(Bof... Anatomie d'un livreur)
Directed by Claude Faraldo
105 minutes
In French with English subtitles

When people dismiss a film as being old fashioned or out of date, my response is totally different - I say bring it on! Let's break out of the narrow tunnel vision of the present moment, and allow ourselves to become influenced by all of history. All the literature, all the cinema, all the ideas and poetry. Let the flood pour in and let's soak it up... I'm tired of this so-called 'modernism' we are fixated on, and this fascination with gadgets. At the turn of the century, people were told that it was the end of history, and believing it, many lost all their foundation. In a way, that disorientation is just a side-effect of neoliberalism. I myself am personally more deeply impressed by people from the former east block who know about culture and literature, inside and out... who are grounded.

This flick reflects the upheavals and counterculture that erupted in France during May 1968 when the entire country let loose. Therefore it is about exploring, having adventures, following your dreams, taking risks. It is about creating alternatives, in everyday life and in our society as a whole. This flick is both provocative and absurd, and  wants us to break out of the harsh realities that keep us in our place. The story? I will keep it simple. It's about a young man who gets married, and has a boring back-breaking job as a delivery boy. His single father is depressed and lonely, so at one point they decide to break free, live together communally and create their own reality.

It is directed by the same guy who made another film that I screen regularly, called Themroc. BOF was made two years before, but clearly shows the wild direction he would take in his next film. It features Marie-Hélène Breillat, sister of filmmaker Catherine Breillat, and it has a wacky, bubbling soundtrack that makes every soundtrack you hear in movies today seem stale, obsolete and old-fashioned. The music was composed by Jean Guérin who was an avant-garde keyboard player in French psychedelic prog-rock bands.

Whether you can swallow a film like this or not depends upon you, but here's a movie that has been written out of history, that is totally unknown today and you will never have another chance to see it. Simple as that. But, I have to say it might be a bit too wild for a lot of people today. So if you want to see something different, something that you can think about and is unlike anything else you will have a chance to see, then this is your opportunity.