Joe Holyoake follows the eponymous ‘Theo and Hugo’ on a self-revelatory journey through the streets of early-hours Paris.
‘Theo and Hugo’ starts at 04.27am, and ends at exactly 06.00am. During that time, we follow the titular characters, from their meeting at a sex club called L’Impact, and their subsequent interactions after as they pound the Parisian pavements and expound on their past regrets and future aspirations.
As a concept, it bears quite strong influences: the focus on the intimacy formed between a couple after an impersonal sexual experience brings to mind Weekend; it has the similarly rigid focus on the passing of time as Victoria; and it shares the same raw queer sexuality and introspection as Blue is the Warmest Colour. However, despite these heavy fingerprints, ‘Theo and Hugo’ stands up in its own right as an understated and, it must be said, very French, piece of cinema.
We spend the first 20 minutes in L’Impact. Theo, slightly more reticent, is hanging around the edges of the writhing mass of bodies, gloriously illuminated in a seedy red light, though it’s not long before he locks eyes with the more confident Hugo. With its background soundtrack of throbbing techno, this first scene is an intensely sexy, cinematic feat and with one brief change in style, we witness the intersection of primal desire and breathy intimacy that drives the remainder of the film.
That’s not to say that what follows is a relatively straightforward, Before Sunset style love story. It’s French cinema, so not a great deal actually happens (and perhaps most surprisingly, not a single cigarette is smoked in the film), but we follow the characters through Paris as they gradually shed their layers and reveal themselves to each other. It’s heartfelt without being overwrought and thoughtful without being too flowery.
In France, it was released under the title ‘Paris 05:59’, which suits the film far better than the English title. Although it focuses on the blossoming relationship between the two protagonists, it is also as much a love-letter to Paris and that beautiful urban stillness found in the early hours, that lends every encounter and journey a profundity it wouldn’t normally warrant in the daylight. It’s not the typical boy-meets-boy flick that the title ‘Theo and Hugo’ suggests. Instead, it’s a touching indie gem that poignantly explores modern gay issues with a distinctively Gallic swagger.
• Theo & Hugo is in cinemas and On Demand services from 9th September.
