Christopher Latour

Only for the special few that will fully understand! This is a rare review posting for me, so I will be as direct as I can be and not waste anyone's time...As a film fan and avid reader, explorer, businessman and global traveler for a few decades, I've seen and experienced many wonderous, real moments in life in the US and abroad. For years, I was convinced that many of the quintessential, private loving moments between a man and woman could never be fully, truthfully and accurately captured on film. This film proved me wrong. To those viewers that want simple entertainment, there are a few erotic, cheap thrills. Nothing wrong with that, but this films has lots more layers and sub-text than even the best adult-content films, you are getting much more for the price you paid, however high that is. Some might find this an exaggeration - but as a fan of one of the seminal, touchstone films of all time about adult relationships and passionate affairs, "The Last Tango In Paris" by Bertolucci with Brando in the lead, I truly believe this film holds its own on that level. Yes, on that international level. You might ask why. Like Bertolucci, a master-story teller, especial regarding intimate and exotic moments of passion and true-love, Zalman King found his "voice" as a substantial director by way of this complex, love triangle. The main characters, Jake (David Ducovny), Alex (Bridgett Bako) and Thomas K. Butler (Billy Wirth), the interplay between them of master subtly revealed deeper feelings far beyond the touch of skin or routine sex by a couple, it revealed moving avarice of jealousy, danger, suspicion, regret, power struggles, head-games and the inevitably messy results when two guys want and love the same woman. Add to this hot mix a confused, and at times an immature and reckless lady who is still so young and inexperienced in relationships - an explosive relationship is bound to happen, fraught with strong feelings of rivalry and broken hearts which in the end seem inevitable and categorically unavoidable. Without giving away the plotline, and certainly not revealing the unexpected plot twist, suffice it to say, if you are seeking a film to challenge your mind, heart, emotions and perhaps even your soul - watch "The Red Shoe Diaries." You may not be the same again afterwards!! I have not been, and its been been over 20 years since I saw it for the first time. With each viewing I discover still more layers. This is wholeheartedly NOT what I ever expected from what I assumed with just another B-film rated R film. Bravissimo to an auteur and his muses on, in my view, his greatest, most impactful, most heartful and most honestly painful film of his unique and almost secret career. This film in my view is the best kept secret in cinema, no exceptions!