Le beau mec

Lost for decades before a print was discovered in an Alabama garage, Le beau mec charts its titular heartthrob (Karl Forest) through a dreamscape of erotic fantasy—from outdoor exploits with fellow soldiers, twink cruising at the gym, onstage self-pleasuring at a cabaret, to a labyrinthine fuckfest at a Parisian fetish club. As the titular ‘handsome guy,’ Forest (also seen in Philippe Vallois’ queer classic Johan) plays Jean-Paul Doux — a Narcissus-like French hustler with a brutish, sculpted exterior. Doux narrates his own sexual history alongside ruminations on male beauty (not least of which his own) and desire.

Legendary for both its onscreen heat and its behind-the-scenes history, Le beau mec notably featured uncredited, but unmistakable contributions from two of director Potts’ paramours: choreography by dancer Rudolf Nureyev and camerawork by Oscar-winning cinematographer Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven; The Blue Lagoon). With additional photography by François About (Equation to an Unknown), Le beau mec will screen in a dazzling new 4K restoration by IndieCollect in collaboration with Gerald Herman and the Estate of Wallace Potts.