Look out, “flower power” but of the “interpretation of dreams” kind: and here dreams are all about ferns, not flowers – as in the smash-hit song Madame reve by Bashung. According tothe relevant dictionary, a dream about ferns reflects joy and good fortune in one’s personal relationships. In dreams, a fern symbolises protection. Dreaming about ferns denotes gentleness and tender feelings in one’s life. In dreams, a fern can presage a deep, true love. Sometimes, dreaming of ferns heralds the coming of new and meaningful encounters. However, if the fern is dry, pay attention to your state of health. As though in search of an elusive flower in a secret garden, somewhere between classical painting and salon art in the style of Pierre et Gilles ahead of their time, Francois Reichenbach films his cherished travel companions, his Ganymedes in Ektachrome, in pure simplicity. Nus masculins is a loving and gentle home movie out in the open, contrived yet candid. Unapologetically gay. Rebel without a cause. Happily naked. Suggestion and modesty, disinhibition, pathfinding games and glances create a charged eroticism which would make even Jean Cocteau and Kenneth Anger blush. “In the prayers that imprison and free you”, Bashung all over again. Was this intimate journal meant to be read? Was this film known to Gus Van Sant?

“Dimension, Existence, Culture and Identity all splinter and are left behind. Pink Sound, brothers and sisters. Pinkness. It’s dark. It’s… flat. It is unexplainable… it is peaceful… it is love… …it is…” (Gus Van Sant, Pink, 1997).

Émilie Cauquy