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Peter von Kant Movie Review

Peter von Kant is a 2022 French romantic drama film directed by Francois Ozon and starring Denis Menochet. It is a very entertaining chamber drama.

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“I’m suffering!“

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Thanks to the great actress Sidonie, Peter Von Kant, a famous and successful film director, meets and falls in love with Amir, a handsome man from a modest background. This is a remake of the classic Rainer Werner Fassbinder play and movie ‘The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant’, but while that one dealt with a lesbian relationship, this one switched genders and it is a romantic drama starring gay men.

Francois Ozon is one of the most prolific directors in recent times. He usually makes one movie per two years and most of them are quite good, though not great. This one continues that tradition. It never reached greatness, but it is very competently made and interesting throughout. The highlight is the dialogue as it is a chamber drama consisting of a few characters, so it was highly important to have strong writing, which it did have. Some lines are very memorable and even hilarious.

The acting standout is obviously Denis Menochet in the titular role. He is excellent and highly charismatic as this conflicted man who exhibits so many differing emotions and moods throughout the film’s runtime, going from self-confident to co-dependent within a single sequence. That colorful swirl of moods was beautifully portrayed by Menochet and the highlight of the film was listening to the protagonist’s many amusingly theatrical monologues.

Isabelle Adjani is also wonderful as the actress Sidonie. She became quite important in the second half and the dynamic between the two is interesting. Amir is your typical impulsive young lover and a potent symbol of Peter’s worst tendencies such as lust and obsession, which would eventually lead to his inevitable downfall. But the most intriguing figure is Karl, Peter’s servant who is so submissive to the point of becoming dehumanized. How they concluded his story was wonderfully ambiguous and he remained a fascinating enigma through and through.

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Peter von Kant isn’t particularly cinematic. It has a couple of memorable shots, but overall it is too confined and stagy in its feel and look. The directing and writing are excellent, but the film yearned for a more ambitious undertaking of its themes and character arcs. It was too small, but consistently enjoyable and engaging to watch.