FILM
Gay Sex in 1980
Francis Savel’s only fi lm, rediscovered, is an erotic classic
BY GARY M. KRAMER
Unseen for decades, the
remarkable 1980 French
gay porn fi lm “Equation
to an Unknown” offers
connoisseurs of the genre a real
eyeful during its week-long release
at Anthology Film Archives. The
fi lm was rediscovered by out gay
director Yann Gonzalez (“Knife +
Heart”), who created a new print
from a negative he found.
It is the only fi lm directed by
Francis Savel, who used the pseudonym
Dietrich de Velsa. (Fun Fact:
Savel worked under the name
Frantz Salieri for Joseph Losey on
“Don Giovanni” and “Mr. Klein.”)
The plot, as per any porn fi lm,
is simple to non-existent: A sexy,
enigmatic biker (Gianfranco
Longhi) embarks on a series of
sexy, enigmatic encounters. The
fi lm’s ambiguity regarding what is
real and what is imagined hardly
matters. Most of de Velsa’s fi lm is
simply a wet fever dream.
The fi rst set piece has the biker
on the sidelines of a soccer pitch
eyeing a young man rather than
watching the game. When the teammates
all go take a shower, there is
an infectious scene of horseplay as
the guys try to grab each other’s
cocks. Meanwhile, an injured athlete
gets a rub down from a teammate
until another player urges,
“Massage his cock! He’ll like that
even better.” As the massage turns
sexual, the biker spies on the erotic
coupling through a window and
starts pleasuring himself. These
sex scenes are all fi lmed for maximum
sensuality. The camera features
such intimate close-ups of a
rim job and a blowjob that viewers
might think the lens is going to get
swallowed.
However, the scene ends abruptly,
and the biker goes home where
he gets undressed, into bed, and
fantasizes about what he just saw
or experienced, with fl ashbacks to
the locker room and a four-way sex
scene.
The biker is later awoken by
François (Aurélien Duguet), who
could be his friend, lover, roommate,
Gianfranco Longhi is an enigmatic biker, here watching two guys having sex, in Francis Savel’s 1980
erotic classic “Equation to an Unknown.”
Gianfranco Longhi eyes a soccer player early in “Equation to an Unknown.”
or fuck buddy. It’s unclear.
But after a brief exchange, the biker
commands François to jerk him
off, which he does in a single-take
that is highly erotic. And when the
biker wants to return the favor, the
sexual tension between the men is
palpable.
One of the many pleasures of
“Equation to an Unknown” is not
just that the guys are gorgeous, but
that de Velsa fi lms them in a way
that showcases their erotic appeal.
He celebrates their naked bodies,
their musculature, and masculine
features — de Velsa almost never
misses an opportunity to get a cock
in the shot. He obviously admires
these guys and wants viewers to
ALTERED INNOCENCE
ALTERED INNOCENCE
be as turned on as he is — and as
the actors are.
More importantly, de Velsa communicates
the joy of sex in the
fi lm. The actors appear to be truly
enjoying themselves. The biker
breathless and writhing in ecstasy
after François gets him off particularly
resonates.
The fi lm does include lengthy
scenes of the biker driving around
town to provide a breather before
the next sexcapade. There is
an artful sequence shot in a bar
where the biker watches a young
guy (Dominique Delattre) playing
pinball. Here de Velsa uses mirrors
and other surfaces to refl ect
images of men as the camera pans
around the café, eventually zooming
in on a hot guy in a construction
hat. A sex scene soon follows
in a bathroom where several men
have their way with the pinball
player. The construction guy bends
him over and practically plays him
like a machine; another guy uses
him for water sports. These raw
scenes don’t quite jive with the rest
of the fi lm’s more sensual encounters,
but that doesn’t make them
any less interesting.
“Equation to an Unknown” is
most enticing when the biker stops
at a gas station for a fi ll up and
fl irts with the attendant (Tony Weber)
telling him, “With your bod,
you’ll get a great hot rod.” It may
be a groaner of a line, but the biker
agrees to give the gas guy a ride
on his motorcycle in exchange for
head. Cue synth music and shots
that echo Andy Warhol’s “Blow
Job.” As other men arrive on the
scene, they head out to a quiet
place to couple up. The fi lm suggests
that gay sex in 1980 was still
something that had to take place in
the shadows. It won’t go unnoticed
that this skin fl ick was a product
of the pre-AIDS era; there is not a
condom in sight.
As the biker returns home, he
reencounters François and they
talk about monogamy.
“You have to be mine,” he says.
“And you have to be the one who
wants it.”
Yet, this leads to the fi lm’s climax,
a fantasy sequence where all
of the men the biker has fucked
arrive, undress, and get into bed
with him for an extended, explicit
orgy. It is a masterful 20-minute
sequence, yet also oddly wistful.
With that, “Equation to an
Unknown” ends as much with a
whimper as a bang.
An artifact from an earlier era,
De Velsa’s fi lm is a true gem.
EQUATION TO AN UNKNOWN |
Directed by Dietrich de Velsa | Altered
Innocence | In French, with
English subtitles | Opens Nov. 14
| Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second
Ave. at Second St.; anthologyfi
lmarchives.org
November 7 - November 20, 28 2019 | GayCityNews.com
/lmarchives.org
/GayCityNews.com
