by Alyssa Martinez Barette
There were a number of historic moments at this year’s Oscars, and among them is a tie in the Best Short Film, Live Action Category. The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva received a honors, making a category that often goes under the radar of the public (including me) to become a highlight of the night. As the directors accepted the Oscar in the category for the weirdly titled Two People Exchanging Saliva, they described their film as “Weird and Queer,” a comment that piqued my interest.
Two People Exchanging Saliva is a French film available on YouTube that takes place in a world where kissing is considered a crime punishable by death. Society actively discourages the act, with people not brushing their teeth and consuming garlic to deter interest. The film follows Malaise who works for a store where she earns the interest of a regular, Angine, to the disdain of Petulante Angine’s usual associate.
The film takes place over the course of nine days with Malaise and Angine getting closer to each other. Malaise manages to make bigger sales while Angine finds herself interested in the young associate. Malaise reciprocates her feelings illegally, purchasing toothpaste and a toothbrush, looking to seduce Angine. She brushes her teeth at her job, failing to realize someone was there. After a woman gets arrested, Angine takes her purse discovering artwork of kissing, which reminds her of Malaise.
Unable to ignore her feelings, Angine hurries to meet Malaise, determined to kiss her despite the risks. As she arrives, she discovers that someone had falsely framed Malaise for attempting to kiss them. Angine rushes to the place where executed victims are thrown, discovering Malaise’s body and crying over it. The film ends with a flashback revealing that during Malaise’s birthday, Angine knocked on her door to join her, but decided to hide at the last minute, missing the opportunity to be together.
The short film does an incredible job at setting up an odd premise while simultaneously developing a tender relationship between the two women. Additionally, it poses interesting questions regarding morality and the problems that arise when law is used as the framework for it, managing to tell a compelling and grounded story within the weirdness.
As someone who doesn’t watch short films often, its format works perfectly for the story, and while many would love it to be longer, I believe the runtime works to its favor. Whether you like short films or not, I highly recommend Two People Exchanging Saliva.
