One should never praise enough Jean Carmet's performance ;few French actors would accept the part of a drag queen and pull it off with absolute consistency ; probably his best part since Yves Boisset's "Dupont-Lajoie" (1974),from his first appearance - an impressive scene-,he is now self-pitying, now compassionate ,sometimes rebellious,often desperate .
Ben Smail 's performance, by comparison ,may seem a bit wooden :but he's an illegal immigrant ,with no identity card , economically exploited by a ruthless boss; overtaken by events ,looking for a helping hand, his attitude makes sense all in all.
Both the transvestite and the poor immigrant need something pivotal :the former wants to become a woman (I'm a woman,says he,I 've always been a woman ), and he cannot afford the operation ; his young friend needs false papers , and here again,money talks .
So by no means a gay (I don't like men)man , the young "Beur "reluctantly becomes a male prostitute ,almost by chance ; the movie sometimes verges on a catalogue of sexual perversions , which may do a disservice to the LGBT , and give a rather false picture of gay people .Too negative .
But the rapport both principals have will win you over ; the man on the subway may puzzle the viewer , but it inspires the vital despair of the last pictures : into the black indeed .
See it at all costs ,weren't it only for Carmet's Cesar -calibre performance!
