Wild Side (2004)

63% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(834 ratings)

The freewheeling sexuality of three men (one of whom lives as a woman) leads them into a relationship that stretches the traditional bounds of love and friendship in this drama. Stéphanie (Stéphanie Michelini) is a pre-operative transsexual who supports herself as a prostitute and shares a flat with… More The freewheeling sexuality of three men (one of whom lives as a woman) leads them into a relationship that stretches the traditional bounds of love and friendship in this drama. Stéphanie (Stéphanie Michelini) is a pre-operative transsexual who supports herself as a prostitute and shares a flat with two roommates -- Mikhail (Edouard Nikitine), a Russian soldier who has fled the army and is hiding out in Paris, and Jamel (Yasmine Belmadi), a hustler from Algeria who services stray men in the city's railway stations. When Stéphanie's mother (who is still in deep denial about her son's new life) falls seriously ill, she travels to the small town where she was born to help care for her. Mikhail opts to tag along, and when business starts to dry up in Paris, Jamel follows them to the country. As Stéphanie struggles with her mother, both Mikhail and Jamel find themselves falling in love with her, and when she is forced to pick between them, Stéphanie chooses not to choose, opting to pursue an open relationship with both men. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Sébastien Lifshitz, Antony Hegarty
Written By: Stephane Bouquet, Sébastien Lifshitz
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 10, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Oct 25, 2005
Studio: Wellspring

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Lyrical yet succinct.
Russell Edwards, Variety
A morbid and self-important homosexual Jules & Jim for the new millennium.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Viewers are either going to walk out after 10 minutes or, like this tolerant critic, get caught up in the sordid lives of the three misfits and stick around for the ambiguous ending.
Dennis Lim, Village Voice
Lifshitz successfully maneuvers his trio of outcasts toward a state of grace: His vision of misfit utopianism, in its own quiet way, is as defiant as anything in Fassbinder.
David Noh, Film Journal International
The woe-is-me, pity-please ambiance with which Lifschitz has suffused his movie becomes more than a little hard to take.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
A weirder ménage à trois you will never encounter.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
Lif****z obviously hopes for the best for Stéphanie and friends, yet the film is filled with doubts and sadness.
, E! Online
Several storylines are hinted at but never fully developed, and some draggy scenes dampen the whole Wild affair.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Stony and statuesque, Michelini is an excellent casting choice: Her impassive face and dispassionate voice serve as a carefully constructed protective mask that hides her pain, and which she rarely lets slip.
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com
The film explains why Stéphanie and her bisexual boyfriends need each other, but doesn't depict why they are drawn to each other, making the ménage à trois mechanical.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
A remarkable film.
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
The primary impression is lots of moping and mooning, plus a song at the beginning with some of the worst lyrics you've ever heard.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
The collage of poetic visual asides and emotional exchanges courts effusiveness, but it remains earnest and hauntingly expressive of an inner human turmoil.
Oz, eFilmCritic.com
Welcome to the world of film festival cinema. We hope you enjoy your stay, or at least don't fall asleep in the next hour and a half.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
The performances are all raw and natural, and they are filmed in a close-up and often very intimate way.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

At first I found this film a little dull, uninteresting and not particularly engaging. I think it was Stephanie Michelini's character that grated the most, I understood the two guys and their character's purpose but not hers. The film does however get much better when the… More
At first I found this film a little dull, uninteresting and not particularly engaging. I think it was Stephanie Michelini's character that grated the most, I understood the two guys and their character's purpose but not hers. The film does however get much better when the three travel into the country side, that is when the film really comes alive and it's then you realise why the beginning had to be so bleak. A good film but I was expecting more due to all the hype back in '03.
Mark A

This is definitely not an action packed thriller. Think of it more as a French version of Transamerica. Stephanie Michelini plays a pre-surgical transsexual prostitute who returns home to care for her dying mother. A moving performance. Her two live-in lovers join her in the… More
This is definitely not an action packed thriller. Think of it more as a French version of Transamerica. Stephanie Michelini plays a pre-surgical transsexual prostitute who returns home to care for her dying mother. A moving performance. Her two live-in lovers join her in the countryside. The entire film consists of the interplay between these three unlikely lovers and their reminiscences of their lives up to this point. Poignant and thoughtful, rather than wild and wooly, it presents a solid argument for allowing people to be who they are without trying to make them fit society's approval. So if your thing is bang-bang shoot-'em-ups, this won't work for you. But if you are willing to be uncomfortable and to follow this non-linear story, you might be rewarded with a new sympathy for a sad segment of society. This viewer found the relaxed pace and the scenery to be quite enough to keep one entertained.

Wild Side (2004)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Mark A

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