French Gigolo

A Sundance World Cinema hit featuring sumptuous Parisian locations, French Gigolo is directed by star Josiane Balasko from a screenplay based on her own novel. She attracted a who’s-who of French actors, including Nathalie Baye, Eric Caravaca and Isabelle Carré. “Judith, a no-nonsense television host who isn’t looking for love, hires male escorts to minister to her erotic needs. Patrick, a happily-married house painter, finances his wife Fanny’s hair salon with gigolo gigs on the side. Arrangements are muddied when Patrick’s cover is blown and the three venture into complex emotional terrain that illuminates all kinds of blurred lines: between independence and connection, love and desire, safety and satisfaction. French Gigolo may be about the oldest profession in the world, but the astute writer-director Josiane Balasko brings freshness and sensitivity to a plethora of timeless topics: sex, money, age, class, family, and freedom. Is there anything else?” -Anderman, Boston Globe