Le party

Saturday night at the old penitentiary, it’s party time. A few hours to forget hell. Three hundred lovesick men fill the gymnasium. They drink beer. They smoke joints. The master of ceremonies tells dirty stories. An inmate spits his hatred into the microphone. Then it’s time for Ginette, a transvestite, to perform. When the strippers Alexandra and Lili from Paris perform, the gymnasium shakes. The accumulated frustrations of the inmates are forcefully expressed. Backstage, Ginette distributes her caresses without restraint. Love is born between Alexandra and Julien, a member of the prisoners’ committee. In a corner, Pierrot is putting on make-up: he’s going to try to escape, disguised as a woman. Then Sylvie, the western singer, sings about love and freedom, and the inmates listen religiously, their throats tightening and tears welling up in their eyes. They applaud wildly. They are a hundred miles from prison. A vibrant critique of the prison system here.