a film by Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr 2006 | 94 mins | France ›› One Two Another - Chacun Sa Nuit - To Each, Their Night a cinematic cocktail of overt sexuality and covert detection Headed by patriarchal bother and sister duo Pierre and Lucie; childhood friends Nicolas, Sébastien and Baptiste live for life. Whether that be playing in their rock band, getting drunk, having sex, or for that matter sharing their most intimate thoughts with each other amid the lush countryside of the Aix-en-Provence region of southern France. Open with both their minds and bodies, all are frequently to be seen naked next to each other in typical French fashion. Or is it? For a year apart, but otherwise together in every sense of the word, the bond between Pierre and Lucie is one so intense, that it walks on incestuous ground. Only when a relationship is that deep, what happens when one half of the same whole is found beaten to death? In short, just how far is a sister prepared to go to discover the identity of the guilty party responsible for the murder of her brother; namely two hearts that once beat as one, to another. Pushing the boundaries of the brother / sister relationship to its outer edge, here directors Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr of American Translation fame, delight in mixing a succulent cinematic cocktail of overt sexuality and covert detection, a sexual whodunit of the French cinema style, jam-packed with nudity from the clearly uninhibited members of the group. Then again, this is both a physical and powerful piece; physical in the way it openly handles gay, straight, bi, group, voyeuristic or even incestuous relations and powerful in how it makes us look at the seemingly endless series of violent attacks, often fatal, that habitually make the news; incidents that forever beckon the question of - why? In depicting such, Arnold and Barr have assembled a fine cast of good looking actors, headed by Lizzie Brocheré who excels in her portrayal of a girl not opposed to using her feminine charms to solve a crime that the police have long since deemed as the work of out-of-towners. But was it? For that is the crux of the story on offer here. Yet it is one told by way of memory, as before you know it Arthur Dupont as Pierre is removed from the film's present tense, only to surface in a multitude of flashbacks, sequences that relate his narcissistic nature, bisexuality and rampant desire for sex, including a lucrative sideline in sexual intimacy of the paid variety. But then is this any surprise, given this is a film in which the reactions of a close-knit group of friends to the tragic death of one of their own, is just one aspect of its sensuous scenario. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - sexually sensuous.  Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.  available on DVD as part of the Peccadillo Pictures catalogue: 24.March.2008 / UK. starring: Lizzie Brocheré, Arthur Dupont, Guillaume Baché, Pierre Perrier, Nicolas Nollet, Valérie Mairesse, Karl E Landler, Matthieu Boujenah, Jean-Christophe Bouvet, Pierre Beziers, Antoine Coesens, Guillaume Gouix and Claude Lecat. Copyright 2008 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #148 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹