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Romance [VHS]

Romance [VHS]
Directed by Catherine Breillat

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From The New Yorker
The great advantage of growing up French is that you can be absurd without ever knowing it. In Catherine Breillat's sexually explicit drama, Marie (Caroline Ducey), a dark teardrop of a girl who is spurned by her live-in boyfriend, drags herself without apparent pleasure through one sordid sex situation after another while intoning such thoughts to herself as "I like it to be anonymous. It's my purity-more metaphysical." Only in a French movie would a woman embrace sexual experimentation merely to attain an enormous pensée. Marie finds happiness with her boss, a proudly, ugly, middle-aged schoolmaster, who ties her up. "Why do men who disgust us appeal to us more than men who respect us?" she asks. Abrupt but static, pornographic but unarousing, and emotionally muffled throughout, the movie feels like a third-rate Left Bank novel from fifty years ago. In French. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker



Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - The most depressing movie ever!
The disc box features this quote from Jaime Wolf of GEAR magazine: "Genius! Possibly the sexiest movie ever made!"

Jaime Wolf is either a liar or a psychopath, because this is literally the least erotic and most depressing movie I have ever seen (well... aside from "Breaking the Waves" maybe). This stupid, STUPID lead female won't leave her boyfriend even though he is the most self-centered jerk of all time. Instead she just engages in depressing, depressed sexual acts while complaining about herself and the entire world. The ONLY uplifting part is the final minute when she (THIS IS A SPOILER SO STOP READING HERE) finally wises up and KILLS HIM!!!!

If you're looking for a good Catherine Breillait movie, try "A Real Young Girl," which at least mixes eroticism in with its disgusting images. This one is just depressing and frustrating from beginning to end (aside from the last minute).

And about that 'hardcore' footage -- it's the lead actress trying pitifully to arouse her asexual boyfriend on a few different occasions. Wow! What a turn-on!




Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Romance
Excellent video for an adult audience. It gives an insight of what one woman feels as she engages in an sexual act. Done very well.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Breillat is Brilliant.
"All true artists are hated. Only conformists are ever adored."--Catherine Breillat.

Catherine Breillat (1948) is a brilliant French filmmaker, director and novelist. Her films take us (particularly us uptight Americans) places we've never been before, and usually outside our comfort zones with their hard truths. As a result, Breillat is often the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality and violence. Romance (Romance X) (1999) stars Caroline Ducey, French pornstar Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. Romance is as austere as an Eric Rohmer film. It tells the story of Marie (Ducey), a schoolteacher who is in love with her live-in boyfriend Paul (Stevenin) who, because of his own intimacy issues (no, he's not gay), withholds sex from her. (In a stroke of pure genius, Breillat depicts Paul reading a copy of Bukowski's "Love Is a Dog From Hell" over dinner.) As a result, sexually-frustrated Marie pursues increasingly risky, anonymous sexual encounters with other men, including a bondage relationship with the much older headmaster at her school. From an Italian stud (Siffredi) to her Monsieur Marquis de Sade headmaster (Berleand), suffice it to say, Marie does it all. Throughout the film, as Marie explores her sexual desires, one wonders: what is Breillat up to here? Ultimately, this is not so much a film about casual sex as a film (from a woman's point-of-view) about sexual intellectualism, and finding empowerment through the vagina and motherhood. Breillat's interest in confronting hard truths about human sexuality is something I admire about French cinema and her films in particular. This is a film people should be debating afterwards in cafes, bars, and their bedrooms.

Before dismissing Romance as porn, viewers should consider that although the original version was released as a "porn" film in the US (with an edited mainstream version also released with an R rating), it was first shown in mainstream cinemas throughout Europe. In March 2004, the unedited film was broadcast on late-night German public TV, resulting in a few protests. The film was also broadcast on the Australian cable TV network "World Movies" in its uncut form.

G. Merritt


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Disfunctional Gobblygook
One of the worse films I have ever viewed. The husband's character is unbelievable. The female lead is somewhat believable, but tedious and boring. There are lots of beautiful scenes and beautiful bodies, so visually it is extremely well done. There are not many films I can say that I hate, but this one is very close. I love foreign films, films with an edge but this was not interesting to me in any way. I feel robbed of my time and my money.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - NOT AN EROTIC MOVIE
If you are looking for a hot and erotic movie, this is not the one. It is about the girl got did not act proactively. Basically, she got stuck in a relationship but is too lazy to move on.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Simple Review
Outstanding Movie. The movie takes an inside look of how a woman can view herself through stages in a loveless relationship. The sex scenes gives the movie meaning to what some women call love. In the end, her true love she finds.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Top 10 or top 5 ? (worst ones)
One of the worst films ever. Absurd. The whole story.
In adition, tring to be an "important, deeply movie". Just pathetic. Don't even try to rent it, don't even try to talk about it. The sex scenes are awful too. Nothing to save, nothing to see, nothing...really, a full horrible experience.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The other side of Love
This is a pretty amazing movie, that does get graphic in nature and crosses the line in parts of what is art and what is not. Very good story in which Caroline Ducey goes out looking for love when her boyfriend, Sagamore Stevenin refuses to pay any attention to her. Caroline's character finds love in many different forms, men and means. From picking up a lover at a bar (Rocco Siffredi), to finding an older man into S&M, to having a quickie on a set of stairs by a total stranger (which I think is the best segment). A great film from Catherine Breillat. Also check out her 2003 masterpiece, 'Anatomy of Hell', which also stars Rocco Siffredi.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Buyer Beware - Not What's Advertised
Don't know why my first note hasn't appeared, so I'll briefly restate. the claim-to-fame of this film is it's avant-garde, push-the-envelope sexuality. Amazon describes this film as "Unrated", but that's not what nearly all of these listings are selling. These are the new "R" Rated version that is MASSIVELY redacted. In fact, all of what makes this film famous has been reduced to some brief nudity. Even though the box continues to bill it as "The sexiest movie ever made." On top of that, despite an English only cover, my VHS purchase was subtitled in SPANISH. The seller has offered an adjustment. He didn't know. But Amazon needs to drop the 'Unrated' description, as that implies the original. Those still interested might look for something like a 'director's cut'. I still haven't found one. Sorry if this is a duplicate of previous post.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Not What's Listed By Amazon?
BUYER BEWARE!! Despite Amazon descibing this DVD/VHS as "UNRATED", I'll bet anyone dollars to donuts that just about all sellers have listed here is the new 'R' Rated version that is massively redacted. The attraction to this film as stated falsely on the edited cover is "The sexiest movie ever made.", "The most audacious film since LAST TANGO IN PARIS". Historically, it is basically the only X category movie allowed regular distribution in the UK because the content was considered redeeming. The edited version is none of this and reduces any sexuality to some very brief nudity. There are also VHS versions in French of course with English covers, but subtitled only in Spanish. It also makes me wonder whether some other Amazon descriptions for "9 SONGS" ,"INTIMACY", etc., are really the 'Unrated' original versions as implied or more chopped up PC edits. Perhaps looking for the 'Director's Cut" only might solve this, but who knows? Some clarification needed to what could be just oversight or calculated carelessness.




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