Romance

Released 1999
Stars Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stevenin, Francois Berleand, Rocco Siffredi
Directed by Catherine Breillat

[Marie] (Caroline Ducey) could be the woman Freud was thinking about when he confessed he could not answer the question, "What do women want?" Marie asks herself the same question. She wants something, all right. She is unhappy with her boyfriend Paul, who refuses to sleep with her, and unhappy, too, with the sexual adventures she has. It's like there's a disconnect between her body and her identity. She does things that sometimes make her feel good, but she doesn't feel good because she has done them.

"Romance," written and directed by Catherine Breillat, became notorious on the festival circuit this autumn because it is an intelligent, radical film by a woman, and at the same time it contains explicit nudity and, as nearly as we can tell, actual sex. It is not arousing or pornographic, because the sex isn't presented in an erotic way; it's more like a documentary of a dogged woman's forced march toward orgasm, a goal she is not sure she values.

I did not really enjoy this movie, and yet I recommend it. Why? Because I think it's on to something interesting. Movies buy the whole romantic package, lock, stock and barrel. People look great, fall in love and have wonderful sex. Even intelligent characters in smart movies all seem to think more or less the same way while they're in the sack. Erogenous autopilot takes over. Here is a movie about a woman who never stops thinking. That may not be as good for you as it is for her.

Summary by Roger Ebert

This film is shocking with its sexual content and attitudes. At times it blurs the line between hard-core porno and mainstream film, but it doesn't do so in an erotic fashion. The problem is Marie is full of self-loathing due to her boyfriend, Paul, refusing to have sex with her. This confuses Marie and makes her think she's not attractive or worthy of love, and this starts her down a path of self-degradation that may or may not be resolved at the end of the film. She certainly is not redeemed by her final act toward Paul, but she may be cured by giving birth. It's unlikely, though, because it appears she will end up with Robert, the sado-masochistic lover of 10,000 women.

Aside from the plot, Marie's attitude toward sex is angry, and you can see where radical feminists would love this movie. Marie doesn't view sex as a pleasurable experience, but as an empowering act for her. A chance for her to tell males that she can rise above the humiliation they visit upon her. In some ways, this movie reminded me of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" in that it's a negatively analytical movie about sex that's not arousing. I found "Romance" interesting but not necessarily enjoyable. On the other hand, it wasn't painful either. --Bill Alward, July 4, 2001