Un Chant D'Amour (1950) - Jean Ganet

One of the problems when watching avant-garde and experimental films is that most of them can be a little boring. They are non-narratives that deal with exposures, or cinematic puzzles. So when you get a chance to see a film of true poetic brilliance with even a faint hint of a story, it really seems a treat. Jean Ganet made only one film, infamous in its day, but that picture still holds up remarkably well. Gay or straight this film has to win you over, with so many images that will stay with you. To think of a love story developing between two inmates who are in separate cells, expressing their love through a long straw and shared cigarettes. Most of the films (all of it actually) notoriety came from the images of nude men engaging in some masturbation and a few acts of tastefully executed homosexual activity has made this a curious entry, but sex aside this film is well worth checking out.