Little Death (2000)
"La petite mort" (original title)

Family ties. Paul is an artist, his current project is to take photos of the faces of men during orgasm. He lives with Martial, his lover. His sister Camille, who's running the family ... See full summary »

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

Didier Blasco, François Ozon

Stars:

François Delaive, Camille Japy, Martial Jacques

Cast

Complete credited cast:
François Delaive	...	Paul
Camille Japy	...	Camille
Martial Jacques	...	Martial
Michel Beaujard	...	Le père

Storyline

Family ties. Paul is an artist, his current project is to take photos of the faces of men during orgasm. He lives with Martial, his lover. His sister Camille, who's running the family business, takes Paul to the hospital to see their father, who is dying. Paul hasn't seen him in six years, and all his life has believed his father thinks he's ugly and perhaps not even his child. There's no deathbed reconciliation, but subsequent exchanges of Paul with Martial and with Camille bring opportunities for growth and change to this temperamental and self-pitying young man.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | nudity | brother sister relationship | male nudity | shower | 

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

16 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Little Death

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fidélité Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in X2000: The Collected Shorts of Francois Ozon (2001)

User Reviews

A truly professional piece of cinema.

Paul a young gay photographer is tormented by a photograph of himself as a baby. He believes he is incredibly ugly and rejected by his father. When his father is dying, he photographs him lying naked in his hospital bed. This is a form of revenge. After his father's death a box of family photographs is presented to Paul and he discovers the startling truth. The film depicts how tension and misunderstanding can arise within a family. Paul seeks solace in his relationship with his lover Martial who assists in his photographic activities. In his portrait gallery he has a series of photos of contorted faces of men at moment of orgasm. The title of this French film "La Petite Mort" translates as "Orgasm". The acting is good throughout, but for me the most moving scene follows the telephone call informing Paul of his father's death.