Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Romance caused something of a stir when it was released. It seemed to be some sort of hybrid between main stream cinema, and pornography. The actors, to all apearances, are actually having sex on screen, which is quite distasteful to some viewers (why I cannot say).

In reality it is anything but pornographic. Pornography attempts to tittilate, to arouse. Romance has an entirely different attitude. It reduces sexual images to mechanical functions. It treats human genitalia as surreal objects, separate from the people who posses them. And it misunderstands the relationships between men and women.

Marie (Caroline Ducey) is upset because her boyfriend will not have sex with her. He claims to love her, merely to be temporarily uninterested in sex. Despite her pleadings he will not budge on the issue. She attempts to arouse him with her hands and mouth (we see these attempts in explicit detail, as we will see later actions). He still will not give in.

She begins to initiate sexual encounters with other men. She sees this more as an attempt to degrade herself, that a search for pleasure. Her affairs are shown in detail, using tight close-ups that disembody sexual organs from people, and make them almost alien.

Adding to this strange method of filming, there is the utter coldness with which she views not only her lovers, but her own sexual desires. She seems completely disconnected from anything that occurs below her waist.

The film has a certain power. It does cause one to question the nature of sexuality, and the accepted roles of men and women. Yet it seems to finally misunderstand the true meaning of love and desire. Because of this the ending is unexplainable. In the context of all that came before, it makes no sense.

Plus, a cat is needlessly killed, having harmed no one.

In the end this is an audacious attempt, that fails in the end. Yet I still recommend it for a single viewing, because so much of the film does work remarkably well.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD