Takes itself way too seriously

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Pink Narcissus is a film that is really a different experience than your normal movie habit. When I watched the film, it just was not like any kind of film I had watched. It was very primitive and very confusing yet it is also oddly fascinating and funny. So primarily, it is a film telling the life of a gay drifter and what goes in to his horny head. He envision himself as a Sultan, a mighty Matador and a lot other gay penchants as he tries to fulfill himself to completion. Only to face the gaudy realities of his life in the end. All of which presented in a colorful low-budget yet sophisticated vision,without any single dialogue to make a definite sense. Indeed, the film was feral. It is leaves a lot of things for its viewer to digest and I kinda enthralled by it. Usually I have reservation to this kind of films as they tend to over do it artsy side that they came off as a bit of a bore and overthought but its own quirks just works so well. The colorful D.I.Y. kitsch styling to its literal take on gay iconography and jargon were so witty and inventive that it really leave in me awe. Overall, Pink Narcissus is a art film spectacle that is not afraid to show a distinct flavor without losing its ambition.[5/5]

I don't know why the rating for this is so low -- well, that's not true, I do know: it's arty, it's got no dialogue (we have radio weather forecasts in lieu of that), it's in grainy pink, and it doesn't have a story. But it is a successful glimpse into a gay dream, and a successful passing on of that experience -- and the title character, a wonderfully objectified youth, is the perfect gay ideal: pouty lips, messy brown hair, dark features, a fantastic and well-exploited rear, and a sculpted body. And he's unclothed for most of it, a Caravaggio boy.The film is a good example of ingenuity on the director's part -- it's a small-scale melodrama not unlike those of Guy Maddin, if Maddin was more lushly sensual and less manically comic. It's not a porno, but it is extreme gayness, and the mere essence of that is enough for some people to get it up. But regardless, it is very erotic; a number of scenes (stripping the boy's undies off, sucking his own fingers, slowly humping the ground in nature) push the right buttons. There are some inventive scenes, like the boy getting a beejay from a leather man swimming in a milky liquid (and then after that a urinal-fetish scene). I haven't seen "Un chant d'amour," so I don't know the degree to which this is influenced by Genet, but it does have its parallels to the Genet-inspired third of "Poison." 9/10

Beautiful cinematography, beautiful subject, dreamy homoerotic confection. Makes me almost wish I still did drugs so I could watch it on acid. Given the wonderfully weird & underground feeling, it would have fit in well in the midnight movie scene in the 70's (maybe it did, but I was in Oklahoma at the time & I'm pretty sure it never played there).This is basically just a set of wonderfully choreographed narcissistic fantasies, with lots of searlingly saturated color, glittery, cartoony, piss-elegant sets & props, and a stunning boy who you don't get to see quite enough of, if you know what I mean and I'm sure you do. But you do get to see more than you probably thought you would in a pre-Stonewall movie (OK, technically it's not pre-Stonewall, but it definitely reflects that era more than the post- era).Fundies should probably stay away, as should those looking for plot, action (yeah, I know, but you know what I mean), or dialog; kids whose parents might react violently; guys looking for high-octane boner fuel (this is more like smoldering scented oil than gasoline); and hyper-butch queers who are embarrassed by things like gilded telephones and paste-jeweled goblets. But if you're looking for a gay erotic dream-romp through the senses, get this puppy before it goes out of print!

Think Disney's Fantasia, only not a cartoon, less of a plot, and of course lots of hues of pink. I don't have to worry about spoilers, because I can't thing of an actual plot point one might spoil. Is there a rule that gay films must be pretentious and dull? If so, this film fits the bill. Yes there are moments of male nudity, but if you're looking for that there are far better options. Could only recommend this to someone looking strictly for an 'art film' based on meticulously planned visuals and constant repetitive music.