Movie Review: Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo (French)

Director duo Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau open Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo (Théo et Hugo dans le Même Bateau in French) with an 18-minute long explicit orgy of a sex scene at a gay club called L'Impact. The lovemaking is Théo and Hugo's first contact. It's so intensely physical that at one point everything fades away. But it also gives way to an emotional connection. Something special, something romantic. So much so that they can't stop kissing and touching each other, some 20 minutes later as they leave the club early morning at 4:47 a.m. They blithely roam the city of Paris making suggestive small talk but when Hugo reveals he is HIV positive, the unprotected sex they had back in the club necessitates a trip to the hospital and a whole lot of quarreling even as they get closer (Théo comes very close to hitting Hugo at the unpleasant turn of events, but eventually proceeds to hug him tight) and forge a special bond by the time the film ends at 5:59 a.m. Capturing Paris in all its nocturnal glory, the film makes for a tender romantic drama benefitting immensely from Geoffrey Couët and François Nambot's crackling chemistry.