Word: humanism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...letdown with the departures of Harvard record-holding quarterback Larry Brown and others, leaving untested Burke St. John at the offensive reins? Would the rushing attack be woefully undermanned without the services of the speedy Ralph Pollilio? Should the stands at ancient Baker Field be condemned as unfit for human habitation as much of the neighboring South Bronx has been...
Rather, Pourquoi Pas! explores with intelligence and subtlety the vagaries of human desire. With neither snickers nor excessive sentiment Serreau unfolds the relationship between two men and a woman. The homosexual bond between Louis and Fernand is accorded the same frankness and sensitivity as the heterosexual union with Alexa. The erotic interplay between the two men lays to rest the hoary cinematic cliche that the sight of two men kissing repulses women. Serreau's skill as director and Jean--Francois Robin's delicate photography present the embrace with a warm dignity...
That, in fact, is the secret behind Pourquoi Pas!'s success; the central characters are not free-floating gonads but human beings whose sexuality reflects their emotional needs. Although the film deals with people outside the established social order, they are not refugees from a doctoral dissertation on nuts and sluts. Serreau never allows Pourquoi Pas! to dissolve into a lecture-diatribe on the joys of alternative lifestyles or role reversals...
...suburban house where Alexa and Louis have been anxiously waiting. Suddenly, things change. The steady current of attraction no longer flows in a closed circle around Fernand and Sylvie but rather short-circuits into a series of sparks between Fernand/Alexa, Sylvie/Alexa, Louis/Fernand, and Louis/Sylvie. The breadth and variety of human desire expressed in this film reveal how ludicrous fidelity et al has become...
...getting a woman who somewhere along the line misplaced whatever slight faith she ever had in the social contract, in the meliorative principle, in the whole grand pattern of human endeavor...