The Naked Anarchist

In this outrageous exploration of the gay demimonde of Valencia, Lluis Fernandez depicts a precarious culture in which erotic triumphs over reason. A series of letters sent to a young man exiled in Amsterdam build up an intimate portrait of a community where decorum has long given way to lust and abandon. In a language always on the verge of hysteria, frenzied accounts are only muted by the fact that their words remain unanswered, their warning never heeded. A direct result of the social alienation felt by many homosexuals under the Franco regime, this linguistic tour de force presents a society struggling free from the painful secrecies of everyday life. Astir with gossip and rebellion, it makes of melodrama an art form, transforming banality into fantastic ritual.