Savage Nights (1992) User Reviews

Challenging, risky and frantic.

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 8/10 · 16 May 2014]

It appears to me that lately Hollywood has rediscovered a new well that is producing plenty of treasures and stories about a still present evil, that seemed largely forgotten in the movies and that rendered in the past great pictures aligned with social commentaries, denounces and good fights against prejudices. Stories about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and they're coming in the thousands: right after brilliant documentary "How To Survive a Plague", the stream continued with "Dallas Buyers Club", "Behind the Candelabra", and the upcoming adaptation of "The Normal Heart". They're all heroic, real and influential tellings and they're getting a lot of praise from everybody. Meanwhile, I took the time to look back at the time machine and search for works that were released back in the nightmarish days when the plague was a horrific death sentence and a theme barely touched on the screen. Among those, "Les Nuits Fauves" ("Savage Nights") is one that needs to receive a special attention. It's unlike any of the fore-mentioned titles, it's daring at the same time it's unpleasant, careless, controversial, and it's a different take from almost all the other films of the period. This is the anti-"Philadelphia" - I make this comparison because they were released very next to each other (the same year in most countries).

What you're about to see was a real story, fictionalized at times but real. Its writer, director and main star Cyril Collard exposes a dark truth that frightens, revolts and angers, but he was being truth to himself and to the public. First, with his 1986 novel of same name and then by making this adaptation, huge risks in presenting his story about Jean, a HIV positive cinematographer wanna be director who refuses to deal with his condition, still living a hedonistic and wild life of parties, drugs and sex with both men and women. We focus on two of his lovers: the 17 year-old Laura (Rohmane Bohringer), naive and impressionable enough to fall in love with him; and the rugby player Sami (Carlos López), bisexual just like Jean, but they're more into the attraction part than dealing with a love/hate kind of thing. Torn between these two and also with casual sex encounters with strangers under a Parisian bridge, Jean ignores his disease living as if things never changed, deeply knowing that he is changing, getting affected more and more each day goes by. Everything's resumed into knowing that he's alive and kicking and there's some time to be enjoyed before death.

But don't be fooled. "Savage Nights" is pain after pain, pleasure is very limited. The relation with Sami is a pure escapism since most of the time he's committed with girls and finding time to be join a racist/homophobic group, beating up people like Jean, where he can release his frustration of not living the same way he did with his criminal father back in Spain; the "love" affair with Laura is a constant headache, mostly because she doesn't handle well the fact that Jean likes guys (and she knows about Sami). It gets worse when Jean reveals that he's HIV positive and she might be as well because they had unprotected sexual relations. His excuse for not saying it before is unreasonable yet believable (and probably used by many folks out there): he thought she'd never get AIDS because their love is strong and overcomes anything, even a deadly virus. It's the greatest and most difficult scene of the film, and some will focus their anger and hate not on the character but on Collard.

I appreciated the film because Collard has given a different perspective on a delicate theme at the time, had a lot of nerve in telling his story (but not necessarily a full factual retelling, there's rumors that the story ended differently for the real girl who inspired Laura) and despite the obstacles faced with his new reality, finding ways to see life with some optimism, grasping to it with the few strength he has and seeing it a little differently. Sure, he's still careless about others and himself, always putting his feelings above the others, including family and friends but now he can truly say he loves his life. Sickness feels less important, the complete opposite of what happens in similar themed films where you see characters slowly succumbing to the disease, which is always on the foreground, preventing them to do anything about it.

Collard's adaptation of his own novel doesn't betray his source, though he left out great sequences - the one in Morocco is reduced to bits and pieces, but it was poetic translated in surreal scenes - but the way he conducted its transformation to the screen was very good, small chapters and fragments of a full speeding life that runs towards the inevitable end that never seems to actually feel it. It's a circle of parties, drugs, sex, wild nights, fights and risky business in a city whose corners seems to invite all of those at any given moment.

But what's wrong with "Savage Nights"? It's lack of focus in the disease's progress. The character forgets about his problems and still lives his life but in terms of reality the disease becomes overlooked when it shouldn't. But forget that. What about his message to audiences? I'm positively sure that Collard was simply telling his own story without endorsing or condemning his actions - though anyone else can get easily confused with everything presented there. Let people figure out for themselves. That's what happened but it wasn't very helpful since many critics reacted badly with the movie, others praised it, and the man hasn't lived enough to expose his thoughts, dying a few days earlier of the rain of awards at the Cesar. The enigma stays on with this film testament, who was he and how to describe him and his acts? Rebellious, honest, sickening, hateful, fearless? Hero or villain? Choose yours. 8/10

engrossing

[Merlin-29 · 8/10 · 5 November 1998]

For a movie about how AIDS affects a person, his behavior, and the compounded effects on those around him, one might expect the film to play the emotions of the viewer in an obvious way. However I must say I was engrossed from the beginning to shortly before the end by the film, never having the opportunity to distance myself and view the scene or action as a critic, dissecting what the director's intent was. I was very pleased.

Frightening authenticity about this engrossing drama.

[raymond-15 · 7/10 · 12 December 2000]

Many films are described as "true life dramas". but this is the one if ever there was one. The central character Jean (Cyril Collard) a hedonistic young film producer who engages in sex with both men and women mirrors the real life story of Cyril Collard who was suffering from the AIDS virus during the making of this film and succumbed to it when the film was finished. This is a great shame because obviously Cyril Collard has lots of talent both as actor and producer, and had he lived we could have enjoyed a whole lot of top quality films. This film starts on a quiet note but gathers strength after Jean reveals he is suffering from AIDS. His girl friend Laura is shocked at the revelation as they had been engaged in unprotected sex. Wild scenes of erratic and uncontrolled behaviour indicate the frustrations of the couple. His outburst "I don't want to die!" is a high point and her constant appeal to him to give up his male contacts bears little fruit. "Help me to leave you!" is her pathetic cry. Cyril Collard has a great charm and infectious smile which he uses to advantage in his characterisation of Jean. It is a powerful drama with a constant feeling of desperation as we the viewers anticipate the fatal outcome. Not a film to cheer you up after a hard day, but it has a frightening authenticity about it which compels you to watch it to the end. The film clearly makes the point that we have a responsibility re the health of others beyond our own self satisfaction.

one of the greatest experiences of my life

[maysky · 13 July 1999]

When I saw it for the first time on 1st Russian Channel ORT in The Gold Collection I was so impressed I couldn't talk about it. This movie really changed me, changed the way I felt about myself & the world around. Cyril have done really great job to help people understand that there are other colours in this world besides black & white and sometimes people are learning a lot even if hurts to live. I remember 2 interesting quotes: the 1st is from Del Amitri song: "When U driving with your breakes on, when U swimming with your boots on - it's really hard to say U love someone, it's really hard to say U don't." And the 2nd is (somebody wrote once): everything that doesn't kill me - makes me stronger. Unfortunately we can't use it literally in this case. But it's the same situation with all heroes - they die young & became famous. Another thing I'd like to say is: has anyone ever tried to compare Cyril Collard's "Les Nuits Fauves" and Gregg Araki's 'The Living End"? I mean these 2 pictures are quite different but I felt both of it are really personal & chamber. And acting, editing, directing & filming I think has a lot in common. But the end in "Les Nuits Fauves" I like more. And the music is just great. It's not really professional but it makes it more touching. Thank U for reading this comment.

Hot Mess

[nycmec · 6/10 · 9 June 2010]

This film was a succès de scandale when it was released twenty years ago, and although (in Europe and America) HIV is not the death sentence that it was at the time, the film still packs an emotional wallop. It is the portrait of a completely self-centered man who is willing to put others at risk in search of his own pleasure and self-actualization. Is he a despicable character? Yes. Does that mean the film is automatically bad? No,however...

The film contains too many unfocused scenes of characters lashing out. By the fourth or fifth scene of the young female protagonist screaming on the phone, screaming in the street, screaming at the door of the apartment, it becomes overdetermined. The film tries to tackle too many subjects--sadomasochism, skinheads, internalized homophobia, bisexuality, AIDS and responsibility, teenage love... it ends up something of a hot mess. I gave it six out of ten because I feel that it is worth seeing, because it captures a certain zeitgeist of the pre-antiretroviral moment, but one does feel a bit on watching it today that it has not aged all that well.

A lukewarm French film about an HIV+ man and his torment.

[=G= · 6/10 · 31 May 2001]

"Savage Nights" is a character driven film about an HIV+ bisexual man and his love affairs, particularly with the female lead. As is often the case with Europics, especially French films, this movie is not so much a story as it is a study of behavior. In this case the behavior is of interest because the male lead, who really was HIV+ and died from AIDS at age 35, continues to lead a life of promiscuity in spite of his affliction, wrestling with his awareness of his disease, his inability to reconcile himself to his fate, and the temptations represented by his love interest and sexual partners. Unfortunately, "Savage Nights" is a journeyman film at best which grows tedious quickly as it gets wound up in its own confused emotions. However, it does have a sort of intriguing honesty about it and rejects the pity which is so often a part of films about people with HIV.

Uncompromising vision of life

[daveb75 · 9/10 · 27 May 2004]

The first serious movie to deal with HIV, "Les nuits fauves" felt like a Joe Frazier hook when it came out in 1992. Gone are all the pitiful sentimental demonstrations of future films like "Philadelphia" . In fact, AIDS is merely the backdrop of the film. Cyril Collard never asks for pity. The movie is both a confession and an hymn to life. It doesn't try to moralize the audience, although some spectators were concerned about the "message" such a film might send. You have to remember that the events described in LNF take place in 1986, when the concept of HIV and AIDS were still abstract and to be defined. Collard himself said in a 1992 interview that the irresponsability of his character, Jean, having unprotected sex although aware he is infected, would be rightly considered criminal by now. The virus serves as a driving force for a main character that is learning to love, opening himself to others, to the world. But to reach the light, you must first go through the darkness and the task is not an easy one to witness. LNF demands a lot on the viewer, asking him to let go of his preconceive ideas and ideals. Very much influenced by his mentor Maurice Pialat, Collard makes a daring film, one which you could never imagine coming from the all too clean world of Hollywood film making. Here, energy comes first, technical aspects of movie making later. Therefore life, real life, shines through. "Les nuits fauves" is a force to be reckon with. An unsettling experience I will never forget.

story of a bi-sexual french man who discovers he's h.i.v positive

[samsysykes6662 · 7/10 · 22 February 2005]

Les Nuits Fauves/savage nights: for those of you who are maybe not accustomed to watching world cinema, i wouldn't advise you view this as your first taster!

Most of you who have an A-level in French may know this one......Although far from a pleasant plot, the film's excellent cinematography and use of rich, vivid dream sequences, more than makes up for the lack of inter-character development. What makes this film more tragic is the fact that its main star (and director)also a bisexual 'free spirit', had a somewhat similar end to his life, dying from an HIV related illness just one year after the movie was released. i think this adds to the whole feeling of the film - as you watch his respective lovers (one male, one a teenage girl) desperately try to hold his admiration and attention, you almost forget that the main character himself is trying to come to terms with his own eventual demise. although a serious subject, the carefree attitude of the main man leaves a sense of Hope.

Came out about the same time that Philadelphia....

[chencho · 9/10 · 3 January 2007]

...but pictures a completely different perspective on HIV and AIDS. No supportive family here. No struggle with society for it to acknowledge on our humanity, regardless of sexual preference or health status. This picture is an invaluable reference for all those trying to understand terminal disease -AIDS in particular- or in the process of facing death. Just seems important to mention that Collard's actual treatments were filmed and included on the final cut. The bouncing around of high-low's, from absolute certainty of overcoming the disease to deep depression and sending everything -love included- straight to hell. But also the dangerous and sometimes silly sense of humor with which the director plays his role, is what makes this movie invaluable to me. To my knowledge this is the first film in which HIV positive blood is used as a defensive weapon, and saves the life of two of the characters. I sincerely hope that there is some form of afterlife, and that they have cable. Collard deserves to know he was, is, deeply appreciated, as so many others who where "cheated" out of time, to see their work achieve recognition. One is what one does, they say.

So sad because it's true

[Angeneer · 7/10 · 26 May 2001]

This film troubled me greatly. It's hard for me to accept this is reality. I would expect at least one person in this film to be sane, but instead everyone seems neurotic, irresponsible and senseless. If I didn't know it was true, I would assess it as an overly extravagant and unbelievable story. It's a perfect wake-up call. Bye Cyril and thanks for this.

Overrated rubbish

[dandywarholzzz · 5/10 · 17 February 2019]

I cannot relate to any character in this film at all (maybe except for the girl's mother, which is probably the only sane character). The man knows he is HIV-positive but he still keeps sleeping around, which is totally selfish and irresponsible. The girl knows it but still has unprotected sex with him. She's fully aware he's a total jerk but still keeps hanging around. It's hard to imagine any sane women can fall in love with such a disgusting person. The worst thing about it all is the film is based on the male protagonist's real life story. I have nothing against people's sexual orientation but to spread life-threatening virus around is totally selfish and despicable behavior.

Masterpiece

[Idefix-7 · 10/10 · 20 December 1998]

I should probably take back the word masterpiece since Cyril Collard's directorial debut was actually his only film. The director, writer and main character of the film died just three days before his film swept the Caesars(the Oscar's french counterpart). Collard died of AIDS and brought to life one of the most compelling films surrounding this theme. It is not just people whining because of the departure of the beloved one but a tour de force involving hatred, passion, self destruction, and all those "nice" feelings that accompany a person who knows that he will die sooner than the rest, and culminating in spiritual redemption. This film also portrays one of the finest love triangles on film; the at times sickening at times profoundly erotic and at times inevitably cathartic relationship between Jean and his two lovers is a genius example that love is not "Sleepless in Seattle". Romane Bohringer(probably best known for her character as Verlaine's wife in Total Eclipse) is a must see in her breakthrough performance as a confused and VERY passionate young girl.

Pathetic and repulsive

[kmoss55 · 1/10 · 23 August 2001]

I cannot express how low this film goes right from the start. How can someone suffering from the Aids Virus make love, unprotected, to unsuspecting people because he feels that the virus is not part of him ? What sort of message does this convey to the public ?

Just because this film is probably meant to shock it does not make its message acceptable or even interesting. Lots of people can be easily influenced by such contents. However passionate an affair can be, there is no excuse for displaying such a destructive and self-destructive behaviour as Cyril Collard does in this film. It is also twisted and despicable to make viewers believe that there is love between Jean and Laura in this story, when lust and perversion are the only words to describe their relationship.

Enough with cynicism all the time : being cynical about everything is not being talented, remember. Unfortunately, the more cynical the better these days. It is just too easy.

I hope that any other film on Aids will be thought-provoking and show some intelligence on the subject next time.

The Savage Nights

[EdgarST · 10/10 · 7 July 2011]

"Les nuits fauves" is one of the most honest films I have ever seen about human condition and one of the aspects of our sexuality. For a start, the depiction of ambisexuality is quite sincere, showing the suffering this ambiguous sexual behavior (considered an orientation, in spite of its apparent lack of direction) brings to people really involved or in love with the so-called bisexual entity who feels attracted to both men and women. The motion picture is not fiction or a bad joke, but mainly facts based on Cyril Collard's own life, who infected the woman he was involved with (played here by Romane Bohringer), knowing he was HIV-positive. First came the revelation through the novel of the same title, and then the film, in which he played his own part because no French actor even considered to play it, finding it too risky for their careers. Collard plays himself apparently as he was: a vain, irresponsible, hedonistic strong case of satyriasis (the male counterpart for female erotic mania), and thanks for his daring to show his lifestyle, his passions and his mistakes, at least he left a starting point for open-minded partners to discuss a subject that may be affecting their relationships. It is a film as hard and bleak as Wong Kar-Wai's "Happy Together", but both are necessary. There is time for "To Wong Foo" and for "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"; there is even time for explicitness. But there should be also time for putting moralistic judgment aside, and watch and talk about dramas that show aspects of our condition that we tend to trivialize or deny, and that may make unhappy the persons we love. Five days after Cyril Collard died, "Les nuits fauves" won the César (France's top film prize) for Best Film, Best First Work, Best Film Editing and Best Female Newcomer (Miss Bohringer, who three years later played again the "victim" of two men in love: Leonardo DiCaprio and David Thewlis, as Rimbaud and Verlaine, in Total Eclipse). Collard's motion picture also won the Audience Award, the International Film Critics Prize and the Special Jury Prize at the Festival of Young Cinema, in Torino, Italy.

Nightmare in Paris

[joaquim-11 · 30 June 1999]

Cyril Collard, French actor/director who in 1993 (one year after this release) died of AIDS at 35, made this unique movie in which the emotional burden of a HIV-positive person is perfectly evoked (supposed it's possible). Some scenes are notable (beautiful Paris-la-nuit views), others are less, but anyway it's worth watching it in video, better by yourself alone and thinking seriously about life,love and,ultimately, what's the sense of it ALL! If you want to have a good time, don't rent it! Just in case you feel like you're fixing to die.....:)

A Deep & Fascinating Movie

[talas1 · 10/10 · 11 June 2004]

One of the best early films to deal with AIDs and the powerful feelings that come up when one has to deal with it. The acting and the passion of the roles by the actors is very good, very intense. The love for life that comes through in the desperation of the main characters is beautiful. Lots of frustration and anger about having AIDs but ultimately the choice to fight to live comes through and this film was much ahead of it's American counterparts for the time. Most of the contemporary films in America were about the death and dying of people with Aids not the struggle to go on living and that's what sets this film apart from the others of it's time.

Highly recommended!!

Just plain bad

[steve-ruzicka · 1/10 · 17 January 2008]

Difficult for me to understand that this movie got a Cesar and even worse that viewers would like it. Sick people can be found in any race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. True enough, numerous movies will explore the black side of humanity and some are remarkable pieces of art. When it comes to sexuality, the subject is more delicate and requires a lot of intelligence from the part of the director to get the message, if any, across. In Les Nuits Fauves, I believe the border is crossed by showing devious animal behavior attached to the main character, a bisexual gay. And this is not what homosexuality is about. Garbage is the only word which comes to my mind, but again, others may have a different opinion.

intense and haunting

[bobbie-12 · 9/10 · 26 November 2001]

I saw this movie many years ago and it is still vivid in my mind--it captures the intensity and heedlessness of erotic impulses. Cyril Collard (writer, director, lead actor, and real-life protagonist)is beautiful and clearly put all of his being, not only his talent as a filmmaker, into this movie.

Terrible and Meaningless

[gcd70 · 1/10 · 23 February 2008]

Terrible, meaningless French film with trademark French characters who are totally unlikeable and completely self centred. Plot deals with a very heavy, multi-layered subject - that of AIDS and bi-sexual relationships - yet fails entirely in its attempt to do anything with it.

The whole movie is almost like a lame excuse for controversial sex scenes, though this is nothing new to the French. The reasonably strong performances from the lead players can do nothing to redeem their ugly roles and the nonsense which one might otherwise call a storyline. "Savage Nights" never stood a chance! This is such a bad movie its just plain frustrating trying to sift through the mess, confusion and loathsome people to find a reason why? Why?!! All controversy and no idea! Just downright awful! When you tell a story, have a point.

Friday, September 15, 1995 - Astor Theatre

All too human

[saltarello · 27 August 2001]

This film somehow seems like an observational documentary, a whirlwind trip inside somebody's life and mind, with all of the turbulence and contradiction that our lives often have. I've seen this film described as hysterical. Perhaps some lives do function on a more fraught emotional plane than others and that rollercoaster ride ascends to great pleasures as well as sinking toward the inevitable depths that tangibly fierce existences must face.

What a talent Collard was. Perhaps this would have been his finest moment had he lived. Somehow I feel that his consumate talent was just flowering when his body finally succumbed to his illness. Technically it is competent rather than outstanding, yet there are some scenes that have been arranged beautifully. However, the true magic in this film lies in its restricted narrative. All emotions are allowed to express themselves freely. The shots are relentless in their gaze. Collard's character makes the choice to live and to love, within the context of what life has in store for him. Where some cinema pontificates and emotionally rapes the audience, this film priviliges the viewer. We see non-hegemonic cinematic bravery and an engagement with freedom, and how that leaves one raw and damaged. Yet each day alive is a gift. We are fortunate indeed to share Collard's gift within this film and I urge those who have not seen it to do so.

Cyril Collard's "savage nights"

[makeawish_3 · 8/10 · 26 October 2011]

"The Savage Nights" is an adaptation of Cyril Collard's semi-autobiographical novel "Les Nuits Fauves", published in 1989.The Brutal honesty is one of the most commendable aspects of this film. ... i mean don't we all try to hide our faults and flaws just so we can be socially acceptable ... while this one character comes out and bares his soul to the world.Collard plays himself in the movie which perhaps enlivens the struggles of the character with his bisexuality , his illness(AIDS) that was a new phenomenon in that era with the knowledge about it scares and a young mans acceptance to his situation.Bravery not always means going with arms against an enemy sometimes it's just telling the truth that is the bravest and most noblest of deeds ,Cyril Collard didn't try to camouflage anything the sheer courage behind this movie is what brings me to tears.His cry in the movie "i want to live" is unforgettable and literally breaks my heart.

Powerful and passionate film about a beautiful human being.

[clotblaster · 10/10 · 18 February 2006]

The movie is a classical tragedy. The star, writer, director Cyril Collard has Aids and knows he is dying when making the film. He storms and rages against the forces of negativity and affirms life in ways that seem obscene to many, but really focus on the basics of life, love and the willingness to actually live your life, even knowing that you are about to die. To quote Dylan Thomas, "He rages against the dying of the night." This is not a gloomy film, except for the immense talent that Collard has in a number of areas, not the least writing and directing. The tragedy is that his libertine life of reckless homosexuality killed him (and many others). Unlike Philadelphia, an artifice of politically correct, maudlin nonsense, this film has Aids sometimes right in your face and sometimes in the background, but it is always there. Hedonism killed many and still does in the Aids epidemic and in the U.S.A., this film would attract few positive reviews and almost no distribution because Collard refuses to play the victim game. Over 80% of Aids deaths have been caused by homosexual behavior. In the film Collard can't control his impulses and because of Aids he wants to squeeze as much out of life as he can. The love story with Laura, beautifully played by Romane Bohringer, is tragic in and of itself, but their love is fatally compromised by his disease. Collard desperately wanted to live his life with Aids and not have Aids run his life. Unfortunately, that is impossible, although he gives it a mighty effort to free himself from thoughts of death, which never really leave him. He continues to have grimy homosexual encounters, supposedly not involving dangerous sex (at least in the film); my surmise is that in real life he lived dangerously right up to the end. When he has sex with Laura the first time, he doesn't use a condom and doesn't tell her he has Aids--a classic kind of denial, an attempt to conquer the disease through action , which is selfish. Many homosexuals will see this film, which other scenes do not really show them in a positive light, as a film to suppress. Reckless behavior has volcanoed in the last few years, but gets no publicity because of the left-wing press who refuses to see Aids victims as anything but victims, who didn't really cause their disease. Collard's film slaps the faces of hypocrisy and lying about Aids again and again in this film. It is a testimony to his will to live and to make a film that doesn't cover up the reality of how Aids is spread and how little impulse control many gays have. Drugs will not stop Aids deaths, safe sex and sometimes no sex will. Also, and very important, Collard wants to show that the heterosexual relationship with a loving woman is the way to live your life, but for him his refusal to control his impulses and perhaps his genetic inability to control them (though that is difficult to infer), keeps him from what would have saved him. Hedonism is not spat on in this movie, but its terrible results in many cases are exemplified in the tragic death of such a talented and lovely man.

good for him.

[didiermustntdie · 1/10 · 24 September 2010]

even when facing death, the guy (Cyril Collard) never considered to repent.

generally speaking, the movie is about the so called "open relationship" a guy sleeps with another guy, then, sleeps with that guy's girlfriend, then, with the girlfriend's girlfriend(roommate). etc just like most french movies of the genre, there is nothing new. the guy who was like that deserved a totally good riddance..worthless and ruinful in the world..so being rotten in hell might be hopeful.

since IMDb is happy at deleting my sincere reviews(against their radical leftist world view and true nature).well, that's enough for this one. amen

Life's just yours, a film can document its value.

[gio.usa · 10/10 · 28 November 2001]

A hymn to life. A hymn to love. A hymn to poetry. A hymn to beauty. Cyril Collard, in his last lifetime, gave us the real sense of pathos with all facets. An "opera omnia" never sloppy, neither sentimental abused, just real life can be poetic if lived with the gradients of the inner feeling.

A personal film

[benbelmar · 10/10 · 19 October 2003]

I don't think you can say that this film is excellent or good, pointless to say that. It's personal and will grow on me as I constantly relate to it's aspects the older I get. I love seeing what being in love can do to someone, it's so romantic.