I've watched most of Xavier Dolan movies in a chronological order, and i've noticed that, as many other young directors, his filmography is like a circle. After having his breaking through moment with I killed my Mother, made a couple of "pretentious" movies -as some would say-, then a couple with some big names and famous faces, then back to more "Xavier" like movies, whatever that means, finally it's a full circle. As for Matthias and Maxime it felt like Dolan wanted to go back to his roots again, which was probably the best choice he could've made after all his previous films.
It's quite a fascinating thing to see someone grow throughout the years, to observe someone slowly but surly develop their style, and to experiment and explore in as many genres as Dolan did, he manages not to only accept that challenge and have the enough courage to display his filmography and be able to say things like "here i made this thriller and this drama and this romance!" but to succeed at it too. His films are always changing their shape and form, and even though in this film he tackles the same themes and topics as a lot of his previous films; dysfunctional family dynamics, friendships, mother figures, identity and so on, the way he presenters these themes in his films where it's constantly engaging without getting too repetitive or boring, his stories flow perfectly and effortlessly, it's quite a fascinating and a very special gift to say the least. His movies aren't trying to go somewhere they don't belong nor is he is not trying to talk about something he's yet to fully understand, his movies are about young people and youth, and they're developing with him, as he ages we'll get to see more of this mature Dolan, and i'm anticipating a new decade with his future projects with so much joy.
There's so much intensity in this movie, the characters are so vibrant they radiate life everywhere they go it's beautifully contagious. It felt like we got to witness this very intimate thing grow between these two men at such a confusing time of their lives. In movies, when two straight long term friends, a man and a woman, develop feelings for one another it's always easier to act upon these feeling and see where it leads, and the idea of a man and a woman being together is overall more socially acceptable, probably someone in their friend group was secretly rooting for them for years. But, when the scenario is reversed and it's about two men who develop feelings for each other after being friends for years, suddenly everything is difficult, the complexity of these new born feelings, the confusion, the doubt, the hesitation, the desires, the tension, the self control in each other presence, the having to deal with families and shared friend groups, coming out and all what could've change in their lives if they chose to act upon these feelings, it's all a risk and whole different level of complicated. It was all captured perfectly with the stunning and raw performance of everyone involved in the making of this film.
Matthias and Maxime is by far the most minimalistic film Xavier has ever made, the most adult like too. Not to mention the mesmerizing cinematography, just stunning colorful shots throughout the whole film it was one of the most visually pleasing films i've seen in a while. Lgbtq+ cinema and cinema in general has a promising future with someone like Xavier Dolan in it.
Regardless of whether you like Xavier Dolan's films or not, this one is definitely a must see!
It's quite a fascinating thing to see someone grow throughout the years, to observe someone slowly but surly develop their style, and to experiment and explore in as many genres as Dolan did, he manages not to only accept that challenge and have the enough courage to display his filmography and be able to say things like "here i made this thriller and this drama and this romance!" but to succeed at it too. His films are always changing their shape and form, and even though in this film he tackles the same themes and topics as a lot of his previous films; dysfunctional family dynamics, friendships, mother figures, identity and so on, the way he presenters these themes in his films where it's constantly engaging without getting too repetitive or boring, his stories flow perfectly and effortlessly, it's quite a fascinating and a very special gift to say the least. His movies aren't trying to go somewhere they don't belong nor is he is not trying to talk about something he's yet to fully understand, his movies are about young people and youth, and they're developing with him, as he ages we'll get to see more of this mature Dolan, and i'm anticipating a new decade with his future projects with so much joy.
There's so much intensity in this movie, the characters are so vibrant they radiate life everywhere they go it's beautifully contagious. It felt like we got to witness this very intimate thing grow between these two men at such a confusing time of their lives. In movies, when two straight long term friends, a man and a woman, develop feelings for one another it's always easier to act upon these feeling and see where it leads, and the idea of a man and a woman being together is overall more socially acceptable, probably someone in their friend group was secretly rooting for them for years. But, when the scenario is reversed and it's about two men who develop feelings for each other after being friends for years, suddenly everything is difficult, the complexity of these new born feelings, the confusion, the doubt, the hesitation, the desires, the tension, the self control in each other presence, the having to deal with families and shared friend groups, coming out and all what could've change in their lives if they chose to act upon these feelings, it's all a risk and whole different level of complicated. It was all captured perfectly with the stunning and raw performance of everyone involved in the making of this film.
Matthias and Maxime is by far the most minimalistic film Xavier has ever made, the most adult like too. Not to mention the mesmerizing cinematography, just stunning colorful shots throughout the whole film it was one of the most visually pleasing films i've seen in a while. Lgbtq+ cinema and cinema in general has a promising future with someone like Xavier Dolan in it.
Regardless of whether you like Xavier Dolan's films or not, this one is definitely a must see!