THEY should hand out a score card with every ticket to “The Witnesses” to help viewers keep track of who’s sleeping with whom.
Let’s start with Manu (Johan Libéreau), a young man from the provinces who moves to Paris to bunk with his sister (Julie Depardieu, Gerard’s daughter).
Manu wastes no time and – on his first night in town – is picked up in a gay cruising area by a well-off, middle-age doctor named Adrien (super-cool Michel Blanc).
Adrien can’t wait to introduce his new (platonic) boy toy to his sexually free married friends – vice cop Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) and writer Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart, who never misses a chance to get naked on camera).
They have a newborn child with whom they can’t cope. “Nine months as fat as a whale, and two months without sleep,” rants the wife.
Then the unexpected happens. Mehdi saves Manu from drowning and discovers he’s turned on by the younger man’s lean body. A passionate love affair follows.
Set in 1984 – when the devastating impact of AIDS was just becoming known – André Téchiné’s film features a strong ensemble cast. The film pulls no punches in its depiction of lives in crisis.
Still, the respected director, who turns 65 in March, remains above the fray – even after the disease claims Manu.
In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 112 minutes. Not rated (sex, nudity). At the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue and Third Street.