Criminal Desires

Jean Genet, the French author notorious for his overt cele-bration of criminality and homosexuality, was also fascinated with cinema.

His only film, Un Chant d'amour, made in 1950, was a poetic and sexually explicit visual paean to homosexual desire, the criminal impulse, and the power of the imagination. Banned on the grounds of obscenity, the film has since become a cause celebre of gay rights and freedom of expression, as well as being recognized as a masterpiece of underground cinema.

Criminal Desires contains complete documentation of the making of Un Chant d'amour, including an illustrated shot-by-shot description, thematic analysis, and exhibition history.