Song of Love

Un chant d'amour. Dir. Jean Genet. 1950

There's so much beauty packed into these twenty five minutes. And seeing it tonight for the first time, its influence on generations of visual artists is obvious if you have seen a music video or purchased underwear in the last thirty years.

The film was banned and eventually deemed obscene by the Supreme Court. I think the standard for obscenity has changed since then, but if at the time obscenity was any depiction that leaves you desiring intimacy with a strong, hairy-chested man of mediterranean descent, I think this film is deliciously obscene. 

I imagine these days the justification for banning the film would probably be more for its depictions of smoking than sex.