Vénus noire

I finally watched this movie earlier today with a sorrowful heart after first hearing about it a couple of years ago. hard to get it here in Indonesia on DVD, finally got it on two split You Tube downloads.

Yes this is not a film for the faint hearted, it is extremely graphic and harsh in its direction to say the least and certainly long at 2 hours 40 minutes (comparable with the Hobbit which I saw on new Years Eve).

The film is an artistic portrayal of a dignified South African tribal woman who is abused and misled once she arrives first to England and then later to Paris. However, it lacks artistic direction and balance. Not a contradiction in terms exactly.

for example, the opening scene shows her being exhibited in a medical seminar and the end of the movie displays her physical remains which would later be put in a Paris Musueum. My point is that the Director could have taken more attention to detail and put the lady into a greater prospective, perhaps a prequel to the main part of the story (the recent Johnny Depp movie 'Dark shadows" a case in point) showing the lady in her tribal land and how she met the Doctor before arriving to England. The explanation in the movie is all too bland and passed over for the most part. The same applied for the ending although there were some explanatory subtitles and compensating visual glimpses of when she was returned to South Africa.

What we see in this film is no different from what still goes on in our world today but in a different way. We go-global in order to see the very thing that this humble woman was subjected to and we pay to see it, sometimes on the internet - animals as well as humans - and it is only perhaps in western countries that there are anti-voice against the abuse in circuses.

We should watch this film and want to be shocked. Unlike the spectators shown throughout the film, we have the benefit of a greater education and enhanced knowledge but abuse such as Saartje Baartman is shown to endure in the movie, goes on to this day.

There was a lack of cohesion at times in the transition from going London to Paris and then later when Saartje found herself in the Brothels. Yes, she drank and smoked and was inevitably sensitive and temperamental given her real life role play but this is indeed an extraordinary film about an extraordinary woman who is extraordinary for her courage and determination and not so unordinary from any other woman except for her buttocks and her labia, according to the medical scientists.

I certainly enjoyed this film more than the "Hobbit' which bored the pants off me (except for the special effects) and yes 'Venus Noire' is slow and often repetitive but I can share empathy with the Director and in an unkind, cruel, uncomfortable way, this is entertainment.

On a general note, there is no swearing or offensive violence, despite the harsh treatment Saartje Baartman endured while away from South Africa. Yes, she is mostly naked for large sections of the film and there are a couple of later scenes in Paris where she is in a sexual situation but apart from that, this is not a film for a sexual voyeur and don't expect to see flashes of an unusually large labia because you will not.

The standard of acting in this film is excellent. I may be wrong here but this is a French film and so good sub-titles in English or language of your choice are important. I suggest that there are a lot of other movies out there who will shock and offend you a whole lot more than this one.

one of films who impress for its message. because it is not exactly a film about racism, prejudices, past or steps of science but about the other's position in society.honest.about cold. a black woman and her shows. the freedom as convention. the show and its nuances. a film who propose not a solution or sides of hidden events. only a start point for understand the manner to use the people as objects. and the complicity of the society to this cruel game.so, the virtue of the film is to reflect a ball of attitudes about the people. the selfish, the cruelty, the greed. who are parts of human nature. the axis of this delicate construction - the performance of Yahima Torres. the pillars - the music, dialogues and the air of the different scenes who becomes almost perceived by viewer. a film who could be useful. not only as historical testimony but as demonstration of a strange form of profound sin .

This is the story of the black woman in the early 1800s, shown on cheap varieties as the so called Hottentott Venus. She behaves like an animal, is treated on stage as an animal and is regarded as such by the rude audiences.

She isn't a slave. Not technically, but the agreement with her employer is of course on his terms. There are also other forms of performances. This woman also acts in front of Parisian high society and not at least in front of the scientists of the time, who find resemblances with the orangutan.

What her employers is exploiting is not just this woman; they also exploit racism and the different kind of audiences let their racism be exploited. There are of course money to be made from prejudices. 200 years ago and now. This our lesson.

it is not only the pain of lead character but , in a special form, the pain of viewer. because not only racism and exploitation of a woman vulnerability are the subjects but large manner to discover, in each period, in each society, the other, the stranger, the strange, the exotic victim who inspire fake feeling of power. it is the film of an admirable actress and a necessary lesson about sins who are not absolved. it is a kind of mirror. more than touching, it is terrible. more than terrible it is honest image of a circle. and , maybe, image of a sacrifice who has as axis the force of silence. a powerful message. reflection of profound pain. that is all. and the image of a human been as ordinary tool.

This film is NOT for the faint of heart. Nothing is censored, just the bare naked (literally) truth. Black Venus tells the true story of Sarah (Baptized name) Baartman, a South African woman of Khoisan descent who in the early 19th century was led on false pretenses of fame and fortune to England only to be exploited for her body.

I watched this film with a basic understanding of Sarah's biography. With this in mind, I am a little surprised that the film didn't get a higher rating. Yes, it is difficult to watch. Yes, it shows exploitation and abuse at its finest (if that's even the correct word to use here). Yes, there is shocking and pornographic scenes that are not suitable for the faint of heart. Yes, you will be disgusted.

But you should be. This is a very accurate portrayal of what happened to the true "Venus of Hottentot." She was exploited for her body, people paid to touch her buttocks and her genitalia was a matter of scientific intrigue. This movie is not a pleasant watch, but the topic itself is not a pleasant truth. This is a dark side of history that is difficult to explore, and the director and the main actress do a wonderful job of portraying it as such.

History buffs, this film is for you - especially if you are interested in African/Women's history. For the faint of heart, avoid this film - and for the curious, make sure you know fully well what you're getting into.