Gay Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues (The Ornithologist) has created the homoerotic futuristic fireman musical of his — and our — dreams.
Will O’ the Wisp follows Alfredo, a prince who, on his deathbed, recalls a time in his youth when he dreamed of being a fireman. After shocking his parents with his decision to pursue his firefighting dream, Alfredo heads to the firehouse to pursue his unconventional — and surprisingly naked — dream.
At the firehouse, he encounters the instructor, Alfonso, who leads a life-changing era of discovery, desire, and love. Also apparently a lot of nude wrestling (not that we’re complaining). The film is set in 2069, which adds to the sense of wonder and magic that permeates the trailer. The date, the director explained in a statement, is “of course, an eye wink allusion to 1969, the erotic year!”
Courtesy of Strand Releasing
The film features plenty of full frontal nudity, which Rodgriques explains took inspiration from fireman calendars. “I played with the reference to the firefighters’ calendar in which they are photographed scantily dressed. I took it even further by asking the actors to pose as if for a calendar but also to recreate the postures of characters that would be found in classic paintings. I really love the art of painting, and these are like pictures made in the spirit of Rubens or Velasquez,” according to the director. “I wanted the viewer to understand, upon entering the fire station, that this fire station is special! A fairy tale fire station! Yet at the same time, the firefighters’ training sessions that we see are real, I followed them for several weeks, filming actual firefighters. The idea is still to enter a fantasy world through reality, romanticism through physicality.”
The film first premiered at Cannes 2022, where it was nominated for the Queer Palm. It is finally making its theatrical debut on May 26 at IFC Center in New York with other venues to follow.
