The Acrobat () is a Canadian erotic art film, directed by Rodrigue Jean and released in 2019.Charles-Henri Ramond, "Acrobate, L’ – Film de Rodrigue Jean". Films du Québec, January 19, 2020. The film centres on Christophe (Sébastien Ricard) and Micha (Yury Paulau), two men who meet in an unoccupied unit in a high-rise construction project in Montreal during a snowstorm and begin an anonymous and passionate love affair in which they regularly meet back at the same unit to engage in ritualized sadomasochistic sexual acts., "L’acrobate : zones secrètes…". La Presse, February 7, 2020.
The film, which borrows its initial narrative setup from the film Last Tango in Paris, is the third in Jean's trilogy of films exploring sexuality and emotional intimacy, following Lost Song and Love in the Time of Civil War.Martin Gignac, "L’acrobate ou le dernier tango à Montréal". Voir, February 10, 2020.
The film premiered at the 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival,Kelly Townsend, "VIFF unveils its 2019 Canadian lineup". Playback, August 13, 2019. was subsequently screened at the Festival du nouveau cinéma,"Des films d'André Forcier, de Sophie Deraspe et de Rodrigue Jean au FNC". Ici Radio-Canada, August 22, 2019. and had its commercial release in February 2020.André Lavoie "«L’acrobate»: l’amour au temps du boom immobilier". Le Devoir, February 7, 2020.
Plot Set in Montreal during a heavy winter snowfall, Christophe (Sébastien Ricard), a middle-aged businessman, and Micha (Yury Paulau), a Russian acrobat recovering from a horrific trapeze injury that has left him on crutches, meet in an unfinished apartment in a high-rise construction project while Christophe is house-hunting and Micha, homeless, is staying in the unit. Their random encounter quickly ignites a violent, animal attraction and a passionate, anonymous love affair. Christophe hastily purchases the apartment, and the two men begin meeting there every night, cutting themselves off from the outside world at the heart of winter to explore their lust without restraint. As the downtown cranes perform their hypnotic ballet outside, the men develop a dependency beyond reason, engaging in ritual-like sadomasochistic sexual acts in this fiercely sexy, no-holds-barred drama about an unbridled connection between two unashamed men.
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