Review of Pola X (1999) by Steve C — 05 Oct 2007

OK. Dreamy young writer in magnificent chateau languorously smokes cigarettes in bed (bare chested), dashes about on motorcycles AND horses, and works on follow up to "cult novel of the young generation" while playing the piano and being tortured by dreams of a dark-haired beauty.

What kind of wack assed shit is this?

It's like a Merchant Ivory slob job, like a Frenchman's wet dream of his own Euro cool.

But THEN....

Young writer crashes his bike in the forest and meets his "mysterious dream lady." That's when the gears shift hard and we get this bizarre scene of him trailing her through a blue black and silver forest as she narrates her trauma, an engrossing 8 minute monologue, in mangled French, a history of death and dislocation which ends in her claiming to be his half-sister.

And then they engage in incestuous relations.

THE END.

But before the end there's some fumbling and brilliant scenes, some stuff about disfigurement, identities, uncertainty, trauma, margins, etc.

Interesting!