Film review: ‘Saint Narcisse,’ a story about love and self-knowledge

Waiting for the Covid-delayed NYC premiere of Bruce LaBruce’s new film, Saint Narcisse, filled me with excitement.

A long time fan of LaBruce, I had never had the opportunity to see one of his films on the big screen. As the “U” screening room of the Quad theater filled up, I was filling up with delight at the fact that not only would the star and director be speaking, but so would Slava Mogutin.

From the first frames of film the theme was evident: desire. Not only does the protagonist stare longingly into the womb of the laundromat dryer, he imagines having sex with a fellow patron — an act that draws a crowd outside the window. Here, “desire” as a theme is clarified: Saint Narcisse is a story about self love and self knowledge, and as is the case with much of Bruce LaBruce’s work, sex is not the point — it’s the way he gets the audience to the point.

Additionally, the film is drenched in nostalgic desire. Visually, the color scheme speaks to 1970’s Italian film stock: the colors pop in all the right places and remain quietly muted in the background in others. While LaBruce did not mention him, I couldn’t help but see the intense influence of Ken Russell. A wrestling scene between the protagonist and the past he’s been searching for feels like the homoerotic wrestling scene from “Women in Love” and the mysterious monastery gives off hints of Gothic mixed with Lair of the White Worm. In short, the film is achingly beautiful, and according to the director, everything was done in camera with 1970s lenses and 1970s lighting techniques.

The film is highly referential: music, plot, imagery, and hagiography. LaBruce noted his urge to riff on “The Parent Trap” plot, as well as the myth of Narcissus, and the “Gay Jesus” found in Saint Sebastiane. He was, however, a bit cautious in his mention of Jarman’s Sebastiane (1976). His reservations make sense. “Saint Narcissus,” despite taking place in the 70s, is a film that looks at the consequences of queerness up to the present. While it’s true that LaBruce’s film takes place before Jarman made his film, the characters are living in a world where the “gay order” has internalized the hero saint of Sebastine and are forcing others to martyr themselves for hegemonic homosexuality.

In the end, with far less nudity and sex than most of his other films, LaBruce has made possibly his queerest film yet while championing a new era of family values.

Check out screening info here!