By: D’Andre Chaney
May 15, 2024
Wow, what a movie. Going Places was one of the most interesting, in a disturbing kind of creepy way, movies that I have ever seen. I liked how it fearlessly examines freedom and social norms through its main characters, Jean-Claude and Pierrot, who navigate 1970s France with adventures that break all the rules of conventional storytelling. The film questions societal boundaries through their escapades, which is both its strength and its flaw. While the film’s lack of structured narrative effectively mirrors the characters’ rebellious spirits, this same structure—or lack thereof—can sometimes make the viewing experience feel disjointed or aimless. This approach to storytelling, which emphasizes randomness and moral ambiguity, challenges traditional cinematic and societal expectations, setting the stage for a deeper look at the film’s narrative and themes. Ultimately, Going Places offers an in depth- examination of social disobedience, sexual liberation, and homosocial dynamics, critiquing conventional norms and suggesting a broader understanding of queerness as a behavioral and philosophical stance.
The term “homosocial,” defined by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, refers to close, nonsexual relationships between people of the same sex, often involving deep emotional bonds. In Going Places, the relationship between Jean-Claude and Pierrot exemplifies this concept. Their connection goes beyond mere friendship, characterized by vulnerability, mutual dependency, and a profound understanding of each other. This challenges traditional portrayals of masculinity, which usually emphasize competition and stoicism. Their homosocial bond critiques societal norms and pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior and morality.
Going Places, directed by Bertrand Blier, portrays the disorderly and disorganized existence of Jean-Claude and Pierrot as they meander about France in the 1970s. Instead of following a conventional story arc, the movie follows a recurring format in which fresh, often contentious exploits and misadventures are introduced in each segment. This structure emphasizes the characters’ disengagement from society’s norms and expectations while also successfully reflecting the unpredictability and aimlessness of their life. Jean-Claude and Pierrot meet various people along the way who add to the film’s examination of rebellion and independence. Their spontaneous and frequently morally ambiguous conversations test the audience’s conceptions of accepted morality and push the bounds of what makes appropriate social behavior.
The movie goes deeply into the issues of sexual and societal liberation, yet it avoids discussing LGBTQ+ identities or themes. The majority of the movie deals with heterosexual relationships, which are frequently portrayed in a way that questions accepted ideas about sexuality. However, the film does not easily fall within the genre of queer road-trip films, which often foreground LGBTQ+ experiences and storylines, because it does not feature any clearly queer characters or relationships. The film’s significance to queer cinema in the traditional sense is limited since Jean-Claude and Pierrot’s sexual escapades, while radical in their disregard for norms, do not explore the particular obstacles and journeys that are unique to LGBTQ+ individuals.
Going Places embodies a type of queer film, not because it features LGBTQ+ people, but rather because of its bold subversion of social standards. The film is positioned as a critique of traditional socioeconomic systems because of the protagonists’ persistent disdain for the law, social privileges, and moral bounds. The disorderly conduct is indicative of a wider ‘queer’ mindset that defies convention and embraces non-traditional lifestyles. The film is a defiant, but non-traditional, expression of queerness because of its rebellious nature, which is demonstrated in its portrayal of sexual autonomy and anti-authoritarian beliefs.
In the end, Going Places rejects the conventional notion of a queer road-trip movie because it doesn’t focus on LGBTQ+ people or issues. But the movie’s exploration of themes of social disobedience and its depiction of a life lived beyond the rules do connect with a more expansive understanding of queerness. The audience is prompted to reevaluate what normality and acceptable actually are as a result of the protagonists’ trip through morally and physically demanding environments. Because of this, Going Places is an intriguing investigation of how queerness may take the form of a behavioral and philosophical attitude against mainstream culture as opposed to just being an identity or sexual orientation.
References:
Davis, Nick. “Y Tu Mamá También as Border-Crossing Bromance.” I Love You Hombre, EBSCO Publishing, 14 Dec. 2023.
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