(Germany, 87 min.)
Dir. Stephan
Bergmann
Get your mind out of the gutter. The gigolos of The Last Gigolos aren’t those kind of
guys. These gentlemen dance vertically.
The fun and enlightening German doc The Last Gigolos takes audiences on a waltz through the golden
years as it chronicles the time that passes for a handful of elderly passengers
on the cruise ship The Deutschland. Director Stephan Bergmann introduces two
fading gigolos, Peter and Heinz, as they coif their grey hairs and freshen up
for the silver foxes onboard the boat. “Just a Gigolo” flows playfully in the
background as The Last Gigolo plays
with the audience’s perception of the word and assumes that these guys are
dirty old men ready for action. They’re really gentlemen, though, smooth
operators onboard the boat to ensure that the elderly guests find companionship—they’re
simply paid to dance.
The film takes many cues from Peter, who is the more
popular, seasoned, and charming of the gigolo gentlemen. He flirts with the
ladies and they admire how youthful he looks for his age—74!—and in between
sessions on the dancefloor he explains in voiceover how his calm, cool, and
collected performance keeps him young at heart while nurturing those around
him. The Last Gigolo isn’t about the
currency of sex; it’s about the value of companionship.
Bergmann finds an excellent subject in Bärbel, a passenger
in her sixties who travels alone and shows the most obvious lust for life that
the gigolos aim to please. The film follows her and fellow traveller Barbara,
but Bärbel speaks most openly about her wants and needs. Bärbel, a widow,
explains how the thought of being alone becomes harder to shake as one ages:
she goes bar-hopping in the city, going from place to place in search of a
dance partner, but concedes that it isn’t the most socially acceptable thing
for a solo lady, let alone a solo elderly lady. On the boat, though, it’s all
open flirting and dancing with the comfort (and apparent disappointment) of
knowing that the paid hosts onboard have limits they can’t overstep with the ladies.
The film finds a bittersweet love story in the dances
between Bärbel and Peter, and the platonic intimacy that grows in their nightly
conversations. Maybe it’s because Bärbel throws herself at the men that Peter
sees in her a client, or maybe it’s because Peter is one of the only men
onboard willing to dance that Bärbel finds a partner in him, but the two build
a natural rapport. The film remains respectful of both Peter’s profession and
Bärbel’s wants for his services: even fleeting a relationship is better than being
alone.
On the other hand, the relatively slighter and late-blooming
companionship between Heinz and Barbara takes an unexpected end-credits step.
Perhaps the difference between being alone and getting together lives in a
state of mind that Peter and Bärbel can’t quite escape. They love their
independence too much and they thrive on flirting, so they might favour serial
tangos over one long-lasting pas de deux.
The film chronicles life on the boat in attractively shot
observations of the aging passengers lounging in deck chairs or twirling on the
dance floor. Fans of the Marigold Hotel films
or docs like Advanced Style will
readily enjoy this fun and respectful look at the quest for love in the golden
years. (It playfully anticipates the release of the Michael Caine/Jane Fonda
drama Youth with its playful glimpse
as last loves.) The film never takes the subjects’ age as fuel for comedy, nor
does it invite the audience to judge. Instead, it’s simply a refreshing
observation that the search for love never grows old.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
The Last Gigolos opens in Toronto at The Bloor on August 14.
