made it come off as a bit pretentious.
If you're a **** male in conflict with your emotions, you may really like this film and consider it a very heartwarming experience, but for anyone else I'd recommend you go watch and of the other films I mentioned if you want to see an art house film about sex and relationships that's refreshing and different from anything you've seen before.
Well I am sure that everyone involved in the making thought that they were all so daring to actually put a **** blow job on display alongside a bunch of other naked people having sex. However, as most of us know that is not new, there is actually a hole industry specialising in exactly that calle porn and they are rewarded at the annual AVN-award show. Shortbus certainly have several similarities with a porn flick. The plot is as poorly written, the dialogs as unreal and the acting only convincing when they are having intercourse. The fact that this movie has even been mentioned at any other movie reward but the AVN, shows that there are too many unreliable critics out there.