Adaptation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's play and 1972 movie "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" with a gender switch: the protagonist is now a barrel-chested, self-centered gay film director in '70s Germany--on the rebound from a failed relationship--who falls in love with a doe-eyed young hustler. France-Belgium co-production (in French and German, with subtitles) from writer-director François Ozon is expectedly talky but unexpectedly bashful (with lots of short robes and strategically-placed furs). For dramatic conflict, there's a sees-it-all/knows-it-all valet, a skinny young houseboy who observes his employer's failings and takes his abuse. The film is about as erotic and passionate as a hangover. * from ****
Review of Peter von Kant
