An academically challenged teenager is schooled in carnal knowledge by his adult tutors in this Belgian import that is sure to be controversial.

One of the more contentious films in the festival (and rejected by GLBT festivals across the US), Private Lessons takes its time in revealing its gay subplot, and for many, that reveal will be quite uncomfortable. But the Festival is not all about positive images – sometimes we need to see some unsettling ones as well. Adorable but often sullen teen Jonas is talented on the tennis court but a failure in the classroom. With a major exam looming, he’s placed in the care of a fulltime 30-something tutor, Pierre. In between their cramming sessions, Jonas is grilled by Pierre’s friends Didier and Nathalie about his burgeoning sex life. The adults initially make suggestions regarding techniques to try with his girlfriend, but they soon become more, shall we say, interactive, providing him with actual demonstrations. The line truly gets crossed when Jonas is blindfolded and orally pleasured by Nathalie and, in a switcheroo, by Didier. Informed afterward that a man brought him to climax, Jonas is shocked… but allows Pierre his turn a few days later. Belgian director Joachim Lafosse proves masterful at pulling strings, evoking outrage as well as titillation, and uses ambiguity – moral, sexual, and otherwise - to reach conversation-stirring extremes. ‘Did Jonas ultimately benefit from these lessons?’ the final shot seems to ask. We’ll see you chatting about this one in the lobby afterward. (French with English subtitles) -- Lawrence Ferber