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335 of 351 found the following review helpful:
 Such a good film that the British censors let it throughFeb 08, 2000
By number6@mindless.com
As you may or may not know, here in the UK we're not allowed toshow scenes of "hardcore" pornography, on the grounds thatthey're titillating and corrupting. For the first time in history, the censors have let a film contain such scenes, and that film is Romance. The point is, of course, that the scenes aren't titillating- in fact, they are quite horrifying in places. The whole film is a journey into the dark side of female sexuality, and (speaking as a heterosexual male) it can become highly disturbing. The plot, briefly: our heroine (?) is told that her boyfriend loves her but doesn't want to have sex with her. In emotional turmoil, she has a series of sexual encounters, increasingly degrading and bizarre, as she tries to find a link between her twin needs for sexual satisfaction and emotional fulfilment. Excellent cinematography and a bleak script; by far the best film I saw last year, and probably the best I'll see again this year.
102 of 107 found the following review helpful:
Emotionally honest, sublimely performed and directed.Feb 10, 2000
By D. Mok
The words of Emmanuelle Beart (referring to her nude scenes in La Belle Noiseuse) came back to me as I watched Romance: "I wasn't baring my ass, I was baring my soul." So it is for Romance, a drama that has been called everything from "sexiest movie ever made" to "pornography". And on a strictly technical viewpoint, the terms apply -- with graphic depictions of fellatio, copulation, childbirth and all manners of sexual behaviour both conventional and alternative, Romance walks the fragile line between art and exploitation. What makes this film a great story instead of a series of sex scenes is its emotional approach. Director Catherine Breillat, who explored the subject of teenage sexuality in 36 Fillette with frankness and earnesty, applies the same approach to the sexual frustrations depicted in Romance. The graphic nudity, then, becomes not exploitation but attention to detail, and Breillat's choice of covering scenes with a series of sequence shots (the average running time of singular shots in this film is in minutes, not seconds) gives this film a painfully immediate, real-time feel. The use of long takes without cuts could not have been easy given the graphic sexual acts the actors have to simulate in the film. And the sequence shots are highly appropriate to the performances, capturing the actors' every beat. Caroline Ducey gives a brave performance as Marie, the frustrated teacher who tries to rediscover sex within a stifling relationship. The pressure of the graphic scenes and the character's staggering vulnerability give her performance a charge, and it is to Ducey's credit that her character's heart says much more than her oft-displayed body. By the end of the film the ironic, seemingly exploitative slug line comes true: "Love is desolate, romance is temporary, sex is forever". The final sequence of the film actually proves this to be a sincere statement in a sly, but also emotive way. This film could never have been made on American soil -- pointing to the cultural difference between the Gallic and American film scenes. From this difference also comes explanation of why Romance, despite its sincerity and the depth of the characters, was received with such outrage here. In France, nudity has been naturalized -- it is no longer a shock to see frontal nudity and frank depictions of sex. In America, on the other hand, onscreen nudity is considered a special occasion, the "last resort". It is quite frankly unimaginable to me that an American actress would have consented to doing what Ducey does here -- the eternal question being "What can we get away with?" Well, sometimes you can't think in terms of what you can "get away with". Breillat and Ducey, by opting to expose the character as they must for her to come alive, make the question moot. Imagine Romance as an airbrushed Hollywood product, with artfully executed Nicolas Roeg-style montages and dissolves for the sex scenes, and the story will fall apart. Really, which is more exploitative: The painfully emotional scene in which Marie tries to get her boyfriend to desire her, or that bathtub scene in The English Patient, where a cut was specifically made so that the audience can see a naked Kristin Scott-Thomas rise from the tub from the front? All sociological comments, aside, Romance is a searing drama on relationships and sexuality, unwavering in its integrity, and challenging in its approach both to the audience and to the actors. Its greatest strength lies not in whether it's "sexy" or not -- but in its close, intimate examination of matters of the heart.
166 of 184 found the following review helpful:
Acurate Dipiction of the Sexual Woman's MindDec 19, 1999
By Elise Hudson
This is the psychological journey of a passionate woman whose lover refuses her any form of physical pleasure. Because of her emotional ties to him, and her hesitance to leave him only because of sex, she persues a twisted series of sexual affairs in search of some relief for her desire. The movie makes phenomenal observations about women, who according to the main character, wish to live with the top half of their bodies near their loved ones in a picturesque romance world, and the lower half in the dark corners of wild sexual freedom. This is the first movie I have ever seen that addresses the dark natures of woman's sexuality without degrading or pitying her. Plus, the film is well made, the plot is interesting, and it will leave you feeling quite differently about the way you treat your woman.
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Censored!Oct 15, 2002
By William J. Fickling
Do NOT buy the VHS version of this film if you want to see the film that Catherine Breillat intended to make. It is cut, edited, in other words, censored. It's not just that the graphic sex scenes are cut and that much can be left to the imagination; it's that the cuts eviscerate the film. Breillat made the film in anger, and her anger is most evident in the explicit sexual scenes that were cut. What's left is drivel.I plan to ship it back for a refund.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
 Heavily editedAug 07, 2002
By Bob
I saw this movie at a film festival, and it was intended to drive home a point by shocking the viewer. A woman is upset by the lack of love she is recieving from her boyfriend so she looks elsewhere, and gets herself into a few uncomfortable situations. There are some graphic sex scenes which are a little bit unsettling. The version available here is so heavily edited (an entire scene that is crucial to the plot is missing, and others are zoomed in to avoid nudity) that you will fail to see the point the film is trying to make. Skip it.
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