The young French writer Catherine Breya, who published her first novel when she was still in her twenties, offered Hamilton’s intimate world of a fifteen-year-old girl in an orphanage for girls as one of her favorite motifs. Bilitis is in love with the photographer Luke, but she is not attracted to physical intimacy with a man, on the contrary, she wants tender and sublime feelings. Suffering from her husband’s rudeness and inattention is also the beautiful Melissa, a friend of Bilithis’ parents, who has invited the girl to her house for the summer vacations.
The brief moments of Bilithis and Melissa’s love affair should testify to a kinship of souls. But the more mature, knowing life Melissa refuses to continue this affair. Then Bilitis decides to find her a sensitive and pleasant lover in every way, not suspecting that as a result she herself will face the first drama in her destiny still childish, naive, but no less bitter.
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After watching the film, only one phrase comes to mind: “And that’s what Hamilton is all about! The name of this artist and director is familiar to every art lover. His provocative works have long attracted the attention of both the press and ordinary people, often because the master likes to turn to images of teenage girls.
His photographs are characterized by a warm palette of colors and softness of images, so it is not surprising that his creative handwriting is transferred to the film.
Bilitis is not Hamilton’s first directorial effort, but if his other films have been plot-driven (albeit simple in terms of plot), it feels like the story has been in some way sacrificed for the visuals. The strange thing is that you don’t mind it at all when watching it. A very complicated story of first love and crossing of two destinies passes a thin veil through the innocent and chaste images of girls, which with Hamilton have always been carriers of some almost biblical motifs, because with their help the master, as before, brings us the main idea.
The film is shot using all the technical laws of the erotic genre – slow camera movements, smooth editing and the same recognizable pastel palette together with some slight vignette do their job – the film wraps you in satin sheets and scents you with the scents of summer: there are freshly cut grass and asphalt after the rain, but the heart of the aroma is crowned with tints of bergamot, saffron and peach. Yes, in its content ‘Bilitis’ is more like a bottle of perfume than anything else. And don’t jump to conclusions from its first chords. If you give this film a chance to take hold of you, a whole world full of interesting, bold images and meanings will open up ahead, safely hidden from prying eyes.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (67.8 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10+
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
French: LPCM 2.0
French: Dolby Digital
English: LPCM 2.0
German: LPCM 2.0
Subtitles
English, German.
