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Piše:  Andra Petrescu Prevela sa engleskog: Bojana Pušara

Reditelji Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette i André Turpin su dobili ideju za kratki film Prends-moi nakon što su saznali da u nekim centrima za osobe sa posebnim potrebama postoje "intimne prostorije" gdje se pacijentima može "pomoći" da imaju seksualni odnos. Ne može se ne povući paralela sa američkim filmom, Theraphy Session, gdje Helen Hunt glumi terapeutkinju koja uči paraplegičara kako da ima seksualni odnos uprkos svom stanju, ali je Prends-moi stilski drugačiji. Dok se američki film u velikoj mjeri fokusira na oba lika, terapeuta i pacijenta, kao i razvoj njihovog odnosa, kanadski kratki film predstavlja ljudska tijela i seksualnost, radeći sa glumcima koji i u stvarnom životu imaju probleme sa invaliditetom. Glumica koja utjelovljuje lik mlade žene je Maxime D. Pomerleau, kod koje je dijagnosticiran McCune-Albrigh sindrom. Bavi se web novinarstvom i pleše u koreografskoj grupi za ljude sa posebnim potrebama. Glumac je Alexandre Vallerand sa dijagnozom cerebralne paralize i studirao je pozorišnu glumu.

Uzmi me; režija: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette &  André Turpin; uloge: Maxime D. Pomerleau, Alexandre Vallerand, Mani Soleymanlou, Marika Lhoumeau 2014.

Prends-moi prikazuje nježni pristup seksualnosti osoba sa fizičkim nedostacima birajući imaginarni u odnosu na dokumentarni pravac, iako u nekim momentima dodiruje tanku liniju između njih. Uvodna scena je za gledaoca daleka i skoro isključivo medicinska. Prati medicinskog tehničara na zadatku koji djeluje kao njegova dnevna rutina. On pomjera mladog paraplegičara i smiješta ga na krevet uz pomoć aparata. Ovaj tehnički postupak završava tako što čovjek leži go na krevetu i biva pomjeren bliže drugom krevetu gdje ga već čeka njegova djevojka, takođe osoba sa posebnim potrebama. Kako medicinski tehničar napušta prostoriju, filmski stil postaje intimniji u kontekstu njihove seksualnosti i mogućih izazova. Iako gledalac nema uvid u eksplicitan seksualni sadržaj, prikazana su njihova gola tijela (žena ima hirurške ožiljke na nogama) i njihovi pokreti stilizovani tako da bi se na bilo koji drugi način mogli protumačiti kao eksploatacija ili na neki način zlostavljanje za same likove. U filmu je korišteno nekoliko mehanizama da se ovo izbjegne.

Prvo, režiseri nemaju namjeru da izazovu empatiju publike, već je sprječavaju. Nije ostavljen prostor za saosjećanje ili senzualnost u scenama seksualnog odnosa, već njihova ljepota proizilazi iz stilizirane fotografije, odnosno načina korištenja svjetlosti. Gledalac o likovima ne zna ništa, osim da imaju posebne potrebe. Vidi njihova gola tijela koja se ponašaju i djeluju prirodno. Bitno je da je u radnju uključen muški medicinski tehničar, pri čemu se priča može posmatrati od njegove do njihove perspektive, počinjući i završavajući s njim i njegovom dilemom - koliko mu je uopšte ugodno obavljati takav posao. Ovaj pripovjedački alat nam pomaže da shvatimo kako potpomognuti seksualni čin može djelovati čudno, dok sam čin ne djeluje tako. Upravo to čini ovaj film interesantnim: njegova posvećenost da saopšti koliko seksualnost može da se razlikuje za svakog od nas.

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Prends-moi: A sensitive approach to the sexuality of physically disabled people

Written by: Andra Petrescu Translation: Bojana Pušara

Directors Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette and André Turpin came up with the idea for the short Prends-moi after learning that in some centers for disabled people there are types of intimacy rooms where patients can be helped to have intercourse. The film echos the Amercian Theraphy Session, in which Helen Hunt plays a sex-therapist who teaches a paraplegic man how to have sex in spite of his disability, but is different in style. While the American film concentrates very much on both characters, therapist and patient, and their personal development, the Canadian short focuses on the representation of bodies and sexuality, working with actors who have mobility problems in real life. The actress who plays the young woman is Maxime D. Pomerleau, a young woman who has been diagnosed with McCune-Albrigh syndrome; she works in web-journalism and as a dancer in a choreography group for impaired people. The actor is Alexandre Vallerand, who lives with cerebral paralysis, and has studied theater acting professionally.

Prends-moi; directors: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette & André Turpin; cast: Maxime D. Pomerleau, Alexandre Vallerand, Mani Soleymanlou, Marika Lhoumeau; 2014

Prends-moi shows a sensitive approach to the sexuality of physically disabled people choosing fiction over documentary, though at times touches the thin border between the two. The opening scene is distant and almost clinical, following a male nurse in what seems to be his daily routine: he moves a young paraplegic man, laying him to bed with the help of a clinical machine. This very technical chore finishes with the man lying naked on the bed, being pushed closer to another one where his girlfriend is already waiting for him, she too being physically disabled. As the male nurse leaves the room, the style of the film changes, becoming more intimate in the portrayal of their sexuality and possible challenges.

Though the camera does not show real sexual content, it does look at their naked bodies (the women has surgical scars on her legs) and their movements in a stylised manner which might have otherwise easily become exploitative or somehow abusive to the characters. The two directors use a few mechanisms to avoid this. Firstly, they don't aim to evoke empathy in the viewer, instead they prevent it. There is no place for feelings of compassion or sensuality in the sexual scenes, the beauty of them comes from the stylised cinematography through the way it uses the lighting. The viewer knows nothing about the characters beside their disabilities and their bodies in a moment of intimacy, allowing them to act and be seen as natural. However, it is important that the narrative chooses the male nurse as a protagonist, switching from his story line and perspective to theirs, starting and ending with him and his dilemma about how comfortable he feels about his job. This narrative device helps us acknowledge that assisted sexual acts might seem awkward, without representing the act itself as such. And this is what makes the film interesting: its commitment to talk about how sexuality may be different for others.