80
The New York Times
An intriguing examination of alienation and dysfunction, tonally haunting rather than melodramatic.
Stupid Boy (Garçon stupide)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Switzerland,
- France
- 2004
- · 94m
Director
Lionel Baier
Cast
Khaled Khouri,
Pierre Chatagny,
Rui Pedro Alves,
Natacha Koutchoumov,
Mikele D.,
Hervé D.
Genre
Comedy,
Drama
Loïc is a "stupid" boy who finds himself in a complex web of desire, admiration, love and friendship. In this edgy coming-of-age story that turns away from the sappy, Loïc, who works in a chocolate factory but dreams of being a photographer, discovers his true identity as he develops a relationship with Rui, a soccer player, though the process is a turbulent and painful one.
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What are critics saying?
80
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Loic's journey is rich in incident and detail, and Garçon Stupide retains its dynamic momentum throughout.
80
L.A. Weekly by Ernest Hardy
Composed of artfully used split-screen, lots of hand-held camera, and expertly honed dialogue, the film floats on currents of sadness and understated humor. It also makes Loic's existential ache almost palpable.
80
The New York Times by Jeanette Catsoulis
An intriguing examination of alienation and dysfunction, tonally haunting rather than melodramatic.
75
Chicago Tribune
A caveat to viewers: This brand of movie sex, as directed by 30-year-old Lionel Baier, is emphatically not for the puritanical.
75
TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox
Raw, uncompromising and surprisingly explicit.
75
Chicago Tribune by Jessica Reaves
A caveat to viewers: This brand of movie sex, as directed by 30-year-old Lionel Baier, is emphatically not for the puritanical.
70
Chicago Reader
Baier's interweaving of documentary-style sequences with poetic, dreamlike imagery underscores the competition between Loic's harsh external circumstance and his lyrical internal yearnings for a better life.
70
Chicago Reader by Joshua Katzman
Baier's interweaving of documentary-style sequences with poetic, dreamlike imagery underscores the competition between Loic's harsh external circumstance and his lyrical internal yearnings for a better life.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
Until the lean script by Baier and Laurent Guido takes some unconvincing turns in the late going, the film is a credible portrait of alienation.
67
Austin Chronicle by Marrit Ingman
Garçon Stupide is interesting enough to merit an audience broader than its intended niche, though it isn't perfect.
63
Miami Herald by Peter Debruge
Baier's style is almost uncomfortably voyeuristic, amplified by the casting of a young, inexperienced actor (Pierre Chatagny) in a part that calls for hardcore sex.
63
Boston Globe by Wesley Morris
Garçon Stupide was shot on digital video and is the rare piece of European sexual realism centered completely on a boy's awakening.
50
The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps
The real struggle here isn't so much Chatagny's slow emergence into maturity as Lionel Baier's directorial struggle to balance artful and erotic elements.
50
Village Voice
The result is a better-late-than-never coming-of-age tale that is by turns earnest and corny, though never stupide.
25
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
Garcon Stupide features the best gay seduction scene ever filmed on a Ferris wheel. Unfortunately, you have to sit through the entire movie to get to it. Whether you want to will depend on your interest in explicit gay sex.
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