Cassandro, the Exotico!

A lot of artifice, as much as possible, and so much the better if it’s excessive – you’ve got to be able to see it, to smell it – the hairspray, the perfume, the colours, the glitter, the fabrics, the false eyelashes, behind the scenes, and then on stage. Obviously, this taste for spectacle and exhibitionism can’t help but attract the tender gaze of Marie Losier and her camera. The head-spinning identities aren’t quite on a level with Genesis and Lady Jaye, but nonetheless – the muscular virility of this queer transvestite! The filmmaker also manages to trace his bumpy path in life, challenging rationality and a kind of miracle of endless rebirth. But there’s nothing rational about this love for the ring, this need to perform. Probably because there’s no better place to die than on stage – whether it’s make-believe or for real.

Arnaud Hée
Programmer, teacher and critic