The Rite of Spring (2022) User Reviews (2)

Rite of passage, or fixation?

[Howlin Wolf · 7/10 · 16 December 2022]

It doesn't matter how much you care; a transactional arrangement is always going to feel more hollow than just showing up without money involved, because you want to be there ...

A friend sent this to me because he wanted to know my thoughts on it... I can see why; it was a difficult watch for me at times... It's not an especially good OR a bad film ... but it almost made me cry hot, salty tears at some points (if you've seen the film, you'll get the reference) just because it made me think of my own life, and the way some people might - or might NOT - see me...

Believe me, I get that some able-bodied folk don't see the disabled as having needs and desires of their own... but, being disabled also doesn't give you an excuse to be a perv!

I think about sex all the time, so as soon as I became an adult and lived independently, I got a poster of a topless woman from a men's (non-porn) magazine for my room... I had the courtesy to be discreet and stick it to the inside of my wardrobe door though, because you never know who's going to walk in, and I didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable... It's no longer there any more; it became ripped and was falling to pieces, so I took it down...

Pictures of topless women ALL over his walls, though?! Just because sex is a void in a person's life, that doesn't make it perfectly legitimate to overcompensate and make a shrine to it? For any woman entering that room, it would be like walking into a garage with nude calendars hanging up, in the late 80's ... That made certain people feel unwelcome in particular spaces, so they were taken down... I know it's his own personal environment - but it still felt awkwardly sleazy.

I guess what I'm saying is; sex is important... but it still felt suspect, somehow, that it was the primary focus of David (also my name!) ... When finding a woman I was comfortable with, I'd happily accept a hug and going to the cinema once a week!

Just because sex is important to me, I don't want certain people looking at me and making the judgement that this is all my soul has the capacity for (and I'm frightened that they do, or did... )

My friend hated the ending, and I can see why... The plot synopsis on Letterbox'd frames it as another case of a person using someone else's disability as the catalyst to make improvements in their own lives...

That didn't bother me so much; I was just troubled by the representation of a disabled person so obsessed with sex, that they think it gives them license to behave in ways that no sensitive person ever would.

A novice's opinion...

[Lev_87 · 7/10 · 16 September 2024]

I thought I understood this movie. As such, I felt a bit let down by the ending. Then I read another review here and I realized that I know too little of this subject to properly review this title.

So, in a clumsy attempt to recommend this film, I'd begin by stating that it's an interesting character study and a coming-of-age story, decently acted and well written, raw and simplistic in it's production, as such a movie should be. The plot seems simple but develops and expands nicely, to the point that we don't actually get to know the ending before the credits roll, which is refreshing. Being accustomed to the Hollywood formula of movies, I foolishly thought that I did know, so it was particularly titillating to experience the surprising conclusion which, after an initial moment of vexation and a bit of pondering, I found very fitting and well written.

The relevant characters are, well, I would say that they're exaggerated versions of real people, done right and with effect but somehow, especially in the context of the film, they didn't seem overly exaggerated. Regardless, it was refreshing to finally watch a teenager grow and mature in a movie without knowing whence they started and where they'll end up.

I found the subject of disability handled quite heavy-handedly. Some details were exaggerated, others, underplayed and it slightly diminished the experience by thickening the line between film and reality. That being said, I did truly enjoy the message, well, the message I understood from it: that disabled people are just like the rest of us, with the same needs, the same qualities and, most importantly, the same failings as everyone else. One notable difference, which this film touches upon, is that they're sometimes experience-starved and not always chastised for their mistakes as most of us are, thus they often don't "grow out" of their immature ways.

All in all, this movie was a pleasant surprise and I highly recommend it. It has certainly rekindled my interest for low-budget, European productions. More importantly, it confirms the idiom: less is more. Hollywood, take note!