Briefly notorious around the time of its release for being just about the most sexually explicit art-house film to be passed uncut by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Romance is strong stuff, as forebodingly enigmatic as it is confrontational. Schoolteacher Marie (Caroline Ducey) lives with her boyfriend Paul (Sagamore Stévenin), a vapid male model. When he refuses to have sex with her anymore she seeks out loveless couplings with, among others, an Italian widower (Rocco Siffredi, a porn star in real life) and her headmaster (François Berléand), who introduces her to bondage. Marie's abject, monotonous voiceover tartly undercuts any potential titillation the images might offer (although there'll be no stopping some viewers from watching this with the sound off). With all the careful, neutral-coloured tailoring and immaculately whitened set dressing, it's a bit like a film edition of Elle Interiors as edited by Anaïs Nin. For all that, you have to admire director Catherine Breillat's willingness to take risks--and certainly Romance potentially risks boring as many readers as it shocks others. No less intrepid is Ducey, literally exposing herself in a way few actresses would dare. Whether the film really opens up and interrogates the nature of female sexuality, Breillat's stated aim, is debatable, but there's no doubting the film's visceral impact.--Leslie Felperin
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
terrible, terrible, terrible do not buy or rent this film, it is truly terrible. I got less than half way before I had to eject. You just do not care about the characters.
O yes! Masterfully artistic movie, with a triumphant ending for the girls! The S&M will have you on the edge of your chair. This is HOT!
Poor film Poor film, disturbing? Yes, Interesting? No, Amazon should allow 0 stars for films like this. I would not reccommend it.
Don't be distracted - this is a great film For me it is absolutely brilliant and I would be telling everyone about it except that it assumes that you will not be distracted by a pornographic level of explicit sex. And to be honest if you are, you should just keep watching it again and again until you can see the film for itself. As the mother engenders the baby, so the baby begets the mother: she transcends herself. For me these redemptions and transformations resonate more and more strongly.
![Romance [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A14D3B1BL._SL160_.jpg)
