Romance

Men hate it. Probably because it's not quite the pornography its detractors accuse it of. Women love it. Because it restores a woman's voice to the erotic? It also offers insultingly implausible solutions to genuine traumas; lacks the empathetic courage to embrace the dreamlike possibilities of its heroine's quest; and suggests motherhood as a woman's most fulfilling role. The film only becomes dull in the second half, and is more amusing than you might think, but the dreary visuals, trite metaphors, unimaginative use of voiceover and dialogue, and self-pitying acting soon become enervating.

I was very confused at the end of 'Romance' as to whether I liked it or not, and whether I thought it was a good film or not. The best bit for me was probably the Q&A with director Catherine Breillat at the end. She was (especially with the help of a translator) very interesting and articulate - whether one agreed with her or not - and I found the film a valuable commentary on her thoughts rather than the other way round.

The film is confusing; as we are aware, this is not pornography - but what *is* it about? Gender issues? Masochism? The female central character goes through a number of extreme sexual encounters and eventually finds some sense of identity unrelated to her sense of being part of a sexual partnership - although the struggle to find that identity has necessitated exploring her sexual desire. The other issue is censorship, as Breillat has something of a mission to push back censorship; this is related to her philosophical take on sexuality however rather than abolishing censorship for the sake of doing so alone. That which (sexually) disgusts us is twinned to that which (sexually) uplifts - the difference is not in the type of act but in the context - all of which is an extended metaphor on censorship itself. Breillat claims that the acts we find offensive in real life are also the acts we find offensive in images, an idea which in itself can lead to some self-awareness. But to Breillat, sexuality has become stereotyped in films. Show she wants to explore the boundaries and show that those boundaries, in themselves, are not good or bad, just as many acts, stereotyped as disgusting or wonderful, are not so in themselves but only in how we make them.

The degree to which she achieves this in 'Romance' may be the subject of debate for a long time to come. I hope I get the chance to see and study some of her other films. I hope the film is not cut by the censors. As to whether it is a great movie, I am less sure (after a lot of discussion and thought I'm slightly more inclined to say it is than it isn't though!) As I am gradually convinced of the director's unshaking artistic integrity I am more willing to put in the effort to understand her rather complex thought. As her film is her principle expression of this thought I have ranked it quite highly - largely for what she attempts, with whatever success, than what she achieves. As Sartre pointed out, success is more in the journey than the achievement.

Romance achieved a lot of attention in Australia as it was initially banned. Now it's available from any decent video store so every adult can see what the fuss was all about. I think few of them will be able understand why the censors had so much problem with it. Basically you have several hard-ons and a bit of bondage in the middle of a talky French art-house movie. The fundamental problem with Romance is we can never understand what Marie sees in Paul. It's as simple as that. If we COULD understand then perhaps we'd have a provocative and thought-provoking examination of love, sex, loyalty and betrayal. But we don't. It's not to say the movie isn't worth watching, just don't expect too much. Last Tango In Paris was much braver and confronting (albeit less explicit) nearly thirty years ago. Closer to home, Breaking The Waves shares some similar themes and situations, and is a much more successful and emotionally involving experience.

Same as the likewise French exploitationer "Baise-moi", which was released almost at the same time as this movie, there are some scenes of hardcore pornography added. But as "Baise-moi" only concentrates on surface visuals the message of "Romance" is to explain the emotional conflict of love and sexuality between men and women - told from a female point of view.

A strange film at all, but also very fascinating and interesting executed - as long as you can put up its long dialogue-sequences, the sometimes metaphoric style and the fact that "Romance" is quite difficult to watch... Not the kind of stuff you´re normally used to enjoy as pure entertainment, because you´ll need time and nerves to sit this through..!

8/10

Though I have a comprehensive review below I wanted to add that some comments here are from people who saw a severely edited version of the film (the sex scenes removed or cropped off). This would be similar to removing the battle scenes from Star Wars.