Coming in second on John Waters' top-ten list of the best 2002 films, he calls Porn Theatre a "...hilarious, entertaining, and authentic film." It's also a quasi-nostalgic love story with a now almost entirely defunct phenomenon-porn cin­emas where films are screened on celluloid. Actor, writer, and director Jacques Nolot wanted to make a film about such porn cinemas before it was too late.

For a few dollars, an anonymous porn the­ater's visitors watch La chatte à deux têtes (The Pussy with Two Heads). The box­ office cashier is interested in one of the regulars, a man in his fifties (played by Nolot). The man, however, is interested in the new young projec­ tionist, but that boy has his eye on the cashier. While in the lobby, each shares his life story. In contrast, less talking occurs in the auditorium where the exclusively male audience members find what they're looking for with few words: a release, some adventure, or a little extra cash... all executed to unwritten rules and cus­toms.

Neither the sex acts nor their locations have been made any prettier than what one would expect: the stain-covered seats are broken, the wallpaper is old and peeling, and the squalid toi­let is... well, it's squalid. This forthright approach continues in the film's soundtrack, which is made up largely of the groaning emanating from the silver screen. Remarkably, Nolot contrasts this setting with an extraordinary elegance in movement and lighting.